Kolkata Trip

Myself and two other AYADs (both called Victoria) took the opportunity to sneak away from hot, dusty Dhaka to evener hotter, dustier Kolkata for a brief holiday.  Actually it was a wonderful trip, and break away from both work and social routines.

I had first visited Kolkata in 2004 on the first Friends of Kolkata volunteer trip, and had many challenging, moving and beautiful experiences teaching photography to children and learning about the inspiring work of the Centre for Communication and Development and the Institute of Social Work which I volunteered at.  I returned again in 2007 with a new group of volunteers.  But I had never had much time to just wander around the streets and take in the sights (and smells!).

Most of the trip is conveyed in photos below.  But a few interesting observations can be made about Kolkata compared to Dhaka:
- It was interesting to see many more women on the streets, as shop keepers etc.  Dhaka has few.
- The Western influence is much greater - more trendy street wear, and in particular women wearing jeans which is pretty rare in Dhaka, more western shops and cafes. 
- There seemed to be far more activities around and on the street - more vegetable sellers, more cold drink stalls, more coconut juice-wallas, more risque underwear street stalls, more people lying in the shade, more goats playing acrobats.  Driving back from the airport in Dhaka I was thinking 'where were all the people', something which I never would have thought I would say about Bangladesh.
- It has a beautiful, mesmerising flower market next to the river banks which remind me a little of Varanasi.


I hope you enjoy the photos!