Kolkata

Normally, big cities are off-putting to me. Most seem to blur together, have no special character. Dump somebody in the middle of one big city and it could be a challenge to even guess the country. Kolkata is not one of these cities: it's India all the way.

It was once the capital of the East India Company until it was moved to New Delhi because of constant uprisings by Bengalis. Grand colonial buildings, such as the incredible Queen Victoria Memorial, stand next to the typical Indian concrete. The colonnial buildings are not the only stars of this sprawling city; there are fabulous Jain temples, the towering Dakshinswar temple, and the spread out collection of religious buildings at Belur Math. Walking around the city offers many surprises, no matter if its the wide British Avenues of the narrow crowded streets.

Most of the scant tourist--it's a bit far from the Taj Mahal--stay in the cluster of hotels on Shudder Street, which is hardly the tourist ghetto that most would expect. Meeting travellers is easy in this compact area and there are relatively few of the typical touts and rickshaws.

Kolkata is one of the most living places I've ever been. Tourist do dot the streets, but everyone is so concerned with life, they don't seem to care. It was the home of Mother Theresa and it's easy to see why. Slums are rampant. Worse are the street-dwellers, cooking food with little fires while sitting on blankets, the closest thing they have to a home, right on the sidewalks of the busiest streets. Dirty children play naked amidst it all. Smartly dressed, rich businessmen walk through all this mess, the only ones not looking out of place beneath the Victorian excess. The city has so much energy, just being there was exhilarating. Dirty, clean. Rich, poor. Beautiful, Ugly. All share the chaotic mess, yet it never seems off-putting.

The Bengali food was great. Featuring mostly fish, mustard and tamarind dominate the flavor. The food burst with so much power, it managed not to be overpowered by the city's intensity. One of the best dishes I had was chingri malaikari, giant river prawns, as this as twinkies, in a tasty orange sauce. I had a lunch of this with rasgulla, a delicious cheese coated ball filled with rose-soaked dough. This meal was free when a nice Indian man, a teacher in Memphis, Tennessee, picked up my tab after chatting. Another fine example of the kindness I've found in India thus far.

To make my experiences in Kolkata even better, Douglas and Justin, two of my friends who traveled with me to Sikkim, were there as well. My morning chai at a popular street stall always grouped with both new and old friends. Douglas and I didn't even need to make plans, we'd meet every night at the Fairlawn for a beer, where we'd always pull some other people into our conversations. Our usual victims were an older British couple who may have two of the coolest people I've met.

Simply put, Kolkata was great!