So on from the flight to Calcutta, and after that the trip by train to the small town of Chaibasa, and the creatures that I had to share my bedroom with.
This is part 2 of the trip to India and it will start from where part 1 left off. Calcutta.
Calcutta Airport
We arrived in Calcutta, around 3 hours before the train was due to leave, which meant that we had roughly 2 hours to waste before we had to get the taxi for the train. So it was basically a case for reading before the taxi ride.
Thrill Ride
A quite day on the streets of Calcutta!Forget bungee jumping, parachute jumping, rock climbing, and abseiling 100ft cliffs. If you truly want a thrill ride where your heart is in your mouth 99% of the time, then get in a taxi and take a ride from the airport to the railway station. I guarantee that you will experience the most frightening, nail biting ride of your life. It will last just 45 minutes, but will seem to last a lifetime. No seatbelts. Windows down cause there is no handle to wind them up, 80% of the other drivers driving with no lights on, and you will be cacking yourself every 10 seconds.
If you see a car with no dents in, it is either brand new, or has never been out of the garage. But, it is not only your taxi that gives the thrills, it's the other taxis, cars, taxi bikes, normal bikes, pedestrians, carts, dogs, cows, and all other manner of truck that will have you gasping.
Train rides and Migraines
I had now been going since 5pm Saturday, and it was now 7:25 Sunday UK time. So I was looking forward to at least a few hours kip on during the 51/2 hour train journey to the next part of the trip. Unfortunately, tiredness and a migraine had something to say about that, after taking a couple of tablets, I was just drifting off, or must have drifted off, when... Keyur was shaking me awake, informing me it was our stop. Oh Bugger! 04:30 in the morning, and I had to get up and off the train.
I dragged myself out of the pit, and then got my things together, and got off the train to the car that was waiting, surprisingly, it was a guy that met us the last time I made the trip. At around 6am, I got to the guesthouse and at 06:30 I was dead to the world, and even an earthquake measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale wouldn't have woken me.
The job, when I went in to work at 2:30 pm was finished in 1/2 a hour. THIRTY SEVEN hours of travel for a half hour job...Bloody Marvelous!
A Glimpse of the Room
I did India a bit of a disservice in the past, but it is the getting there that was the problem, but the room I was staying was pretty comfortable and roomy, it was also devoid of mosquito's, the reason why it was devoid of mossies was this
But I didn't just have one of these lovely little lizards in the room, I had THREE!
One other thing I should mention about the en-suite, which I soon discovered was the norm throughout India, and that was the shower location. See if you can see it in the picture below.
The Journey Home
Not a lot happened on the way back, apart from the fact that the plane leaving Delhi to the UK left 4 hours late! It may have got back to Heathrow 3 hours late, and I got home just after midnight, but I still ad the memory fresh in my mind of a certain railway station, and a certain goat who thought benches were just right for them.
Until the next time
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