We had an awesome, delicious time in Calcutta with our friend Saibal. He introduced us to many a tasty treat including
- mishtidoi, a sweet cold yogurt custard
- poochtka, a yummy street food that is thin fried crispy dough stuffed with potato and many spices including cilantro and then dunked in tamarind sauce
We spent a lot of time walking around the markets of the city. A highlight was that we happened to be in town for the annual book fair, which is the world's largest. Thousands of publishers from huge international ones like Penguin to hundreds of tiny zines had booths showcasing their books.
We were also lucky to catch people preparing for the Saraswati festival, which celebrates the goddess of learning. Saibal took us to a neighborhood in Northern Calcutta where thousands and thousands of incredibly detailed Saraswati statues were being constructed out of mud from the nearby Hoogly River and straw.
We spent a few days on the bay of Bengal at the Sunderbans, a national park and the worlds largest mangrove forest. It is also home to hundreds of Royal Bengal tigers, none of which popped out to greet us.
Leaving India after five weeks was sad!
We spent a day in Bangkok exploring the city by river ferry and skytrain, an uberfancy train system. We had a picnic in a city park, and as the sun set and the weather got a little cooler, the park exploded with people doing the coolest exercising ever - basketball, tai chi, mass aerobics, takraw - kinda like volleyball but using only head and feet.
Computer is not working very well so we will try to post pics later.
Next up, Cambodia and Angkor Wat!
- mishtidoi, a sweet cold yogurt custard
- poochtka, a yummy street food that is thin fried crispy dough stuffed with potato and many spices including cilantro and then dunked in tamarind sauce
We spent a lot of time walking around the markets of the city. A highlight was that we happened to be in town for the annual book fair, which is the world's largest. Thousands of publishers from huge international ones like Penguin to hundreds of tiny zines had booths showcasing their books.
We were also lucky to catch people preparing for the Saraswati festival, which celebrates the goddess of learning. Saibal took us to a neighborhood in Northern Calcutta where thousands and thousands of incredibly detailed Saraswati statues were being constructed out of mud from the nearby Hoogly River and straw.
We spent a few days on the bay of Bengal at the Sunderbans, a national park and the worlds largest mangrove forest. It is also home to hundreds of Royal Bengal tigers, none of which popped out to greet us.
Leaving India after five weeks was sad!
We spent a day in Bangkok exploring the city by river ferry and skytrain, an uberfancy train system. We had a picnic in a city park, and as the sun set and the weather got a little cooler, the park exploded with people doing the coolest exercising ever - basketball, tai chi, mass aerobics, takraw - kinda like volleyball but using only head and feet.
Computer is not working very well so we will try to post pics later.
Next up, Cambodia and Angkor Wat!
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