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Other entries in Kolkata

The weekend

Ali, Megan, Yimo, Emma, Julia and I all went into Kolkata for the weekend on Friday. Julia went off to her hotel and the rest of us went back to the Capital guest house on Chowringhee Lane where we had stayed the weekend before. We met up with Aoife, who was still there, and Vedrana. Unfortunately they had no more rooms there, so  the rest of us went to the Salvation Army hostel on Sudder Street.

Wandering round Kolkata is an experience as you get accosted by people wherever you go. I went for a bit of a wander on my way to the cinema where I was to meet Megan, Ali and Yimo to watch War of the Worlds. By the time I got there I had been asked about a million times for money by various people and even been thumped on the leg by some street kids 'cause I hadn't given them any. So I was feeling like a walking cash machine. I went into Barista to get an apple juice (it's a coffee shop kind of like Starbucks only smaller scale) and got talking to the guy behind the counter. I answered the usual questions: name, country, shoe size (just kidding!) then we got talking about how good their chocolate cake is (extremely)! Just as I went to leave, the guy said to me... 'You have a really beautiful smile!' It's funny how you can go from feeling kind of down to being on a high instantly! 

On Saturday, Vedrana and Aoife left for Delhi on the train. Ali, Yimo and I decided to book tickets to go to Agra for a weekend (a 4 day one). It's going to be an extreme roadtrip (52 hour round train journey) but it will be exciting to see Taj Mahal. Yimo, Emma and I then went to the Indian Museum. It was OK but most exhibits weren't very specific to India. Emma and I then went to visit the Kali Temple (Kalighat). I was taken round by a Brahmin who showed me various things of significance, and explained them. There is a place where people who are suffering will sacrifice a goat (which represents evil) to Kali. The meat is then sold at the temple to raise money to buy more food. The temple apparently feeds 2000 poor people twice a day! There is also a tree with 3 stones under it representing creation, destruction and preservation. Women who are having trouble conceiving apparently decorate the tree with flowers and hang decorated stones from the branches. Then when they become pregnant they bring the baby back to worship and be blessed. We couldn't actually go inside the temple as it was closed for cleaning but it was still really interesting.

I read the new Harry Potter book back at the hotel (well, it was cheap here!) and just crashed. It felt like I had done so much but it's just the heat .

Unfortunately Ali was feeling unwell so Emma and I came back with her this morning to Madhyamgram. It's strange how quickly it becomes home!

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