The weather forecast for today in Kolkata says it’ll be 109 degrees Farenheit (43 Celsius). That is so NOT cool, especially when you consider that there is humidity to boot. I have to tell you, I do not love super-hot weather. I feel that whenever you are cold, you can always add layers, but once you are hot, and have taken off all of your layers, there is nothing to do about being hot, naked, and miserable! It’s been so hot here since our return to W. Bengal that most of the time during the day, I don’t want to even leave the house! I don’t think anyone else does, either…. Most shops here even close during the main heat of the day. Some people come out at night, because it’s semi-cool then. There’s a place under a fly-over near my sister’s home where people play chess after dark.
Under the Fly-Over, Chess Match-Ups Go Down!
Luckily, I’ve had a lot to do here indoors. I’m trying to figure out what I’ll be doing for the next year. There are many things to consider. I’ve been looking at getting a “Round-The-World” Ticket through one of the Airline Alliances. This is the kind of airline ticket where you pick out an itinerary and outline the dates and purchase a RTW ticket. Then, you are able to adjust the dates a bit as you go along. However, this means that I have to plan out which countries I actually want to visit and in which order over the next year of my travels. This is made more complex because I’m hoping to volunteer along the way somewhere. I’m not sure where or when, so that could throw a big wrench into the whole works. Also, I don’t really know for sure exactly where I want to go or in what order yet. There are different RTW tickets, each with different guidelines available. Some are based on mileage, some on the number of continents you visit, and can choose anywhere from 3 to 16 different legs, or stops, in any amount of time from 10 days up to one year. But there are other restrictions, such as only being able to travel in one direction, or having to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans one time each. I’ve been trying to weigh out all of these options.
View from new hotel…I really like it!
Simultaneously, I’m looking for another hotel here in town. My sister Jayanthi and her boyfriend Aakash have been kind enough to let me stay with them at their home for a few days, but it’s definitely not a large place and I know they need their space. I have essentially taken up their living room, so they don’t have much left except their bedroom and kitchen. I’m beginning to feel like a nuisance. Jayanthi has been busy with her school and getting the children ready for a big production they are working on. They will be performing the musical “The Wizard of Oz” on May 10th. This is the first time that the school has done anything like this – a big, school-wide production, a high school musical, anything like that. So, perhaps because they haven’t done this and have no idea what they are doing, and maybe because of the Indian culture difference, they are doing some things very erratically, and every day they change something they just decided to do another way the day before. It’s been frustrating for Jaya, to say the least, and the administration has little consideration for their teachers, or for females either, even though Jayanthi has more experience in this than all of them put together!
So I found a guesthouse above a coffee shop not too far from Jayanthi and Aakash’s house. It also has Wi-Fi, which is a necessity with all the airplane research etc that I have to do. I moved in and have been getting to know the area. I went to a party at Nishad’s house with Jayanthi and Aakash over the weekend. Nishad is moving out of town for a while to travel with his music (he is the phenomenal guitar player in Aakash’s Kolkata band.) I enjoyed meeting his friends and hanging out at his place.
And I went out to dinner with Jayanthi and her friends a couple of times this week as well. We had a good time and had some tasty (you’ll never guess…) Indian food! But another time we went to a place where they cooked kebabs for you right on the table, which was pretty cool – like an Indian version of Hibachi. When I ordered a wine, they brought me an entire bottle. True, it was a mini bottle, but it was all mine. Oh, India!
Street scene with kids playing cricket in Kolkata