Transit in Kolkata - West Bengal

Hello,

So the journey continued. I took a rickshaw to the train station in Bhubaneswar, where I boarded the 'Doronto Express' once again in the sleeper class. With a delay of about 2 hours, I finally arrived at the huge 'Howrah Station'. Fortunately, I had been there before and had a good overview of the place.

Here, I made the decision to leave my large backpack at the station for the night. Originally, my plan was to take the ferry across the 'Hooghly' River to save time. However, it turned out that the ferry service was already closed for the evening. So, I had three other options. The first option was to take one of those nostalgic taxis. But considering the traffic, I dismissed that idea. Then, I saw a few buses, but the same problem applied – they were so crowded that people were hanging on to each other from the outside. I decided on option four - to walk. But it was quite a challenge.

The problem was that I had to cross the huge 'Howrah Bridge'. And there, I was faced with a stream of millions, no, billions of people coming towards me. I tried to be gentle and cautious, but forget it. Gentleness is punished with Indian crowd arrogance. At some point, I raised my arms as a barrier and started hissing softly (it works wonders), and just ran through. There was endless pushing and shoving. It went on for three kilometers and lasted for about 30 minutes. It stopped being fun and almost turned aggressive.

However, I finally reached the metro station. Exhausted, I took the metro for the next three stations to the hostel on Park Street.

The next day, I took it easy. I met two Germans and, with their company, I visited the 'Marble Palace', which I missed during my last visit. Afterward, we strolled through the bustling market streets of Old Kolkata.

In the evening, after eating a 'Chicken Roll' together and having a beer, we said goodbye. The two had to go to the airport (returning home), and I leisurely walked back to the 'Howrah Station', this time taking the ferry. From there, I boarded the overnight train.