First Taste of Kolkata

We arrived in Kolkata at 10:20pm local time (12:50pm Malaysian time). After many hours of travelling including the 2-hour transit in Singapore, and with the hot summer heat which was making us rather uncomfortable, we could not wait to get to the hotel, have a nice shower and retire to bed.

About an hour and 20 minutes later, the van came to a halt in front of a rather old and run-down building. I could hear some people asking, ‘This place arh, got cockroaches or not?’ As we entered the building, we found out that we had to climb 104 steps to our rooms!

It is often said that ‘first impression is very important’. Were we disappointed with the experience we encountered thus far? Were we still looking forward to the rest of the trip? We were about to find out.

104 steps up to our hotel room!


Streets of Kolkata (above and below)


People of Kolkata

Very old – but with heritage value – houses of Kolkata

Street-vendors

Selling live-chickens on bicycle!

The market area (above and below)


Away from the hustle and bustle of the market area

Pumping water on the road kerb – a common sight
in Kolkata. Source of water – Ganges River.

Extracting sugarcane juice manually.
Rs10 (about RM 0.80) per cup.
Served in disposable clay-cup.

Different Means of Transports in Kolkata

The yellow cab

The hand-drawn carriage

The tuk-tuk and the tram

The red bus