Impressed by Calcutta. It is a city in West-Bengal with a population of more than 18 Mio. people. So, this is double-size of Austria’s whole population… Strange and a little bit unbelievible.

OK. I am sleeping in Sunflower Guest House, a room with fan for 500 Rs. Unfortunally no room with AC was available - would have been looking forward for one this time.

Went to see the Maidan today, this is a big, big park next to the Hoogly River. Visited the Victoria Memorial and was surprised by a really modern part of the city. Modern means, that I found many stores like “Benetton”, “Levis” and so on as well as well climated coffee-shops with good ice-coffees and shakes.

Calcutta seems to me very splitted and gapped: Poor, more poor, most poor and rich. People washing on the street next to cooking, next to washing dishes, next to living in small barracs on the pavement, rikshas with men-power as well as modern multiplex-cinemas, cars, shops and fitness-studios, supermarkets. This is strange and interesting. In my eyes, this city is developing and shows it’s poorness and gaps very very extremly.

I saw many french and english buildings due to former times and sometimes the colonial-style reminded me on Cuba: Similarities in style and oldness and not beeing renovated.

I am very tired today, going to bed after having dinner. Tomorrow I will visit the city again and finishing the day with a Bollywood-Movie in one of the cinemas.

More images maybe tomorrow… Bye…