After hours of deliberation, discussion, remorse & ultimately sacrifice, we decided that the hawk would not be capable of the trip to Calcutta & we had to let her go. On calculation, at the speeds she was capable of, it would have taken around 8 weeks. We decided to stick with the train. CALCUTTA Nowhere else in India conjures as much apprehension & derision as the much maligned city of Calcutta (now renamed Kolkatta) so we stepped from the train early on Wednesday with trepidation, not knowing what to expect. We were greeted by the usual taxi, rickshaw touts, all out to screw as much 'yankee dollar' from the white guy as possible. We are getting so used to this at every destination we arrive at & Calcutta was no better or worse than anywhere in that respect, you just have to haggle. Driving through the streets to our hotel of choice, it does appear that the stories & stereotypes might be true, the buildings are dilapidated, street kids play cricket in dirty rags & the traffic is manic, but then isn't it everywhere here! It could also be said that our room was the actual 'black hole' of Calcutta & probably hadn't been cleaned since independence in 1947. As we actually got out exploring the bazaars, street stalls, parks & back streets, we both agreed that we really liked the initial feel of the place. It was fairly laid back, pleasant & relatively hassle free. Apart from the humidity, which peaked at around 98%, this was one of the most comfortable places to stroll around. We are still debating whether this is more to do with the place itself, or the fact that we are getting more & more used to the country as a whole & after 6 weeks of being on the road maybe we can almost class ourselves as 'fully fledged travelers'. We both generally feel more relaxed about everything now & the initial shock factor has really faded. We also made the deliberate decision to take things a little more easily, enjoy things at our own pace, see the things that we want to see, not just what we have been told to see in the rough guide. We have made the transition from 24 hour manic sightseers to now focusing more on living & experiencing life in the country, if that's possible. It was on our initial exploration of the city that Dan finally gave into the incessant nagging, pleading, moaning, & whinging, and took LJ to the cricket! Not knowing if there was even a match on, we headed down anyway to the Eden Gardens. Dan could take more pictures of an empty stadium if nothing else, to give him his fix. Upon arrival, we were approached by a random man, who we instinctively treated with suspicion. In our limited experience, anyone in India who walks up to you in the street wants:- 1. Money 2. Food 3. To sell you something 4. A combination of all the above Imagine our surprise & confusion when 2 minutes later we find ourselves in the VIP executive section (apparently Sir Geoffrey Boycott's seat) drinks & snacks in hand, watching the 1 day State cup final........for free. It even turned out that it was former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly's final appearance for West Bengal before jetting off to Blighty to play for Northhants. Bonus. Although the crowd was sparse, this guy was treated like a king, cricket players really are superstars here. The day was great, although we never saw the man who escorted us in again & still have no idea how we managed to find ourselves there. We even managed to get ourselves on local TV as the token white people watching the cricket. The main focus of the following day was the 2nd England game which kicked off at 9.30pm India time. We had already planned to meet up with a couple we had met in Puri a few days earlier to watch the match which worked out great all round, as LJ had Vodka & Coke in it's plentitude whilst in the company of another girl (a rare thing) and Dan had beer, football & a bloke to share it with. In a nutshell, we loved Calcutta and found it a really pleasant place to spend time, and as is a running theme now we were both reluctant to move on, but move on we must inland to the west to Varanasi. VARANASI Oh my god, this place is hotter than the sun. Two things hit you upon arrival in Varanasi:- 1) the utterly ridiculous heat. 2) The utterly ridiculous heat! You literally feel like your insides are boiling. But oh, rejoice we had a room with the modern appliance of 'air-conditioning' - indescribable, blissful, cool cool air. The charming town of Varanasi is said to be one of the oldest and most sacred cities in the world. Situated on the banks of the river Ganges it is the centre of the Hindu faith. Masses of pilgrims arrive daily to 'wash away their sins' in the holy river. The city gives enlightenment to the dead & literally thousands of people come here to die.........a lot like Bridlington. The Ganges is said to be the 'elixir of life' which brings purity to the living & salvation to the dead. Unfortunately, in reality, the river is scummy with sewage not to mention the chemical waste & human body parts floating auspiciously along. Aside from this though, the town exudes a certain feeling and you can't help but feel a part of something special. We loved how old everything was in Varanasi and best of all how 'Indian' it all was, it was such an experience being there for the few days that we had. Upon taking the long stroll down the ghats (steps leading down to sacred water) that line the banks, we reach a point known as the 'burning ghats'. Now we couldn't fully figure this out, but the general jist we got was that these were funerals and the burning was of the bodies!! Shocked and feeling a little uncomfortable, especially as Dan asks if he can take photos as he claims it's reminiscent of a Jedi funeral - permission was unsurprisingly denied. We moved on past as quickly as we could. The bazaar streets which form the town itself are so narrow that's it's impossible, to Dan's disappointment, to drive (or ride) around, so instead we had to explore on foot. Cow jams were not uncommon and they ALWAYS have right of way. Another amazing insight into India and a place which we are both so fortunate to have visited. Just to have seen it and to have experienced it and for a tiny fraction of this extraordinary town's vast history, we have both been part of it. ONWARDS We arrived in the capital city of Delhi yesterday morning and have been enjoying all that it has to offer. The full account of this will be included in our next entry 'The Golden Triangle'. There was trauma last night as with approximately 20 minutes remaining in Cologne and with the score level at 1-1, Jesus God, it started to rain, and seemingly India's capital couldn't cope with this and every TV in the land lost coverage - ARGHHHH. Luckily SMS prevailed and Mark Drury saved the day, although Dan was still sulking this morning about it. Will update again soon. Us x