Your experience as a tourist

Hello dears,
I would like to contribute my experience of Kolkata. I recently visited the city to attend the marriage of a Bengali friend. I found the city quite friendly and the people quite talkative. I had never seen a Bengali marriage with all its rituals before and I had a great time. The marriage feast had the choicest dishes and I immensely liked the fish preparations. In short, I fell in love with the city.
Kolkata is one of the oldest cities of India and quite densely populated. It is also one of the cheapest cities in India and the cost of living in Kolkata is the lowest among all the other metros.
There are plenty of things to do here from the Ramakrishna Temple at Belur Math to the Kalighat Kali Temple, a ride on the Kolkata Metro to the Victoria Memorial to the Vidyasagar Setu to the Science city... and the grand old lady the Howrah Bridge.

 

Hi Sanjam
I am glad that you wrote about Kolkata. I too belong to the city and am settled in Delhi at present. Besides Kolkata there are many other popular tourist destinations in Bengal like Darjeeling. Did you know that Bengal has the largest number of Shakti peeths in India?
I recently had the opportunity to take a 3n/4d boat trip at Sunderbans. The area has the world's largest mangrove forests. It is also the home of the Royal Bengal Tiger. It was a package deal. We started from Kolkata and the trip included a visit to a fisherman's cove, a crocodile project, a very old temple, a tiger spotting tower and a typical Sundarban village. There was evening entertainment and delicious meals whipped up by the chefs abroad the boat. Away from the cloistered confines of my Delhi apartment, it felt good to spend the night floating on the river Ganga and let the soft breeze kiss my skin.

 

I first had been to Kolkata with my family when I was in school, I still remember those days, our hotel was just across the Howrah bridge, the yummy food, the trams, an old and beautiful city.

My sister stays there and I sometimes visit now. It has its own charm.

Have you read that article on Kolkata by Vir Sanghvi ? Its a lovely piece.

 

Hi Freespirit
I havenot read the article. Can you send me a link?
-Bandana

 

I read many days back on a forum at my office. I found this now on the net.

KOLKATA by Vir Sanghvi (Oh! Calcutta) - ayushj's posterous

 

Hi Freespirit
Thanks for posting the link of the Vir Sanghvi article. It is BEAUTIFUL AND I AM MOVED...

 

Hi
I recently paid a visit to the holy city of Varanasi. It is also called Benares. It is one of the oldest cities of India. In many ways it has a charm all its own. I visited the famous Kashi Viswanath temple. It is one of the most famous Shiva temples of India. There was a big queue of course, with people from all over India. There was a narrow entrance .. but yes the darshan was worth all the trouble.
One of the famous Tv shots of Varanasi is the many umbrellas on the banks of the river Ganga. I too took a boatride on the river. In the evening I attended the arati. I remember my trip also for the beautiful benarasi sarees, the narrow streets and betel stains on the walls.