Jenny and Steve in India, Netherlands and Greece 2024

Our booking at the iconic Saturday Club expired today and they're really busy, so our fixer there took us to examine a very close alternative. Our room is now only about 50% larger than the average in Travelodge, and the furniture is newer. We've only a couple of nights left in Kolkata so we're not too fussy. As a final fling we visited the on site bakery and enjoyed early lunch on the terrace.  We took an Uber taxi to Kolkata's "Eco Park" this afternoon. Uber does make life simple in some ways - no problem describing where you are or want to go - but a pain in others, such as failing to accept any payment method (no idea why, but cards and PayPal won't work).  The Eco Park.... Hmmm... Well, all things are relative. Compared to the average beauty spot or maintained urban park in the UK, it was grim - scummy water in the lake, rubbish around, multiple fast food stalls blaring music etc. However, when experiencing it fresh from the streets of Cal...

Peter Cat was not easy to find, though we are discovering that Google Maps is both incredible and misleading. After circling for fifteen minutes and exploring a couple of seedy back courtyards we came upon the obvious front door - with no queue. We'd have happily eaten our way through the whole menu, but chose the "signature dish" of chelo kebab - mutton, chicken, rice and a fried egg with a pretence of salad.  Yes, it was really good. Indian butter with the rice is so tasty, too. In retrospect, though, probably something less obvious would have been a more inspired choice - but no regrets at all and thoroughly recommended.  By the time we'd finished (not long) the place was full and I imagine they'll be turning tables every forty five minutes or so. Vast numbers of staff, all very attentive, but also keeping customers flowing through.  We need to find new accommodation tomorrow for a couple of nights because the Saturday Club is fully book...

I would usually translate this as "the most over-rated and overpriced tourist traps to avoid" yet this evening we're off to Peter Cat on Park Street, tenth on the list. Three reasons I'm not put off going: We had decided to go anyway, having received a recommendation from a fellow passenger on the river cruise; I had no idea such a list existed, and the only other listed place we've been to, in Bursa (taken by a friend who lived there) was excellent, albeit almost before the internet was a thing; We'll be passing many other places and may not actually reach Peter Cat, or be put off by queueing and find somewhere else to eat this evening! Our morning took us to the New Market area - new a few hundred years ago. We've not been here long enough not to find that really hard work - beggars of all ages, touts for shops and stalls, being careful where to step, assailed by smells ranging from wonderful to foul... There are also...

 The decor for the engagement ceremonies was yellow. For the wedding, it's red. The groom's party enter first, the register is signed and they process to the stage. Each have a sacred tray with a coconut, sacred thread, grains of rice and various other bits and pieces. With the groom on the stage, hidden behind a sheet, the bride's party enter,  with her sacred tray. The bride is welcomed by her mother-in-law. Everyone on stage has a head covering. Bride & groom sit facing each other with the sheet between, but they hold hands while prayers are intoned. The sacred thread is passed round the whole group, 7 times. 7 must be a special number, as many actions are performed 7 times. The sheet is removed, rings exchanged and bride and groom sit together. A lot more intoning of prayers with much rice thrown at the couple and at the married women, who collect as much as they can in their saris - seems almost a competition! Similar to our tradition of the bride throwing her bouq...

 Another lovely Kolkata morning and a late breakfast around 9.00. The badminton court is still being worked on - I suspect it was originally teak and the boards are thick - it may have lasted indefinitely if they'd not had it covered by a vinyl playing surface. The joiner seems serene in his work. Here he's stopped to sharpen chisels.  There are also tradesmen in refurbishing furniture; with no power tools that takes ages, but very little dust.  At 11.30 or car came and a group of us were taken to a ghat {in this case meaning boat landing) and crossed a floating restaurant (being used as a pontoon - I hope it never leaves the berth with so many gaping holes just above the waterline) to an embarrassingly ugly dressed pontoon boat.  With the tide still falling we bucked it going upstream with occasional commentary. The Hooghly is mostly Ganges water and has a tremendous importance culturally and (more in previous centuries) economically to India.  In brief, we tra...

Today is simple to begin. We enjoyed a late and leisurely breakfast on the terrace (masala omelette with chillies for Steve, toast for Jen) with lovely fresh juice. After that we did very little - reading, watching cricket, bits of planning. I was restricted in my use of the library as shorts are not allowed in the reading room - I'm actually surprised we've not fallen foul of loads of club rules, but we're mostly tolerated. Skipping forward to the evening....  This has been the third day of partying and the biggest. Arriving at the Parsee Hall on time meant, of course, that we were amongst the first there and established outselves at a table, soon to be joined by others rotating in and out as we also shuffled around.  Jen abandoned me through most of the ceremony to get closer to the action with her camera. I was struck by the informality; the register was signed then a fairly large party mounted the stage for about 30 minutes of litany and chanting ceremony, surrounded by...