Instead of driving the 500km from Puri to Calcuatta which would have taken 2 days, we took the train which made the journey only 7 and half hours. This worked really well as it meant we managed to have an extra day in Puri and didn't spend another whole day travelling in the truck. Our train tickets included food which was a nice bonus, we had what appeared to be vegetable burgers and bread and jam for breakfast, very hard breadsticks with soup for a snack and then a selection of Indian food for lunch.

On arrival in Calcutta we went out to explore the city, we spent ages unsuccessfully trying to find Mother Teresa's house and in the end ended up in the wonderful Café Coffee Day and then in Mc Donalds. It was not the cultural afternoon we had had planned but it was good all the same. The next day was much more productive, we headed to the Victoria Memorial, a beautiful building in a lovely garden. Unfortunately the museum was closed due to a local festival but it was really nice to just walk around the gardens. It is strange here, there are these stunning buildings and they seem to cover then in ugly wires in order to put electricity into the building and for the outside lights, it is such a shame.

Our next visit was to the Calcutta Botanical Gardens, I was expecting flowers but it was mainly green trees and ponds. It was a bit of a labyrinth to navigate around, the maps and signposts didn't seem to be saying the same thing or lead to the places you were expecting. During our long relaxing walk through the gardens we came across the Great Banyan Tree. It was the most amazing tree I have ever seen, it seems to have started as a tree and then the branches have gown back into the ground making more trunks and all the same tree. I thought it was a little War of the Worlds, it's a bit like something has just grown and grown and grown, replanting itself and spreading as it goes. We finished our exploration of the city in a local market. Today has been a really good day, sadly we are saying goodbye to James and Andre today who are leaving the Dragoman tour but Sarah is coming and I am so excited about this!