Four years since my last visit, I returned to enjoy one of my most favourite cities in India.
I could think of no better way to start off the trip than a ride on Kolkata's classic trams. Kolkata is the only city in the whole of India that still has an operational tram system. It's not the most practical of public transports in this day and age, but it's a part of the local culture that makes Kolkata unique.
Another form of transport that is rarely found elsewhere in India is the pull rickshaws. As I wasn't having much luck finding a tram to jump on, I asked a rickshaw puller to take me to the tram depot.
I finally was able to board a tram and enjoy what is basically a living museum.
There is an actual tram museum at the Esplanade terminus called Smaranika, which I was excited to check out, but it turns out that there's nothing interesting to see there. The regular tram ride itself is a better experience.
I was in the Esplanade area, which I was familiar with from my last trip, staying at the Oberoi Grand hotel. I remembered the 'Maidan Bidhan Market' where loads of stalls are selling sporting goods, and decided to get myself a local team's jersey to add to my collection.
As West Bengal is one of the few states in India where football is very popular, I decided to get myself an East Bengal football team shirt, rather than a cricket jersey this time.
With my new orange and yellow jersey, I did a bit of exploring in the New Market area.
I'd already worked up a thirst, and was excited to see a coconut vendor, but there was hardly any water in the coconut he served me. Never mind, as I knew where to get a fresh pomegranate juice, and that went down a treat.
While enjoying my drink at the 'Lucky Juice' shop, the staff from the dosa station next door convinced me to try one of their special dosas.
Usually I'm eating dosas with just aloo masala (potato and spices) as a filling, but this special dosa had paneer (cottage cheese), corn, chili and cheese. It tasted yummy and healthy at the same time, and it's not often that you can say that about a food.
After enjoying the local street food, I enjoyed a kulfi (Indian ice cream) from the Wall's Ice Cream cart outside, then washed it down with a sweet, milky, masala chai from the chai wala. Indian tea is always served super sweet and milky and that's just how I like my tea.
I was walking distance to Mother Teresa's house, which now holds her tomb, so I wandered over there to check that out. They've kept her room as an exhibit, so you can see how she used to live. It's a very small, humble space where she used to sleep and work.
After visiting Mother Theresa, I enjoyed more of the local street food, including some healthy momos and some unhealthy but very tasty Bengali sweets.
I usually buy a new baseball cap on every trip, so I decided to find one to match my new yellow soccer jersey to conclude today's Kolkata adventure.
0:00 Intro
1:36 Traditional Pull Rickshaw
8:09 Vintage Tram Ride
13:46 Tram Museum
18:55 Local Football Jersey
25:50 Fresh Coconut Drink
28:35 Fresh Pomegranate Juice
30:42 Masala Dosa
37:58 Dryfruit Rabdi Kulfi
41:34 Masala Chai
46:24 Mother Theresa's House
49:56 Bengali Sweets
54:38 Healthy Momos
1:07:09 Baseball Cap Vendor
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