Kolkata (Calcutta)

Hi! I'm really excited because for the first time ever, I was able to upload a video onto the blog. It's on the bottom. Hopefully it works.
Well, I'm in Calcutta now. It's pretty hot here but not humid, so i am happy. (I can take heat, just not the sweaty, sticky feeling of humidity.) I have done very little here in the last three days. The first night, I arrived by plane from Chennai. Took a taxi into town- there was a lot of traffic and I could feel the stress emanating off my poor taxi driver.
The second day was Holi- a big festival where people run around throwing paint at each other. Everything was closed, and I woke up at 9am to loud drums in the street. I went out there and there were pink, purple, and blue people everywhere. I managed to stay out of the paint throwing (pretty boring of me but I only have one pair of pants) but did get to watch. Looked like fun. The next day I saw people stained different colors on their faces, necks, arms, hands, legs and feet. Today is the 3rd day and some people still look faintly orange, like oompa-loompas.

Yesterday I walked around and went to the Victoria Memorial museum, a big building built by the British (?-don't quote me on that). There was a lot of interesting information in there about the history of Calcutta and about when the British came and how things changed.

Tonight at 10pm I take a night train to New Jaipalguri. From there I take another train to Darjeeling. I'm really looking forward to Darjeeling because I've heard it's beautiful and it's actually going to be cold there! I can't wait to use my hoody again. After Darjeeling I head into Nepal.
Tough, mean old alley cat outside my hotel window. Apparently it's their favorite place to hang out at night, because they like to fight under my window every night at 11:30pm onwards.

See that big lump? That's my jacket and some other stuff I mailed home yesterday! Here you have to wrap parcels in white cotton or else they won't send it. Hopefully it gets there! there's no box or anything...
The Victoria Memorial Museum. It's made from the same marble as the Taj Mahal.


This is just pretty. don'tcha think?



And here is the first video on the blog ever... It's just the view from my taxi window as I came into downtown Calcutta. Hope you like it.