A sort of homecoming.
Originally posted April 10, 2003
My dad is from Calcutta. My mum, Allahabad. Aside from knowing that these are cities somewhere in the northern half of India, I know nothing of these places. My dad speaks Hindi, but I've never heard him do so, save for a couple of times ordering samosas or something from an Indian shop. I've heard him tell me stories about this place and how he knows it like the back of his hand. I don't doubt it for a second, but I can't imagine how anyone could have solid grasp of this place.
We've been here for almost 24 hours and here are my initial impressions.
First off, I'm glad we came through Bangkok. Bangkok has served as a buffer in a number of ways. Bangkok is dirty and hectic compared to Toronto. We've already seen rats and fist sized cockroaches. I've seen beggars with infants and people living in squalor. When we left Bangkok it was 37 degrees celcius. The temperature in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) can get as high as 46 degrees at this time of year. Today is a cool 35.
We also got ripped off a couple of times in Bangkok. We fell for the local scams and typical tourist traps, but India ain't no Thailand. There are 1.01 billion people in India. That's a fifth of the planet. And most of them are poor. That means we should expect scams that would take Thailand itself for a ride. So we have to be on our toes. Sadly that means that we have to be on full defensive here. It's not a nice feeling, being suspect of everyone you see, but we did just get here, and we have been warned to be careful, and I'm sure in time we'll relax and become comfortable here in India, minutes before we get robbed.
Tomorrow's blog: Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)
Originally posted April 10, 2003
My dad is from Calcutta. My mum, Allahabad. Aside from knowing that these are cities somewhere in the northern half of India, I know nothing of these places. My dad speaks Hindi, but I've never heard him do so, save for a couple of times ordering samosas or something from an Indian shop. I've heard him tell me stories about this place and how he knows it like the back of his hand. I don't doubt it for a second, but I can't imagine how anyone could have solid grasp of this place.
We've been here for almost 24 hours and here are my initial impressions.
First off, I'm glad we came through Bangkok. Bangkok has served as a buffer in a number of ways. Bangkok is dirty and hectic compared to Toronto. We've already seen rats and fist sized cockroaches. I've seen beggars with infants and people living in squalor. When we left Bangkok it was 37 degrees celcius. The temperature in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) can get as high as 46 degrees at this time of year. Today is a cool 35.
We also got ripped off a couple of times in Bangkok. We fell for the local scams and typical tourist traps, but India ain't no Thailand. There are 1.01 billion people in India. That's a fifth of the planet. And most of them are poor. That means we should expect scams that would take Thailand itself for a ride. So we have to be on our toes. Sadly that means that we have to be on full defensive here. It's not a nice feeling, being suspect of everyone you see, but we did just get here, and we have been warned to be careful, and I'm sure in time we'll relax and become comfortable here in India, minutes before we get robbed.
Tomorrow's blog: Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)
posted by warren | 11:34 AM
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