Calcutta: my peaceful escape from the chaos of Dhaka

I was really digging the old school taxis they have in Calcutta. They look like the cars from The Godfather, except in gold and blue.

This is the intricately decorated inside of one of the restuarants we ate at.

Victoria Memorial, so beautiful. Surreptitiously and illegally taken photos of Marble Palace (don't ask me why we weren't allowed to take photos of the place)

YUMMY!

Calcutta is only a 30 minute flight from Dhaka. The two cities share a language and a history, but that's about it. Everything else about the cities are like night and day, yin and yang. Granted, there are parts of Calcutta that look like Bangladesh (in old Calcutta, close to Howrah Bridge), with dilapidated shacks and trash on the ground and its citizens using the sidewalk as a bathroom. But even those parts only slightly resembled the far more unkempt and chaotic city that is Dhaka. I mean, who would have thought that people actually drive in the lanes and follow the traffic signals?!

And people rarely honked, and even the honks sounded quietly elegant compared to the incessant loud and unpleasant honking that is a staple of Dhaka's roads. It was heaven, a pleasurable vacation for me, really, to be in Calcutta.

All Dhaka bashing aside, Rosanna and I remarked that we didn't know how bad we had it until we left Dhaka and realized there is something better out there. This is the opposite of "you don't appreciate what you have until you lose it".

Poor Rosanna, she got sick after the first day and never fully recovered enough to enjoy the city like I did. I got to eat and drink to my little heart's desire. And that I did. I am detoxing over the next few days from all the deliciously buttery and cheesy and carb-heavy meals (including hops) that I happily consumed this weekend. We ate, well I guess I ate, at some amazingly decorated places. Way nicer than any place I've been to in Dhaka for the last six weeks. I also took advantage of the non-Muslim country aspect of India and enjoyed some cold beers with my lunch. Oh the pleasure of the little things in life!

Aside from being food tourists, Rosanna and I went to see all the famous places in Calcutta: Victoria Memorial, Marble Palace, Howrah Bridge, Kali Temple, Mother Theresa's House, Botanical Gardens, and Indian Museum. And of course we went shopping. And now I need to buy an additional luggage to bring all the crap I bought back with me to the States. No more, I keep telling myself. But everything is so cheap and unique as well....usually the latter argument wins in this battle.

Mother (Theresa's) House was not magnificent or anything, but it was very much like her: unassuming, plain, and practical. Even though we didn't spend much time there, it was still very special to touch the tomb of someone who was so amazingly selfless and caring to those most in need.

Our experience in Calcutta wouldn't have been the same if dear Rahul hadnt helped us out in arranging hotels and transportation in his home city. So this is my shout out to you Rahul, thanks so much to you and your parents for such great hospitality!

As I went to bed my last night in Calcutta, I was sad to know that when I woke up I'd have to head back to the craziness of Dhaka. But Calcutta gave me hope for Dhaka, that one day Dhaka can be like Calcutta.