Impressions of Kolkata

We arrived in Kolkata late on the 11th of January, exhausted and bleary eyed from our long flight. We stifled yawns and calculated that it would be almost 4am back in Melbourne.

As we stumbled onto the bus, we were greeted with a namaste and the chance to practice our pronunciation of dhanyavaard - the Hindi word for thank you. In the bus on the way back to the hotel, I looked out the window at Kolkata in the dark and felt very excited for the trip to come.

We began our first day in Kolkata with a 6.30am guided tour. Although we were all horrified at the limited amount of sleep we would get, Kolkata was incredibly beautiful in the early morning light and there were many opportunities for Instagram worthy photos.

During the tour, our guide Manjit, bought us our first ever street chai. The small vendor had a queue formed around him as customers waited for their drink. The sweet, spicy chai was a huge hit among the group and we all loved sipping from the tiny terracotta cups, made for just a single use.

Kolkata in the morning was very different to the city we would see in the late afternoon. As the day progressed, the streets filled and I couldn't believe how busy everyone seemed. The people of Kolkata all appeared to be rushing around, each with their own task to complete.

The working day in Kolkata begins much later than back home and it feels like it takes a while before the city comes to life. However, once the city is in full flight it is crazy, beautiful, dirty, noisy and full of people. You can walk the streets and smell the most delicious aromas coming from street food vendors and then seconds later, be overwhelmed by the pungent smell of pollution.

Throughout our days in Kolkata, we visited temples, restaurants and markets. The first of many scarfs were bought and I managed to pick up some jewel encrusted bangles, which I love!!! We learnt a huge amount about Kolkata's complicated history and also visited the house of Rabindranath Tagore, the famous Indian poet awarded a Nobel prize in literature in 1913.

On the way back to the airport, we all agreed that Kolkata had exceeded our expectations and was a truly fascinating and unique city to visit.