Chapter 35 - Kolkata, India

That's right, it's not spelled "Calcutta" anymore. I think that Kolkatans are tired of the reputation of Calcutta as a third world leper colony, so now it's Kolkata, and don't you forget it. The city sits on the Hooghly River, and this is the famous Hooghly bridge. (wow...yawn) Ok, I gotta be straight, I'm not in the mood to be a tourguide. This city is like a sauna. All I've done is sweat; check the internet; sweat; have some food; and then sweat some more. Do you know its actually possible to sweat while in the shower? Here are the pictures.

This picture is taken from outside my room window. The security wall has been fortified with barbed wire and broken shards of glass. So very reassuring.

This is the main budget tourist strip called Sudder Street.

No question, the biggest goat I've ever seen in my life.

Kolkata is one of the last places in India that you can take an authentic human-powered rickshaw. Some of these guys are so old they could be my grandpa.

At this point, an insensitive jerk (not me) would make some cruel joke about how this guy "is really using his head" or something like that. I find that just terrible. For shame!
Street people's homes.
Street kids are everywhere. I got mugged by a pack of six of them. It was awful, they surrounded me, chanting "money money money" and blocking my escape. I paid them off like 40 cents, and they still wanted more! The bloodsuckers! So I grabbed the smallest one by the legs and swung him around like sack of potatoes, knocking the rest of them away. I barely escaped with my life. Sure they look all cute when they're alone, but beware when they run in packs!

When Bird Flu mutates into a human pathogen, it will happen somewhere very much like this.


The walk toward the Victoria monument is similar to the Mall in Washington D.C. (with goats)

India museum. About as exciting as the last 57 museums I've seen.

Here we go, some nice sunset shots...

...and I'm out.

Next stop, Darjeeling in the north.

Lets hope some cooler weather can cheer me up.

-Thanks for Reading-