India: 2 years on

Apologies for not posting in so long, I can only describe it as an exam- induced hiatus. I wrote a bit after exams but nothing felt right, sooo going back to where it all began with a post about India- only 2 years on! Which means it's been 2 years since I've had this blog, c r a z y. So, what's changed since I was last in the city of joy? a.k.a. Kolkata

Well, unsurprisingly, not a lot. I say unsurprisingly because although India is a BRIC economy, there is never much change when we visit. Very slow economic, social and political development, despite rapidly increasing growth. Oh, corruption.

Weather is still pretty vile. 97% humidity + curly hair = no. And don't get me started on the heat. Although it's cool that your hair is dry literally a few minutes after you step out of the shower. Who needs a hairdryer? No need for moisturiser either. It's monsoon so it absolutely chucks it down randomly during the day - I love it, but I did ruin my Nikes by walking through shin deep rain water. Yep, that much rain. 

Random animals in the flat? Check. Apart from the usual trail of red ants and spiders, I saw lizards in the kitchen! So cute and harmless, although once I opened my wardrobe and one jumped out at me, I almost had a heart attack. When we visit our family in the villages the animals are more exotic -  a snake in the bathroom was a nice surprise, and frogs and a range of weirdly shaped and coloured insects chill on the trees. There are also cows, chickens, goats, wild cats and dogs on the streets- driving is like an obstacle course. Cows roaming the streets are not a myth. 

People? Still short. Would you believe I'm taller than a significant proportion of my family, and I'm 5ft1.

Food is still insane (I expect nothing less). I feel like my relatives' life goal is to make us obese, but hey I'm not complaining because it means sweets X5 for me. I'm not going to write much about food because it deserves an entire post to itself. But the thing you need to know is that Dominos have PIZZA BURGERS. 

Extremities are still ripe. Just going through immigration at the airport I saw the entire spectrum of people. Amazing how differently people are treated depending on how they look - a woman wearing a saree so covered in diamanté you'd need sunglasses to look directly at was allowed to completely jump the 10m queue all the other people had been waiting patiently in. Hellooooo? Who made you royalty? Still absolutely heartbreaking to see so many beggars- especially when they are children. I saw fewer this time than last, but still the same horrible feeling of having to walk past them. The population is 1 billion, you can't help them all. 

One thing I've definitely seen an improvement in is traffic. They've widened the main roads and put traffic calming measures across the city- cannot tell you how good it feels to get in a rickshaw or cross the road without feeling like you've given yourself a death sentence. Although you still hold on for dear life every time you go round a corner (logic would dictate to slow down when taking a corner, but there's no room for logic on Indian roads). Also, can I take a moment to say rickshaw drivers have the best calves ever. 

I've put in photos from Kolkata and the village where my relatives live - you can see the difference!

So there you have it! Observations from my travels to India, two years later. Things are slowly starting to get better, and although India will never be a first world country, it's looking positive! Everywhere has its flaws, but even with them I had a top notch 3.5 weeks there.

Hope you're having a top summer ☺