Today we commence the final leg of our Northern India section, and it starts early, with a packed breakfast from the hotel, and a thirty minute drive to Varanasi airport. By 07:00 we’re in the checkin queue and debating baggage allowances. Internal flights in India only get 15kg, which is not commensurate with our four week tour across the sub-continent with differing climates let alone adding a week of cold wet London to the mix. As always, Narendra sorts it out.
Driving 680km would be horrendous on Indian roads, let alone 13 hours, so a one hour flight is far preferable. This means we say goodbye to Ravindra who now has to drive 820km back home to Delhi, having driven us 1700km over the last 11 days.
Landing in Kolkata we get off the plane into a furnace – it’s currently 40° but the humidity makes it feel like 45.
We are whisked to the Taj Bengal (our welcome drink is curry water!) where according to our tour schedule we need the remainder of the day to recover. So after a very nice lunch we get our Spanish done and then head out on our own. Next door is the former Viceroy’s home which is now the Indian National Library. We are not allowed to visit, but we sweet-talk the guard into letting us walk around the grounds.
Next we head north aiming for the Maidan, we pass the Royal Calcutta Turf Club but it’s not much fun photographing a race course. The Maidan is a huge open area in the centre of town which includes the largest monument to a monarch in the world.
The Victoria Monument was built over fifteen years from 1906 and is dedicated to Queen Victoria memory. Now it’s a museum but we resist the temptation to visit, preferring to explore more of the area.
We take the long way around a lake and visit St Paul’s Cathedral, also in the Maidan, which is looking rather brilliant after a recent lick of paint. No inside photos, but it’s quite light and airy, with subtle stained windows and white walls. We note with some sadness that segregation (of men and women) remains alive in the Anglican Church.
Walking back home we enjoy Cornettos, only 45p here. We pass many of the old Morris taxis, more about these tomorrow. We pass a group of people painting the street, we now know this is for the Bengali New Year tomorrow. We also pass the cultural centre and pop in, again easily persuading the staff to let us see the auditorium but it’s dark, although someone is messing with a drum machine, there’s no photo.
Finally, our route home passes an army base but we don’t push our luck on this occasion! Instead we go for a swim in the lovely pool, then sit and read/write until it’s time to shower and dress for dinner.
