Here I am, at the end of this short stay in the land of Bollywood. Despite the limited time and the few drawbacks of the trip, India left a lasting impression on me. A mixture of exhaustion and fascination, which makes me want to return to see more, despite its sometimes trying side.

And to close this parenthesis, after several weeks of wandering started in Sri Lanka, we return to our starting point in India: Calcutta.

Join our hotel in Kolkata

I had opted for a slightly more "chic" hotel, just to get a good night's sleep before the return, which didn't look easy. We took a taxi from Howrah station via the official service available at a counter in the middle of the alley in front of the station.

No hassle, this time the taxi driver knows the route to Casa Fortuna. In addition to its comfort, I had chosen it for its proximity to the Victoria Memorial Hall which was our main visit that day, while also remaining close to the neighborhood when we arrived where we had to, as promised, return to the market to do some shopping.

The hotel was a good choice. The insulation is pretty good despite the fact that it faces an elevated road, and despite the elevator breakdown to be deplored, but as we were only on the 2nd floor and they will take care of bringing our bags up, no complaints to make from that point of view (and the guys were actively on it repairing it).

Click here to book Casa Fortuna

The Victoria Memorial, the emblem of Calcutta

Anyway, once ready, we headed to the Victoria Memorial Hall, located a little over 1 km from the hotel. Passing a restaurant that we had spotted in the guide, we decided to eat there.

Halkaram restaurant is a kind of Indian fast food. The prices are reasonable, the food too. Located at the corner of Jawaharlal Nehru Rd and the street of our hotel (on AJC Bose Rd, opposite the Rabindra Sadan metro station) we were very close to the Victoria Memorial, we said to ourselves that we would eat there on the way back as well since it is on the road.

Clad entirely in marble, the building was designed by architect William Emmerson, who was inspired by several styles. The Memorial is therefore a mixture of British influences, but also Venetian, Egyptian, Mongolian, Deccani (central India) and even Islamic elements. It was Lord Curzon, then Governor-General of India (who also held the title of Viceroy), who initiated it in 1905, 4 years after the death of Queen Victoria.

The financing was taken care of by the states with 20% coming from donations from princes and other wealthy individuals of the British Empire in India. The construction took 16 years since it was completed in 1921.

Today, The Victoria Memorial has retained its original function, it is a royal museum and the gardens are available to the public during the opening hours. A large number of people come every day to visit the place and stroll in the gardens (especially young lovers).

The visit over, we went out on the east side and passed not far from the Saint-Paul Cathedral then in front of the Planetarium before taking the metro at the Maidan station, some 650 m further north, towards Esplanade, 2 stations further. Go without worries, this will not be the case on the way back…

Back to Hogg Street Market

As planned, we reached the Hogg Street market and went straight to the shop as promised on the way there. They were obviously very happy to see us! Once our purchases were made (which was never enough for them as we had the impression that we would have to completely ransack the shop to satisfy them) we could leave for our hotel.

The nightmare of the crowded metro in Kolkata

And there, the return was completely different. If at the time of going up, it was already quite full, it was not worse than elsewhere. But arrived at the next station, it became very compact and I began to wonder how we were going to be able to get out 2 stations further.

The metro in Kolkata will remain my worst memory of India

And indeed, we arrive at the Maidan station where we have to get off, there are a lot of people on the platforms, and if in Thailand, I am used to seeing people queuing, letting passengers who are getting off pass before getting on, here, it is a real bestial behavior that I was able to witness.

Without giving any passengers time to get off, the herd pushes straight into the carriage, some yell because they also want to get out. As a matter of principle, I didn't want to let them do it.

I then start to reach out to the door of the carriage before the train driver closes it (because he doesn't care if people have been able to get off or not) and I force it. I first put one leg out, I'm practically in a splits, with one arm and one leg out, while taking Jitima's hand to pull her towards me.

We finally managed to get out, the door closed just after, so some of us couldn't get out. Shocked by this behavior, this little metro ride will probably remain my worst memory of our entire stay in India.

End of stay, stomach KO from abandonment…

Before returning to Casa Fortuna, we stopped to eat at Halkaram. It was a bad move for us… At least for me. Jitima won’t have anything, but for my part, I’ll start to feel bad shortly before going to bed. We’re getting to the end of our stay and bam, indigestion, one! I get up in the middle of the night and throw up everything I can…

I think to myself how silly it is to fall ill on the last day after the last meal... Especially since it had "proven itself" that very afternoon...

But hey... fortunately it passes quite quickly and if the night was short and the next day a little painful, I quickly forgot the incident when I returned home to Bangkok and said to myself once again "Incredible India", and we want more!

With all this what do you think of India, have you already visited? What are your opinions, desires? I am interested in your opinions!