Calcutta

OK, so it isn't called "Calcutta" anymore (Kolkata is what it goes by now).

But we were here. We were in this city with the famous name.

Kerala had been lots of fun. It is an amazing place with beautiful things to see. I was actually quite sad to leave it. But leave it we did. We made our way back across the sea by ferry to Ernakulam and hopped on our overnight train to return to Chennai.

In Chennai, we were greeted by the familiar face of Manu who once again made sure we were well looked after.

Our time in Chennai seemed to disappear quickly and soon, Lian, Sudi and I were on our flight to Kolkata.

Our entry into the city would be a bit dramatic.

Taxi drivers in India have a habit of being a bit reckless. But we found a driver who put the others to shame in terms of insanity. For about an hour, he decided that he would take us on a rollercoaster ride through the streets of Kolkata. He was nearly involved in two crashes (actual near misses as opposed to the usual dangerous driving you see in India) and by the time we got out of the car, our hearts were in our throats.

After he drove off, we discovered he had dropped us off in the wrong place....

Thankfully, another taxi ride (with a better driver) later and a with a little help from Sunny, we found ourselves in the right place.

Kolkata is a crazy city. It is intense and busy like Chennai, but it has a completely different feel. The climate (being winter) was far cooler up North and there was a beauty to the streets created by the colonial architecture and the lights.

We were here for Sunny's wedding though. After all, this was the key reason for the entire trip.

As it was the night before the wedding, Sunny looked excited. He insisted on taking us all out for a fantastic Bengali dinner though.
And what better way to finish off a meal than with some delicious paan.
Tasty, tasty paan.....