Kolkata - City of Joy ##@@@?

Yes I actually saw that slightly over optimistic statement on a power pole the other day...Maybe that's Indian sense of humor as I can't say i've seen a lot of people skipping and singing through the streets. What i have seen is extreme poverty in the middle of extreme wealth. It's really confronting at times. Anyway on a more positive note the locals do seem to love aussies (and more importantly our cricket team)..Another slogan i love is ''A clean city has clean walls" - even if the footpaths at times resemble a off track bushwalk with all the craters ready to swallow ignorant foreigners up and uneven surfaces. Then their is the clouds of affixiating black smoke from the vintage buses and trucks not to mention the open air urinals but hey at least the walls are clean!

So yeah have already been king hit with my first case of 'Dehli Belly'...Think it was some dodgy chicken. Lesson learnt and pleased to say after spending a whole day pretty much in bed feeling quite pathetic have bounced back with renewed enthusiasm to once again tackle this parallel universe that is India. My savior - Coldial Silver liquid and has been around for ages and is available in health food shops - awesome stuff!

Tonight I'm catching the overnight sleeper to Murshidabad which is a 18th century northern town on the banks of the Bhagriathi river. This used to be the main trading port before Kolkata was established..Sounds like a really fascinating place and my room has water views for the lavish amount of $10. Have been paying half that for my room in Kolkata which even though it is in one of the most crowded parts of town has views of a tree! Well it may not sound like much but I was impressed.

A quick word on the Varanasi bombs that killed 14. Yeah scary stuff as is only a couple of hundred ks from here and is on my itinerary. By all reports life is going on and those responsible are being caught. I guess we just have to live with this stuff now and if your time is up its up...

Will hope to upload some photos soon...Thanks for reading..

Namaste!