East India 1

Calcutta is the most populated city of India and hectic is a bit of an understatement. People swarm in from the outlying areas to make a living during the day and the city swells in size. You can still get a ride on a hand driven rickshaw, catch a bus or take a taxi. Calcutta also has electric trams that will get you around the city. The abject poverty is harrowing and confrontational for the affluent westerner. There are street kids that live from hand to mouth who have no home or parents. Some charities look after some of them but the majority of the kids on the streets are left to fend for themselves.

Calcutta was developed by the British into a major administrative center. The race track is still enjoyed by the native indians to this day. At night the city comes alive with street stalls and there are many cheap hotels for the adventurous backpacker. They are not terribly modern but some can be comfortable for about four dollars a night. Make sure you get a fan for your room. Calcutta got its name from the goddess Kali who is popular in the city. Go and see the Kali temples for a rich cultural experience. Calcutta is the intellectual center of India and you can get any book that you want in Calcutta. Go for a coffee with the intelligentsia at the coffee shop and discuss all the important topics.

There is a huge pilgrimage to Sagar Island that is close to the ocean near the Bay of Bengal where the Ganges delta is. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims head to Sagar Island to bathe at sunrise. To bathe at sunrise will heal the soul. Puja or prayer with fire is supposed to cleanse the spirit. The devotees pass their hands over the sacred fire. Sadhus congregate and bless the pilgrims who flock to the area.

The Andaman Islands are off the coast of Ceylon way out in the India Ocean in the Bay of Bengal. The flight takes about two hours or you can catch a ferry from Madras for example. Port Blair was a British penal colony and now is a bustling tourist town inhabited by the folk from the Tamil Nadu areas of mainland India. The islands are home to indigenous tribes people who are not allowed contact with any foreign people. They are supposed to have come from Africa and there are only about a hundred left. Unless the no access policy is enforced the native people may become extinct.

Havelock Island is one of the most untouched islands on the planet. You need a special permit to even go there. If you do not have one , you will get kicked off. Beach Number Seven is a resort that costs about five dollars a day. The facilities are basic but you get a thatched roof cottage all to yourself. Someone said that this was the best beach in India. The Andaman islands have a wide variety of scuba diving sites but make sure you go with an experienced dive company. The sea is crystal clear and filled with fish of all descriptions. Logging is a big industry on the Andaman Islands where the hard wood logs are carried to the ocean by elephants. If you are lucky you may get to go for a swim with an elephant in the sea.

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