Bishnpur - town of bicycles!

After surviving my indian train experience it was a great relief to reach this peaceful little town northwest of Kolkata. And the best thing is bicycles rule in this place! Pretty much everyone is out on their bike (check out the bicycle school bus pic, kinda cruel looking but practical). Instead of blaring horns (the indian equivalent of indicators) I was greeted with the sound of ringing bells. My first cycle rickshaw ride was a bit nervy at first but I relaxed as the dude easily negotiated the bumpy roads and other traffic to take me to the tourist lodge.

Bishnpur is also home to some great 16th centurary terracotta temples and forts. Being the tourist I did the touristy thing and jumped aborad my trusty cycle rickshaw to do the temple tour. It turned out to be a really chilled out afternoon and the temples were fascinating.

Bisnpur is also home to Ujjad and his 'Bake Club' shop. I meet these guys while doing the temple circuit. I spent a bit of time hanging out with Ujjad and his friends at the 'Bake Club' eating cakes and talking about what else but cricket. Indians worship their cricket. The one day test with Australia and South Africa just happened to be on so this became the topic of many a converstation. Must say just from their enthusiasim I'm keen to watch more cricket!

They also took me on a bit of tour of the town and i got to ride one of their bikes - the 'hero'. These bikes, are heavy but solid and are the best cruising wheels. They've got big flared handle bars, single speed and springy seats! I'm going to try and bring one back to Aus. They rock.

Bishnpur was a great diversion of the beaten path and totally worth it.