Distance covered: 1,700km
Hello everyone, and thanks for reading my travelling blog. I hope to keep you informed and entertained as I make my way from Kolkata to Auckland over the next six or seven months. I am currently in a little internet cafe in Chennai, having spent the last week travelling down India's east coast, so read on...
We (David 'Squad' Reynolds and myself) arrived in Kolkata at about 10pm after a 20 hour trip that took us via Mumbai. Walking out of the airport (where incidentally within a couple of minutes I'd been bitten by a mosquito and walked into a bench) I was hit by the India I remember from last time - humid, hectic and a little bit smelly. Not that I'm complaining, I love it! After getting lost a number of times, our taxi eventually pulled up outside our hotel and we got a good night sleep in a rather intimate double bed (something we're going to have to get used to).
The next day we did a quick walking tour of Kolkata, taking in the sights of the city that was once centre of the British Raj. I'm a big fan of Kolkata - it is very much like the other big Indian cities I have been to: a contrasting mixture of beautifully maintained colonial buildings, bustling markets and massive poverty. As some of you will know, the original reason for going to Kolkata was to see the England vs India game in the Cricket World Cup. Unfortunately it was moved to a different city, so we had to make do with watching it in a bar. What a game! A tie! We watched the entire 100 overs, so needless to say we got through a fair few lagers and stumbled home at about midnight. The walk was funny though - I went to take a photo of a stray dog, but got a little bit close and he started barking at me, then two of his mates turned up and started barking as well. It was a stand off. Squad sh*t his pants, while I adopted the method of marching straight at them looking intimidating - they fled and I celebrated my victory. Calm down Mum, I've had rabies injections remember!
Feeling slightly fragile the next day, we got a tuk tuk to the main train station to start our journey south towards Chennai. First stop - Puri on the Bay of Bengal for a bit of beach time (Squad is in the market for a serious tan). But first we had to negotiate Kolkata's main train station - it was without doubt the most mental place I have ever been. 26 platform, thousands of pranging Indians runninng about, 30 degrees, and me storming around with a massive backpack on, sweating profusely. As it turned out, our train was four hours delayed so we had a serious wait at the station. This seems a good opportunity to mention something Westerners have to deal with in India: staring. Everywhere we go, people seem utterly fascinated by us - girls point and giggle from a distance, but the lads either stand still and stare, or just come straight up with a smile and a handshake, and occassionally ask to have their photo taken with us. It is very bizarre, but always very good natured!
Anyway, we arrived in Puri at 02:15 and set about finding somewhere to sleep. A tuk tuk driver took us to this absolute dive, but we were so tired so just agreed to spend the night. Within a couple of minutes, two of the biggest cockroaches I have ever seen were spotted in our room - once again, Squad had a massive panic attack and armed himself with a pen knife. We got our room changed eventually, much to his relief.
After spending a short while on the beach in Puri, we hopped on a bus to Bhubaneswar. I enjoy travelling by bus, you can really take in the countryside and the people who live in it. It seems that most of them spend their time asleep in public, squatting by the side of the road, or wandering round rice-paddies. Bhubaneswar is famous for its Hindu temples, so we hit a couple of those (but were never allowed in because we aren't Hindu, which I thought was rather discriminatory). I also got ripped off buying a sari. For dinner I had my first Chicken Byriani of the tour - I think it's my new favourite food. Speaking of food, I would say that so far the food has been nice, without being spectacular. Amusingly, I cried at dinner the other night because a curry I ordered was so spicy - who would have thought 'Butter Chicken' could be so brutal?!
Like most places, we only spent 24 hours in Bhubaneswar before moving on again. We got the 05:45 train to Vijayawada which takes 13 hours. The journey was actually very enjoyable. We could open the window and properly experience India whizzing past us. Also, they leave the train doors open, so I was able to stand in one and watch the sunrise (and sunset 10 hours later). Amazing! I spent the rest of the time reading my book (some classic Conn Iggulden), which I think upset Squad who demands constant attention and entertainment (high maintenance travelling partner!)
Vijayawada has probably been both of our favourite place so far. It is a centre for Hindus in the area, so they are all over the place - I like Hindus, they're good banter. Infact it was at one of their temples I got my first 'red dot' on the forehead, but I got self conscious and scrubbed it off. Disrespectful? I gave a donation to one of their gods, which I think made up for it. We visited a 'ghat' (stone steps leading down into a river) where there were loads of people larking about in the water. I have never experienced attention quite like it - within a minute of us sitting down on a bench, a semi-circle of about ten blokes had formed infront of us, just staring. It was incredibly awkward! One of them was quite fun, Santosh, but that was mainly because he could speak English - he got chatting about WWF though, so after mentioning 'Triple H' I was basically out of conversation topics, so legged it.
Even more attention was to come our way at a temple up on a nearby hill. A group of blokes went crazy for us, each one of them asking to have their photo taken shaking our hands. As I said earlier, very bizarre, but very friendly (in an odd way!) We were then shepherded into the VIP entrance to the temple, where we were blessed after making a donation. I think I could get into Hinduism. Seems like a laugh!
Today we did another early train, and got into Chennai at about 1pm and found a hotel that charges about 5 pounds a night - perfect! We are going to stay here for a few days, because we have tickets to the big England vs South Africa match here on Sunday. Keep an eye out for us on the TV! We'll be the two white guys with the England flag.
Oh, one final comment - Indians are without doubt the most mental driver I have ever come across (and that includes you Closey). We have been in two minor accidents in tuk tuks so far. One in Kolkata - we clipped a motorbike. The driver was fine, but angry. And earlier today our tuk tuk knocked another bloke off his stationary bike. Again, the driver was fine, but angry.
What a brilliant first week it has been. Heading further South in a few days - cue more heat, humidity, and underarm sweat patches from me!
Over and out from Chennai!
Also, if you would like to email me, I'm on the usual address - mogsy@hotmail.co.uk
Hello everyone, and thanks for reading my travelling blog. I hope to keep you informed and entertained as I make my way from Kolkata to Auckland over the next six or seven months. I am currently in a little internet cafe in Chennai, having spent the last week travelling down India's east coast, so read on...
We (David 'Squad' Reynolds and myself) arrived in Kolkata at about 10pm after a 20 hour trip that took us via Mumbai. Walking out of the airport (where incidentally within a couple of minutes I'd been bitten by a mosquito and walked into a bench) I was hit by the India I remember from last time - humid, hectic and a little bit smelly. Not that I'm complaining, I love it! After getting lost a number of times, our taxi eventually pulled up outside our hotel and we got a good night sleep in a rather intimate double bed (something we're going to have to get used to).
The next day we did a quick walking tour of Kolkata, taking in the sights of the city that was once centre of the British Raj. I'm a big fan of Kolkata - it is very much like the other big Indian cities I have been to: a contrasting mixture of beautifully maintained colonial buildings, bustling markets and massive poverty. As some of you will know, the original reason for going to Kolkata was to see the England vs India game in the Cricket World Cup. Unfortunately it was moved to a different city, so we had to make do with watching it in a bar. What a game! A tie! We watched the entire 100 overs, so needless to say we got through a fair few lagers and stumbled home at about midnight. The walk was funny though - I went to take a photo of a stray dog, but got a little bit close and he started barking at me, then two of his mates turned up and started barking as well. It was a stand off. Squad sh*t his pants, while I adopted the method of marching straight at them looking intimidating - they fled and I celebrated my victory. Calm down Mum, I've had rabies injections remember!
Feeling slightly fragile the next day, we got a tuk tuk to the main train station to start our journey south towards Chennai. First stop - Puri on the Bay of Bengal for a bit of beach time (Squad is in the market for a serious tan). But first we had to negotiate Kolkata's main train station - it was without doubt the most mental place I have ever been. 26 platform, thousands of pranging Indians runninng about, 30 degrees, and me storming around with a massive backpack on, sweating profusely. As it turned out, our train was four hours delayed so we had a serious wait at the station. This seems a good opportunity to mention something Westerners have to deal with in India: staring. Everywhere we go, people seem utterly fascinated by us - girls point and giggle from a distance, but the lads either stand still and stare, or just come straight up with a smile and a handshake, and occassionally ask to have their photo taken with us. It is very bizarre, but always very good natured!
Anyway, we arrived in Puri at 02:15 and set about finding somewhere to sleep. A tuk tuk driver took us to this absolute dive, but we were so tired so just agreed to spend the night. Within a couple of minutes, two of the biggest cockroaches I have ever seen were spotted in our room - once again, Squad had a massive panic attack and armed himself with a pen knife. We got our room changed eventually, much to his relief.
 |
| Riding a tuk tuk |
After spending a short while on the beach in Puri, we hopped on a bus to Bhubaneswar. I enjoy travelling by bus, you can really take in the countryside and the people who live in it. It seems that most of them spend their time asleep in public, squatting by the side of the road, or wandering round rice-paddies. Bhubaneswar is famous for its Hindu temples, so we hit a couple of those (but were never allowed in because we aren't Hindu, which I thought was rather discriminatory). I also got ripped off buying a sari. For dinner I had my first Chicken Byriani of the tour - I think it's my new favourite food. Speaking of food, I would say that so far the food has been nice, without being spectacular. Amusingly, I cried at dinner the other night because a curry I ordered was so spicy - who would have thought 'Butter Chicken' could be so brutal?!
Like most places, we only spent 24 hours in Bhubaneswar before moving on again. We got the 05:45 train to Vijayawada which takes 13 hours. The journey was actually very enjoyable. We could open the window and properly experience India whizzing past us. Also, they leave the train doors open, so I was able to stand in one and watch the sunrise (and sunset 10 hours later). Amazing! I spent the rest of the time reading my book (some classic Conn Iggulden), which I think upset Squad who demands constant attention and entertainment (high maintenance travelling partner!)
 |
| Sunrise in India |
Even more attention was to come our way at a temple up on a nearby hill. A group of blokes went crazy for us, each one of them asking to have their photo taken shaking our hands. As I said earlier, very bizarre, but very friendly (in an odd way!) We were then shepherded into the VIP entrance to the temple, where we were blessed after making a donation. I think I could get into Hinduism. Seems like a laugh!
 |
| Hindu lads |
Today we did another early train, and got into Chennai at about 1pm and found a hotel that charges about 5 pounds a night - perfect! We are going to stay here for a few days, because we have tickets to the big England vs South Africa match here on Sunday. Keep an eye out for us on the TV! We'll be the two white guys with the England flag.
Oh, one final comment - Indians are without doubt the most mental driver I have ever come across (and that includes you Closey). We have been in two minor accidents in tuk tuks so far. One in Kolkata - we clipped a motorbike. The driver was fine, but angry. And earlier today our tuk tuk knocked another bloke off his stationary bike. Again, the driver was fine, but angry.
What a brilliant first week it has been. Heading further South in a few days - cue more heat, humidity, and underarm sweat patches from me!
Over and out from Chennai!
Also, if you would like to email me, I'm on the usual address - mogsy@hotmail.co.uk
Hi James!
ReplyDeleteLoved your blog, sounds as if things could not have started better for you!Enjoy the cricket on Sunday - let's hope they win!
Lots of love xx