Kolkata, you’ve gotta love it.

Rebellion sounded like a lot of fun, but in Calcutta there was nothing to rebel against. Where would it get you?

— Bharati Mukherjee.

Kolkata brings me a smile anytime I start thinking of it. A place full of life, wonder and lights. True to its sidename, called the City of Joy, Kolkata definitely lives up to its name. I had the chance to stay in her arms for 5 days and within those 5 days, I felt she gave me so much that it felt like weeks all together. From the chaotic traffic, to the ever glittering tram tracks, to its cultural and art fantasies, Kolkata is like no other, it’s a city you have to go and stand right in the centre and feel its bliss.

I reached Kolkata from the east through the Santragachi station, one of the two busiest stations in the city, the other one being Howrah. Santragachi is a now gearing up for a new look and may be in a few months, it would become a hotspot of a travelling hub. The way inside the city is easier with a lot many options from the famous yellow taxis, local buses and the ever famous Uber and Ola. The distance to city centre from the Airport is 40mins and could go higher with the traffic and the distance from the stations are 30mins each.

The most stunning thing about Kolkata was that, the speed in which the city was moving. The city moves like it has no tomorrow. The people, the vehicles, the whole system is on the move. If your a stranger and you stand by any place and watch the city move, it would be like a fast forward video of sorts. But however, the people are sweet, sweet to another level, just like their desserts. They come to your need should you need something, if your lost or if your in the middle of a problem.

Kolkata is a very historic and a cultural place and if your coming to town, its better you have a plan. A plan of where to go, what to do and how to do it. If your coming on a 1 week plan, I guess it would be great to cover the city to your heart’s content. On the where to go part, you’ve gotta a big list to cover.

Here’s the top best things to do while your in Kolkata

Sundarbans – Admire Wildlife In Their Natural Habitat
Victoria Memorial Palace – Marvel At The Architecture
Dakshineswar And Kalighat Temple – Take Blessings
Science City – Enhance Your Knowledge
Howrah Bridge – Capture The Beautiful Landscape
Nicco Park – Have Some Fun Time
Park Street – Shop Your Heart Out
Eden Garden – Take A Plunge Into History
St. Paul Cathedral – Treat The History Buff In You
State Archaeological Gallery – Gaze At The Artifacts
Princep Ghat – Watch The Sun Go Down
Birla Planetarium – Treat Your Adventurous Soul
The Marble Palace – Peep Into The 19th Century
The Indian Museum – Take A Glance At Antiques
Salt Lake – Enjoy A Boat Ride
Tram Ride – Explore The City Like Bengalis Do
Vidyasagar Setu – Gape At The Panoramic View
Kolkata Restaurants – Relish Bengali Dishes
Mallick Ghat Flower Market – Flower Shopping
Mother Teresa House – Explore The Place
Belur Math – Calm Your Senses
Terreti Morning Market – Gorge On Tasty Dishes
Fort William – Spectate The British Inspired Structure
Birla Temple – Offer Homage To Lord Krishna
Chowringhee – For All The Recreational Activities
South Park Street Cemetery – For Haunted Escapades
Indian Botanic Garden – To Get Closer To Nature

I guess the above should easily give you a feel of what Kolkata is all about. I’ve covered the where and what to do there part in size. Now for the how to get going in Kolkata. The city is not built for slow people, its built for the Nascar Racers of real life. If your the one who cannot adapt to racing blood, then I guess you’re gonna have a tough time coming to terms with the speed of things in Kolkata. I’d say take the bus, taxi or walk 🙂

For the ones who are up to the game, there are a few rent a bike options which can save on your pocket and still give you the glory of experiencing the city in all its glory. The Chikkiboo Travel Co., has partnered with The Royal Brothers for affordable bike rentals. So go ahead choose the bike you love and get going. With the bike in your hand and a GPS enabled phone your pretty much covered to make your way in out and out of the city. Make sure you adapt to the speed of things, but do understand that citizens do obey the traffic rules, it’s much like controlled chaos to me. You need to stand in the stop line and you need to always watch out where the cops are while they direct traffic. The traffic police are quite rigid and I would suggest you watch out and ride carefully with your helmets and all safety gear that is required for a safe drive.

Parking at some places is free and for some places like the Victoria Memorial, you need to park at a very strategic location like St.Paul’s Cathedral from where you can cover the Cathedral, Birla Planetarium and with a 10min walk you can reach Victoria Memorial on the other side. Most parking dont exceed INR20/ to INR50/-.

Everyday if your out of home by 9am, you should be having a fruitful day covering many places and sights of the city. Do know that between 10pm and 6am, many of the cities roads become one way and you would be penalised for traffic violation. If at any point you see yourself as the only soul on that direction, then I suggest you take that turn right away 🙂 Always calculate the time it takes from your base location to each of these places. Make a subsequent map route to see which are the ones your can cover and finish on a day. In terms of petrol stations, there are very many fuel stations and filling shouldn’t be much of a worry anyway. All entities of business accept payments from Google Pay, PayTm and other digital payments. But I suggest you carry a certain amount of cash with you at all times.

The Sunderbans are a must see while your in Kolkata and are around 100kms away from city centre and should be done on a day trip, or can also be done as a 1 night trip based on your planning. Many local travel shops offer day trips to the Sunderbans, or you can even do a bus/car trip. I wouldn’t advise taking the bike all that far, knowing the roads aren’t that great. But Sundarbans, a definite must do while your here. The seasons are from September to March post which the tides and the monsoon take over the whole place.

Food in Kolkata is a delight, specially if your coming a long way to find out what it’s all about. Take your bike and explore the very many markets and low key areas for nice little restaurants which cater to local delights. Check out the Gupta Sweets and Arsalan for famous catches in their Bengali way of dishes. The prices aren’t that much and your tummy would love it for sure.

Now for the special ones:
While your in Kolkata there are some cheap thrills which could set your heart free, here are some of the little delights I loved while calling Kolkata home for a week.

• Enjoy a bike drive around Queen way, the long roads are a blissful pleasure to go in the evenings. Enjoy the numerous people playing cricket and the breeze which hits your face as you fly away.
• Take a long stroll at Princep Ghat, stop over a mud-cup chai or coffee and some fine snack, stand over and look out for the amazing view. And then walk over and take a small boat ride for INR400/-, go around the corner of the bridge and enjoy the greatness of the Hooghly River.
• On a fine evening, head to Millenium Park and stroll the evening bazaars, enjoy the snacks and desserts and then head over to the ferry terminal and choose the ferry which crosses the Howrah bridge. It’s around INR130/- per person and it’s a 1hr ride which has its own entertainment within the ferry. Sit down, take the air and let your soul fly as the little ferry crossfades into the river and slowly pushes itself under the famous Howrah Bridge.
• Once you’ve finished the ferry, reach the terminal and take your bike and head straight into Howrah Bridge, this time however, be on the bridge itself. One is not allowed to stop on the bridge for pictures (there will be cops), so take the bike and go on a jolly ride over the bridge in the evening, when the lights come on and enjoy the ecstasy of riding under one of India’s most famous bridges. You can take a U-turn at the end of the bridge and come over for how many ever rides you want.
• Who goes without buying the famous Bengali sarees for their loved ones. Bengal cotton is a dream for many woman all across India. So when your heading to the famous Kalighat Temple, on the side of the road you will find a lot of stores and within those shops on the mainroad, you will find M.B Chandra stores, the store is close to a 100yrs old and the greatgrandchild of the founder is still operating the shop exactly where it was started a century ago. Step into the store and buy all the sarees to your hearts glory. Cotton sarees start at a nominal INR300/- and can go upto 700/- based on cloth quality and work. But yeah, don’t go without a bargaining fight. It’s every Indian’s birthright 😉
• Last but not the least, park your bike somewhere near Charu Market in a safe place and head out to the nearest red light stop, to catch the everlasting ride of your lifetime on the famous Kolkata Tram. The trams when introduced back in 1880’s were the first in the whole of Asia and the one’s running currently were manufactured back in the 1950’s and are still operational and is the only operational tram service in the whole of India. The ticket is just INR8/- one way and its quite a journey as your wriggle and jiggle along the chaotic Kolkata roads in your own private track. Put out your head and enjoy the feeling; you ain’t going to to get it anywhere else.

There you go, that’s how much I loved and enjoyed Kolkata during those few days. The sights, sounds and the feel of that city is like no other, like I’ve themed it, you’ve gotta love it and nothing else. The speed, the chaos, the spirit of Kolkata is like no other and I had some of the best memories in there. I hope you too loose yourself in her arms and get to be in the middle of all the magic, just like I was, coz once your in Kolkata, you will never come back the same.

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