Flight to Kolkata (Calcutta)
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
What great luck! There are only 6 of us on the pre-trip to Bhutan and one of them is Jackie Lallier from Minnesota who is a mushroom guru and an avid note-taker and said she would send a copy of her notes at trip's end. They arrived with her Christmas letter so I'm incorporating them into the blog for another viewpoint.
Jackie wrote: "We arrived in Delhi at 7:30 AM Minnesota time and 4:30 PM Delhi time. We had to switch planes - our plane to Calcutta didn't leave until 8:00 and when we arrived in Calcutta at 10:30, Bob, Abby, Stu & I got our luggage but Sharon and Suzanne's was not there. We had to have our foreheads checked for temperature because of the Swine Flu. It was midnight by the time we met our contact, Sakir (Samik) & got to the Park Hotel. "Calcutta never sleeps" is their motto. 78% of the population is now middle class compared to 25-30 years ago. 8% are very wealthy. The rest are VERY poor. There were many people on the streets on our way to the hotel - some sleeping right on the street or sidewalk. Some kiosks are open 24 hours. There were lots of "rickety" rickshaws and lots and lots of "mangy" dogs. There is current legislation being considered to ban loose dogs (they have already done so for cows in the big cities. Most people are Hindu but not all Hindu are vegetarian. They speak "Hindi", of course, and the women wear pretty 3-piece outfits consisting of slacks, a tunic and a long scarf. We saw goats being herded down the main streets at night for slaughter as they can't be herded during the busy daytime. "
Calcutta is in eastern India on the Bay of Bengal and was the original capital of the British Raj until it was moved to New Delhi in 1910. It's population is 16 million at night and 25 million during the day- due to migrant workers and others who live in suburbs.
What great luck! There are only 6 of us on the pre-trip to Bhutan and one of them is Jackie Lallier from Minnesota who is a mushroom guru and an avid note-taker and said she would send a copy of her notes at trip's end. They arrived with her Christmas letter so I'm incorporating them into the blog for another viewpoint.
Jackie wrote: "We arrived in Delhi at 7:30 AM Minnesota time and 4:30 PM Delhi time. We had to switch planes - our plane to Calcutta didn't leave until 8:00 and when we arrived in Calcutta at 10:30, Bob, Abby, Stu & I got our luggage but Sharon and Suzanne's was not there. We had to have our foreheads checked for temperature because of the Swine Flu. It was midnight by the time we met our contact, Sakir (Samik) & got to the Park Hotel. "Calcutta never sleeps" is their motto. 78% of the population is now middle class compared to 25-30 years ago. 8% are very wealthy. The rest are VERY poor. There were many people on the streets on our way to the hotel - some sleeping right on the street or sidewalk. Some kiosks are open 24 hours. There were lots of "rickety" rickshaws and lots and lots of "mangy" dogs. There is current legislation being considered to ban loose dogs (they have already done so for cows in the big cities. Most people are Hindu but not all Hindu are vegetarian. They speak "Hindi", of course, and the women wear pretty 3-piece outfits consisting of slacks, a tunic and a long scarf. We saw goats being herded down the main streets at night for slaughter as they can't be herded during the busy daytime. "
Calcutta is in eastern India on the Bay of Bengal and was the original capital of the British Raj until it was moved to New Delhi in 1910. It's population is 16 million at night and 25 million during the day- due to migrant workers and others who live in suburbs.
Labels: Bhutan
posted by DT at 10:34 AM
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