4 Sep – 6 Sep
Kolkata
Loves – Chinatown & Chai Masala Tea
Hates – Stares for being a foreigner on the tube
Weather – Monsoon rains – up to your knee!

I caught a train overnight to Kolkata which on arrival was totally different to Varanasi – it’s on the East coast in West Bengal and it was raining “cats-and-dogs” as the locals put it!! You can really see the British influence here – signs in English, thousands of taxis, the streets look British & have British names and the weather! ;-) Kolkate is also the only place in India where man powered rickshaws exist – they ferry people around in the pouring rain, many of them without shoes on!

My hostel was a huge downgrade on my previous accommodation, no pool, no A/C, no porters - but it did cost me ₤1.50 per night!! Despite it raining I decided I would check out the city and visited the Victoria Memorial – built for Queen Victoria’s diamond Jubilee in 1901. Other highlights were the Rubbish Tip Homes, which are quite literally homes built in what looks like rubbish, and Chinatown which contains zero Chinese anymore. It was so complex with shops, stalls and markets all interlocking with each other that I predictably got lost and found myself taking shelter from the rain in a local cigarette makers shop/stall/tent/whatever! Upon arriving at Kali temple I was immediately surrounded by so called ‘priests’ who decided they would guide me around. It was mayhem – people jostled to see the 3 eyed Kali and hung gifts on a tree. I saw as a sacrifice to Kali, a goat beheaded behind the temple, which made me squirm a bit as I was literally feet away when the blood started to mix with the rain water and run around the marble floor!