Kolkata

After the saga of my journey I arrived in Kolkata...

So far (1 1/2 days) I really love the place. It has the bustle of India, including amazing markets but still feels chilled out.

After catching up on my sleep on arrival I went out and about to explore the Kolkata nightlife. It seams to consist of hotel bars, decent but expensive and local bars, full of blokes listening to all girl groups singing live Bengali music! Yes it is as seedy as it sounds....

1st full day I visited the Indian Museum, a crumbling museum with natural history, geology and archaeological exhibits. I was a bit disturbed in the geological gallery to discover a cabinet displaying asbestos... It's fine in it's raw form I though. Next cabinet, asbestos in its processed dust form.... Nice

Next up was the Victoria Memorial a stunning colonial building, the last built in the old Calcutta before the Raj capital moved to New Delhi. It also contained a fascinating museum detailing Calcutta/Kolkata's development over the last 300 years. It also had a really interesting gallery of late 18th early 19th century oil paintings, painted by British artist's who arrived in India with the East India Company. It was the most interesting snapshot of pre colonial India I've seen so far.

Kolkata is a strange mixture of the glory of colonial India and the squaller of modern India. For me though it demonstrated the damage the empire building has caused and continues to cause in this part of the world. Yes I mean you, the USA!!

2nd full day, I've had a wander around the former colonial centre of Kolkata, including St Johns Church built in the 18th century

I've also discovered there is a race meeting at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club on new years day. Hopefully it will make up for missing Cheltenham next year...