Now I see why they call it Incredible India

Over our time on the road so far we have heard a heap of horror stories relating to India, usually involving food poisoning, being pickpocketed or otherwise robbed, or some sort of harrassment by groups of men. We didnt come to India with a negative attitude, but we certainly came with an increased awareness of where our belongings were at any given time.

We are glad to report that (so far) all the Indian tales of terror that we have heard are completely untrue. The people in India are absolutely beautiful. They are quick to help out confused looking tourists, they generally speak very good english, compared to all the other countries we have visited in asia so far, and they always smile back when smiled at first. Granted, until we offer a smile we are usually faced with a look of intrigue, with a touch of horror (is it the dreads?).

We stayed on Sudder Street which is meant to be the 'tourist area' of Kolkata, but during our time in the city we would have been lucky to see a total of twenty other whities. And even then, we only had to walk two blocks in any direction to well and truly break out of the tourist-themed area, and see the more rustic side of Kolkata.

Kolkata has a feel to it that is different to anywhere else we have been so far, and that is a good thing. For a start, the food is incredible. i know we harp on about the great grub now and again, but trust me - Indians know what they are doing when it comes to throwing together a meal. we ate dozens of small dishes, served on street corners from stalls and carts. i cant describe it all, and i wont go into detail, but i will say that the food in India has already proven to be the most varied, flavoursome and well balanced food of any cuisine we have come into contact with so far on our travels. Someone should call Thailand and tell them that the bar has officially been raised. It's worth noting that we have not had any stomach upsets of any kind, despite eating 90% of our meals from street vendors. We have just stuck to the vegetarian stuff, and eaten at places that are bustling with locals already feeding their faces. Just lastly on the food thing, one pleasant local tradition is having a clay cup of Chai Tea after a meal. I have never been a tea drinker, but when you see how much sugar, ginger and other strange herbs go into this stuff while they boil the milk over hot coals, it hardly counts as tea anymore. And there is nothing more fun than finishing the last bit of tea, then throwing your (single use) clay cup into the rubbish as hard as you can, just so that it is completely obliterated. childish, but great for letting off some steam.

Another major trait of the city is the poverty. It is everywhere, and the divide between the rich and poor is very pronounced. One area we walked through was populated with small shanty houses constructed completely from garbage. People all over the city live in lean-to style dwellings built around lamp posts and walls. it is sad and rampant, but there are a number of not-for-profits working to change the situation.

Despite the poverty, the people still have a tremendous amount of fun, whether they are playing cricket in the local park (when we went there were at least 15 separate games being played around the park), or sharing a cup of chai with each other or even playing badminton in the streets, completely oblivious to unsuspecting pedestrians or traffic.

If i could change one thing about Kolkata, i would turn the volume down. The city doesnt feel as loud as Hanoi in Vietnam, but it is darn close. Painted on the back of most vehicles are the words "Horn Please".... as if they needed to ask. People just jump on the horn almost by default as soon as they switch on their engine or start pedalling their bike. Even people off the road make enough noise to participate in the city-wide headache - we walked past a guy selling nothing but car horns, since i guess people would wear them out fairly regularly round here, and the guy in the shop was just sitting there blaring a horn at anyone that walked by. One hell of a way to attract customers buddy. But hey, the noise adds to the overall hectic charm of the place, and without the headache, it just wouldnt be the lovely, dirty, tasty place that it is.

We are in Nepal now, after spending almost two full days on various forms of cheap transport getting here, and we are gearing up for our assault on Everest Basecamp. We will do an update on Kathmandu, and the trek soon enough, and afterwards we will wind our way back to India.

The last eight or nine months have been fun, and an adventure, but now that we are in Central Asia, with India, Nepal and all the changes and challenges that they come hand in hand with, we kind of feel like we are really travelling. It just feels a little bit more hardcore than sipping cheap cocktails in Thailand :)

Till next time!

//Brendan