Kolkata Day three

Picture 1 - Linda sets the challenge of a hnadricksha race

Picture 2 - Bus journey back to Dhaka

Picture 3 - Crossing from India to Bangladesh on a ricshaw

Picture 4 - Mother Thersa's grave

Morning came too soon on Saturday, and we lost Sofia as she made her way back to her sweetheart in Dhaka on the morning bus. The rest of us enjoyed yet another wonderful breakfast at the Blue Sky cafe and then made our way to Mother Thersa's motherhouse. This is where she lived when she was alive and where her body now lies. As I stood over her tomb which was in a room specially designed to represent a shrine to the woman, I couldn't help but wonder if this is what she would have wanted. A wonderfully simple person who had dedicated her life to the poor now lay in a big room in a massive marble tomb. In the next room encased in glass cases were an assortment of items which Mother Theresa had used during her life. As we left, I reflected on the fact that I was glad that we had gone but rather appalled at the whole setup.
Bookshops were the next stop. The Oxford Bookshop on Park Street is on a par to the best bookshops in Europe with books in every corner and on every subject. I once again found myself walking away with yet more books and an even lighter purse. More coffee and the purchase of our lunch for the long trip back to Dhaka by bus. We sadly packed our bags at the hotel and loaded them onto the back of a rickshaw for the short walk to the bus station. The final photo in India was that of Linda with her new challenge to Dara - with the cycle rickshaws of Dhaka being too easy a challenge now.
The bus journey involved lots of food, chat and reading, all of this over the sound of the Hindi songs blasting out over the sound system. Border crossing time - one official painfully wrote all of our details into a large book while another asked Sarah how she felt about India deep down in the bottom of her heart! Four white girls speaking in Bangla proved to be the highlight of the year for the population on either side of the border, as well as the small area of no man's land which we passed through. Word spread quickly and as we made our way through each procedure we were greeted with smiles and lots of questions. Even on the rickshaw ride to the Dhaka bus shouts came from either side of us - 'they speak beautiful Bangla'. The wonderful time that we had during this hour helped dull the pain and frustration of the realisation that we weren't leaving Benapole any time soon. The battery of the bus had died and we had to wait for a replacement.
Three hours later the roar of the engine brought smiles to everyone's faces and we were off and five hours later we were back in Dhaka. With a grand total of 12 hours since we left Kolkata we were exhausted ang glad to be home, but we had had a wonderful time and won't change any of it for the world.