Kolkata......our final stop on the India Express

After resting up in Puri for a few days, Kathryn and I got on our final train ride up to Kolkata. It was an overnight train and so we got one more opportunity to hear the calls for 'Chai' and 'Coffee' throughout the night. Fortunately for me, that's what the Egyptian sleeping pills are for!

Upon arriving in Kolkata, we tried to take the cheap way to Sudder Street to find a hotel. After wandering about for a bit, we finally found our subway stop, only to find that the subway wasn't yet working on Sundays. So, we caught a nice yellow cab and then we were off to Sudder Street. After finding a hotel, we were off to see the sights.

We checked out the lovely Victoria Memorial, which is a museum dedicated to the British rule in India. It was very well put together and probably the best museum that I went to India. After the memorial, we were starving as we hadn't eaten in over 18 hours and we happened upon a lovely Italian restaurant where we stuffed ourselves full of pasta! With stomachs full, we decided to try the markets out, but soon got frustrated by being followed around by 'market guides.'

That evening brought the real treat of Kolkata.....a club called Shisha! That's right, I felt it appropriate that we go as Kathryn and I met in Egypt and smoked a few shishas there. It had been awhile for Kathryn and had been a couple of weeks for me, so it was great for us both to get back into the joy of shisha!

Kathryn's last day was spent walking around Fort William, the Eden Garden, Millennium Park (what a disappointment), and the High Court. Every where we went it seemed was closed. So, hot, frustrated, and tired, we found a cab and went back to find a pub. We were glad we did as a monsoon rain started up and so we just continued our drinking. When we left the pub, we found a typical Kolkata situation......flooded streets! We waded through the water back to our hotel to let the water subside. A meal out and another hit on the shisha and we called it an early night.

The next day Kathryn left for her flight and I was to begin a battle.......

More later.

Love, peace, and soul.