Kolkata Day two

Picture 1 - Anna and Sarah on a handpulled rickshaw.

Picture 2 - Linda and Sarah ride the metro

Picture 3 - Kalighat Temple

Picture 4 - Durja Puja celebrations
The day began with my breakfast at my favourite Kolkata travellers hang out where omlettes, sandwiches, museli and chai are enjoyed at amazingly low prices. It only got better as Anna and I successfully secured two ac rooms at the pleasant Astoria hotel where the rooms were clean and the staff were smiling. We moved all our things after our breakfast feast and set out to explore the streets of Kolkata. Our first trip was to the famous Kalighat Temple where the goddess Kali is meant to have emerged from the water. We received Hindu blessings from a Brahman priest and of course were kindly asked to give a donation to the temple.
We wandered the streets around the temple enjoying the festivities of Durja Puja. The air was electric with a holiday atmosphere which was certainly contagious. Our wanderings lead us to a street Mendi/Hena artist and we all walked away with beautifully painted hands. A ride on the Kolkata metro was the next thing on the list, but we soon discovered that it did not open till the afternoon and so once again hopped in the fantastic yellow old colonial style taxis and made our way to the Forum shopping mall. Yes, we went to a mall; but not just any mall - an Indian mall. The experience was interesting and fun. We wandered from shop to shop with the masses of Indian middle class shoppers. We bought sweets and Patchi choclates to indulge in and looked at all the beautiful leather bags and stylish dresses. The trip ended with a trip to the food court where the choice of different Indian foods was amazing. The only sign of 'Western' food was a small Pizza Hut counter.
A ride on the metro took us to Park Street and a large latte was in order. The bookshops were closing so they were postponed till the following day. We made our way back to the hotel with a stop for a beer at the Fairlawn hotel which has the most wonderful garden.
Following a shower and some beautifivation procedures we hopped on two hand pulled rickshaws to go to an Indian barbeque restaurant for dinner. The food was great and the Indian red wine was interesting. A few more drinks were enjoyed in a low ceiled upstairs bar before we made our way to the Tantra night club - apparently the place to be in Kolkata. The music was interesting and same can be said about the crowd. One man told me not to speak to anyone there, that they were all bad and another made the lethal mistake of touching Linda's bum - he paid dearly and I imagine is still nursing his wounds :-) 1.30am came around and energy levels dropped so we called it a night.