Arrival In Kolkata and The ITC Sonar Hotel

Kolkata has a bit run down of an airport, but that is probably appropriate since the people are so poor. Fortunately I met up with Nicole (another WaterMark volunteer) as we were going through customs. She waited patiently for close to an hour while the clerk at Vodaphone (the SIM card manufacturer) checked out my papers and I mean all of them. He made me sign all the copies in multiple places on each page and in one case I had to draw a line connecting my signature and my photograph. Vodaphone now knows everything about me!

Nicole and I shared a cab ride that I will not soon forget. The pedestrians, motorcycles, cars and buses all weave in and out with no regard to lines. In fact one inch of clearance is regarded as an opportunity to zoom ahead of the neighboring vehicles. We saw lots of people who looked like they had little. It was odd that there was a lot of green space between developed areas and Kolkata has a sprawl that seems to rival Los Angeles.

The speed bumps are repeated immediately 10 times in a row on the road we were using so the car jumped up and down in a comedic way. It took close to an hour to reach Science City and the hotel. When we entered the hotel (which checked the cab thoroughly for bombs before letting it enter) we entered the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum. ITC Sonar is one of the nicest Hotels I have ever seen and there are people constantly wanting to help with everything, perhaps motivated by the idea of getting a nice tip. A couple of times one person was already helping me and another jumped in front of them to intercept me. I am not sure that five star hotels are really my style ---but there is no question that the five star restaurants that are in them are exactly where I want to eat.

As my friends are aware I am a big fan of Indian food. But this in Indian food on steriods. The dishes and flavors are much more sophisticatedly delicious than anything I have tasted in Maryland or DC. The food at Dum Pukht tonight was outstanding and I ordered a vegetarian entree (with a lamb based soup). Yum. I wish you could all be here to share the deliciousness!