Kolkata. Here we are right now. After 56 hours of exhausting but interesting train journey (we left Hampi about which you can read down the site, then stopped for a few hours in Hyderabad) we finally reached the city, which we had associated mainly with Mother Teresa, poverty, dirt, smog and endless crowds. Nevertheless, what we saw differed from what we had imagined. Kolkata turned out to be very diverse. What you get on the one hand is a modern, colorful, London- like center with British style architecture, a huge park that is often referred to as Kolkatan Central Park and stylish stores, while on the other, with its ruined, devastated mansions, bushy gardens and poorer streets the city seems to be taken out from Dickens’ novels.
What builds up to the character of Kolkata are the streets simply flooded by yellow ambassador cabs (Indian version of N.Y.C?) that never stop that’s why crossing a street is a bit of a challenge. The light is always red for a pedestrian who has to look out for cabs, cars, trams, rickshaws and buses that sometimes go without respecting any rules (why bother with left-side driving when you can drive on the right or just in the middle between two lanes?)
We spent a lot of time walking through rather off-track streets in a merchant district, trying to observe the people at work, either selling their goods or washings pots, peeling vegetables, delivering chai, welding, cutting wood, doing some metal work etc. To chill out we went to the Maidan Park, we sat on the grass as we had done a few months ago in London while planning the trip, and watched ponies, horses, boys playing cricket and a lot of kites.
Moreover, we paid a visit to Mother Teresa’s house where we spent a while reading about her life and work with the poor.
What builds up to the character of Kolkata are the streets simply flooded by yellow ambassador cabs (Indian version of N.Y.C?) that never stop that’s why crossing a street is a bit of a challenge. The light is always red for a pedestrian who has to look out for cabs, cars, trams, rickshaws and buses that sometimes go without respecting any rules (why bother with left-side driving when you can drive on the right or just in the middle between two lanes?)
We spent a lot of time walking through rather off-track streets in a merchant district, trying to observe the people at work, either selling their goods or washings pots, peeling vegetables, delivering chai, welding, cutting wood, doing some metal work etc. To chill out we went to the Maidan Park, we sat on the grass as we had done a few months ago in London while planning the trip, and watched ponies, horses, boys playing cricket and a lot of kites.
Moreover, we paid a visit to Mother Teresa’s house where we spent a while reading about her life and work with the poor.
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz