Namaste.
My bucket-list trip to India has been a long time in the making.
As mentioned previously, I have wanted to visit ever since taking two college courses about India. Back in 2018 my good friend and travel buddy Sandy and I booked this trip through Overseas Adventure Travel, a company that specializes in small group travel, emphasizing learning and discovery and cultural connection.
Enter Covid-19, and after a few reschedules, here we are finally going six years later.
Since booking my flights, they have changed 8 times…Until I sat on the plane, I wasn’t entirely sure they wouldn’t change again. A bomb scare at my departing airport and a (false) fire alarm at the hotel ratcheted up the uncertainty.
But all worked out beautifully, and I arrived in Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta until 2001 when the name was changed to be closer to the city’s Bengali pronunciation.)
Turns out this was an auspicious day to arrive as the festival of Vishwakarma Puja, honoring Lord Vishwakarma. This was first described to me as a festival for all things metal; later more specifically as an honoring by artisans, engineers, and workers.
We had a good walk around admiring the decorated vehicles and shrines.
We opted for a massage at the hotel spa, and tried an Ayurvedic treatment - an Abhyanga massage, designed to “help detoxify the body, reduce stress, and improve circulation.”
This was lovely after a long few days of travel. The amount of oil used is significantly more than a traditional western massage, including in your hair. We were instructed to not wash off the oil for at least 30 minutes. After cinnamon tea we returned to our rooms to shower and change for dinner.
As I stepped in the room, my phone pinged to let me know the street food tour I thought I had booked for the next evening was starting in 10 minutes….whoops! Fortunately the meeting place was only about a 10 minute walk from the hotel and our guide graciously agreed to wait for us. The oil was going to be soaking for longer than 30 minutes…
So no shower, full of oil, and off through festival crowds to find our tour we went! We got a little lost and I was envisioning a group of people irritated at the two idiots holding them up. Turns out there was just one other guest, a young Canadian man who was happy to have a beer while waiting.
We had an amazing evening.
I have done done culinary tours with a few samplings, but this tour was a full four hours of over a dozen stops and full portions. We tried everything from mango lassi, mutton curry, devil (like a Scotch egg), puchkas, prawn batter cutlet, sherbet (not the ice cream, a palate-cleansing drink) and sweets including my new favorite, ice cream sandesh (which is also not ice cream but a frozen steamed cottage cheese).
But more than the culinary experience, our guide Avik crafted the tour so we rode various forms of Kolkata transportation - including the metro (oldest in India), a rickshaw, and a taxi (which are modern made but look like they are from the 1950s).
But more than this, we also learned about the history of the city, as well as Avik’s personal journey from a marketing career to one providing a culinary and cultural tour.
The next day, we decided to take it easy after our big first day and to explore the Indian Museum. The museum itself is 210 years old and holds incredible fossil and natural history exhibits. We were the only foreigners visiting, and we had a few people ask to take our photos - we were clearly something unusual.
We were suspecting that Kolkata doesn’t get many tourists. Avik and I messaged about this, and, yes, Kolkata is not on the usual tourist destination list. It is a jumping off place for other spots in India, Bhutan and Nepal or for inexpensive flights to Thailand.
What a contrast to other destinations struggling with “overtourism” - the Venice’s, Santorini’s, Barcelona’s and Amsterdam’s. How nice to feel like a welcome guest rather than nuisance to the residents.
Our final day in Kolkata took in the flower market, the artisan area where festival statues are made, St. Theresa’s tomb and museum, and the Victoria memorial. The memorial is one of the guide book must-see’s, but was honestly the least interesting. It’s a big building. It’s not connecting with people and experiences.
Before coming to Kolkata, my only knowledge of the city was that its name is the title of a 1970s broadway musical review called Oh! Calcutta! The musical actually has nothing to do with the city but is named after a painting by French artist, Clovis Trouille.
I am curious to see the feel of other Indian cities where tourism is prevalent. I suspect there was something special about these few days in Kolkata.
I don’t have the sense that tourism in Kolkata will pick up exponentially any time soon. I have been trying to think about my wishes for Avik and the city. I hope that there are more visitors to this city who can appreciate what is has to offer, but that it doesn’t reach the craziness of the mega destinations.
If you come to Kolkata, please do the Bengali Nights tour. You can book directly though A Chef’s Tour website, or Get Your Guide, Trip Advisor or Viator.
Wellness Round Up
This has been a long post, so I will keep this short. As can be expected, sleep has been disrupted…hydration is a must in the heat…lots of walking for movement…lots of yummy foods that I have no idea the calorie count but as cuisine is very vegetable focused I hope I am doing ok.
That’s it for now. Next post I will take you to Bhutan. Please note I am writing these from my phone, so I apologize for any funky formatting.
Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!
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