Jan. 22 : Calcutta, India

Sunday, January 22 :: Calcutta, India :: 0km today / 2679km total

Well, my man came through, and I received a 2 p.m. sleeper-class ticket to Calcutta from him this morning. I don't know how he did it, but for the small 50 rupee fee he charged me for the service I was more than happy to let him navigate the chaos of Indian train booking. The term "sleeper-class" is a misnomer and would be more accurately-named cattle- or sardine-class, but still I considered it better than the bus (same price, slightly less comfortable, but safer, faster and more hygienic, as well as being more interesting). Since it was only 7-8 hours, I figured I could manage.

I had a few hours to kill so I attended to some delinquent bike duties. One of my cycling shoe cleats needed replacing - cycling shoes "lock" your foot into the pedals, giving the cyclist more efficiency and control, similarly to the way downhill ski boots lock into skiis. My left cleat was quite worn down and starting to slip, particularly when climbing... not a tolerable situation with the Himalaya coming up! I had foreseen this and brought 2 spare cleats with me, but I needed help in getting the old, mangled one off. I found a hardware store and the ever-able staff made short work of the job, refusing payment. With a shiny new cleat on my shoe I made my way back to my hotel, packed, and left.

To my GREAT ANNOYANCE the luggage office at the train station informed me that my particular train didn't have a luggage compartment, meaning that my train couldn't take the bike. Quite agitated, I rode back to the travel agent and lit into him (I HAD told him the night before that I had a bike). It wasn't about the money ($5) that I was upset, it was about the time and hassle. He scrambled, and we ended up back at the train station, with him trying to pull some strings. The strings wouldn't pull and I was faced with the option of sending my bike along to Calcutta on a later train, and picking it up in Calcutta tomorrow morning. Very hestitantly I went with it... and left for Calcutta with great trepidation that I would never see my bike again.

With all the rushing around I hadn't eaten all day, again, and was forced to suffer through station food. There was no silver lining this time, and I grudgingly consumed the greasy, fried tidbits that Indians seem to go crazy for. It is extremely hard to avoid copious amounts of fat in Indian food; tandoori, naan, and steamed rice seem to be the only lower fat options (as well as fresh fruit, of course). It doesn't surprise me that many middle- and upper-class Indians quickly pack on the pounds. Not that Westerners don't as well, but the concept of "low-fat" for the sake of being low in fat, in India, is completely foreign.

The scenery along the tracks was quite dramatic as the train passed over many wide, shallow, dry riverbeds... All big rivers in India flow from West to East, and along the East coast they are HUGE and frequent. It was nighttime in Calcutta when we arrived and the train station was probably the biggest I've ever seen... pure madness. The taxi ride through the night gave a very bleak impression of Calcutta, and I resolved to leave for the hills tomorrow night.