Part II: Kolkata, India from 5th August (backlog)

Oh My God...where to start! An UNBELIEVABLE amount of action and fun has taken place since I last wrote. I'd better start with a backlog blog that I wrote ages ago. It'll be really out of date, but it's been written and I've been carrying it around with me until I had the opportunity to upload it and, well, today's the day. Then I'll start with the in-between stuff that's been happening...namely Northern Thailand and then Laos. Laos has been without a doubt THE most fantastic part of this trip, a definite highlight-after-highlight affair. Yup, better than I ever could've imagined it would be...ALL the ingredients for maximum enjoyment. Water, Sun, Swings, Beer, GORGEOUS people, Fantastic conversation, Stimulating action, Divine massages....I could go on. And probably will but without further ado, here's part II (eyes go dreamy as the recollection from weeks ago, a lifetime ago, swims into focus)...Actually, I've just re-read it and it's very verbose so I'll forgive you for skimming it, I must've been really tired when I wrote it.

Before moving on o the Thai leg of the journal, let me recount the exciting (well, to me anyway) last night in Kolkata, 5th August 2008…

As you may recall, I was fighting off an impending cold after the overnight train from Mumbai and eagerly needing to do some yoga – contemplating the wisdom of doing both concurrently, a mental gymnastics for someone well under healthy par. Knowing that I needed some space both mentally (for myself) and physically (for my yoga), I approached Jane on the train and made my humble request that, should there be an uneven number and a one-to-a-room equation, I have the room to myself to which she agreed and even suggested an upgrade, should I require an en-suite. Of course, this being India (no disrespect), things were not as we had anticipated and the hotel was full. The alternative was to share room in the obviously poorer cousin accommodation across the road or to go down the road to a neighbouring hotel to share a room with 4 others. Jane’s gaze, while canvassing for the 5th person to ‘share the room with 4 others’, fell uncomfortably on me to which I responded that I was ‘hoping to have a bit of space’. Clearly she’d forgotten our earlier conversation and I have since learned that all dialogue with Jane upon woken is simply not recorded or recalled. Anyway, I’m glad I stood my ground, even if tainted by a cloud of guilt and followed by resentful whisperings, as I bloody needed My Space. I was sharing with Kat in a charming room (adjoined by a balcony which appeared to be an en-suite) with two double beds, one of which was split and concave on one half, never mind, I just slept near the wall. Everyone else went out while I rolled out my mat and began the business of maintaining my body and reinstating my sanity, yes, yoga, for a couple of hours. It was Good!

The shower following my practice was interesting. The 3 shower rooms contained, as is common, the toilet and a basin. The basins having been mysteriously removed between our arrival and the others’ return from their outing. The plaster was literally falling off the walls and the ‘drain’ was a square hole in one corner of the floor (I have it on good advice that this is where the rats emerge on their nightly forays). My spirits had somewhat waned (remember I hadn’t slept for days) but I gave myself a mental jab and thought that if I closed my eyes and simply enjoyed the falling water which, thank God, was of a decent volume, I could imagine myself anywhere and chose, through a tired lack of imagination, the Maldives as I’d imagined it would be. It was only a minor jolt upon reopening the eyes and had achieved the desire effect. It is at this point that I shall introduce Ulli.

Ulli and I were Meant to Meet. It happened in Kathmandu one night as I was darting around the streets, looking for action, not wanting to go home yet. However, I’d called it a night and was heading home, in the rain, late one night. As I rounded the corner to The Courtyard (hotel), I nearly collided with a tall dark figure emerging swiftly from the opposite direction. As we passed each other, a current passed between us and ten feet apart we both stopped, swiveled and looked directly at each other with recognition. And did a comedy double-take. Nah, go home, my commonsense told me. Aha, I know where he’s headed, my intuition said. So I took myself home and shed my damp clothes whereupon I checked in with myself and realized that I didn’t want to go to bed. It’s very refreshing running home in the rain. And that I wanted to go and meet Ulli so I did. He wasn’t there. I sat down and ordered a bottle of wine (the band was entertaining) and settled in. There was a movement to my left, someone sat down and, after a time, I invited him to join me with a little nod of the head. So he did.

Two evenings later, he dropped by The Courtyard to say that he was on his way to dinner with a friend and I explained that I was leaving at 7am the next morning. I invited him to stay for a cup of tea before going on and said that I’d be in the library (yes, there really was a library) and that if he dropped by on his way home, he may see me there, unless I’d gone to bed. I had every intention of an early night, no, really.

Needless to say, the early night didn’t happen. Lots of red wine, stimulating conversation and excellent company happened instead. And I made it out by 6:30am the following morning, leaving scarcely a trail or a Namaste in my wake.

Ulli knew that I was headed for Mumbai and I knew he was headed for Pondicherry. Fast forward past Mumbai to my arrival in Kolkata…cue the shared room, falling plaster in the shower/toilet (did I mention the nesting pigeons) and my yoga unwind after the overnight train from Mumbai. Whereupon I ventured out to the Internet café, after a 5pm ‘breakfast’ of mueslie-fruit-yoghurt, to find an email from Ulli saying that he was in Kolkata and awaiting a message from me. The email was 2 days old and gave no other information. I sent off a volley of positive replies and got some much-needed sleep. The next day was spent mostly sleeping (I had a lot of catching up to do) and a bit of a venture involving The Zurich, NetFreaks and the tailor (yes, an actual tailor). Kat, meanwhile had returned from her outing to announce that she’d seen that ‘German guy from Kathmandu in Mother Theresa’s’. C’est la Vie.

So that night I’d prepared for another early night for an early morning departure and was settling down with a notebook around 9.30pm when there was a knock at the door. Slightly agitated as a) I’d given up on Ulli finding me and b) the hotel staff kept wanting things, I answered to the concierge (posh word for the security guard) who indicated around the door where a slightly longer peer revealed Ulli with his backpack. ‘Ulli! Oh my God, come in!’ So he did, the crazy man. We agreed to meet later to go and find some food but the only place that I knew would be open at that late hour (nearly midnight by this time) was an upmarket hotel called The Park. Neither of us was comfortable so we left and combed the deserted streets in search of food. A charming young man with a gold earring ushered us through an alleyway and into a local eatery where we smiled and feasted on aloo, dhal and chapattis. It was lovely!

Ulli kindly met me early the next morning to see me off to the airport (flying from Kolkata to Bangkok) and I hope our paths will cross again someday soon.