View of Kolkata from Hiland Park
My sister set helped me connect with one of her friends here in Kolkata on couchsurfing.org. This is a website where people make their extra bedrooms or couches available to travellers. In exchange, the hope is that someday, the chance will arise to “pay the favor forward” and people will be able to travel the world without having to pay for accommodation. Also, the added bonus and goal is to exchange culture and information and share experiences etc. It’s a great program. While one does need to be cautious about who you stay with, there is a referral and verification system in place that helps. People write references about their experiences and about the people they know. It usually works out pretty well, from what I understand.
Anyway, her friend Andrew is living here in Kolkata with his girlfriend Sheila and their friend Mike. They’ve been traveling for the last few weeks, but would be back in town around the 8th or 9th. I’ve been corresponding with Andrew and had made plans to stay at their place from the 9th. They live in an apartment comnplex called Hiland Park. It’s located in the southern part of Kolkata, a bit out of town.
Hiland Park View
I packed up yesterday morning and got ready to leave the guesthouse where I’d been staying in Gariahat, near my sister. I stayed for a while and had lunch in the coffee shop downstairs as I still had some time before I could contact Andrew or Mike to get into the place in Hiland Park. After I spoke with them on the phone, they told me to head over to the apartment because the servant girl, Mithu would be able to let me in. I got a cab and headed over.
Hiland Park is a gated community, so that was a little daunting, and as the taxi driver took me in and the guards questioned me for a second, I was worried. But as soon as I said the apartment number, they said, very knowingly, “Oh, Mike, Mike! Okay!” and let me in. (I guess Mike is popular with the ladies…)
View from Hiland Park Apartment
The apartment is on the 12th floor with a fantastic view. Birds (eagles or hawks) fly about on the wind currents at or below eye level. Mithu is a very nice lady who speaks about as much English as I do Bangla. However, she speaks a smattering of Telugu too, perhaps from interactions with other servants in the area, so with a jumble of the three (and a couple words in Hindi), we are able to communicate well enough.
Andrew, my fun host (with Mithu in the background)
I had an enjoyable afternoon settling into the apartment and when Sheila, Andrew’s girlfriend came home in the evening (after first assuming I was in the house to visit Mike), we started talking and really hit it off. She has family in Andhra Pradesh also, so she knows a little Telugu as well. We also have a lot of similar interests. She currently works for an NGO, and has go leave for New Delhi in a day or so for work. Andrew brews beers and is a really fun guy. He’s working on a book for his degree, and I’m looking forward to talking to him more.
Later that night, there was a party at the house, partly to welcome Mike back into town, as he had been in America for several months. Alec and Matt were also going to be leaving soon and Alec had lived in the apartment in the past as well, so it was a hello/goodbye party. Everyone had a great time, especially when someone remembered an old bag of fireworks lying around… It was also Tagore’s birthday anniversary, so I guess we had that as an excuse to shoot them off, if anyone asks. I think I’m going to like staying in this place!