West Bengal, India

The road to India was long. Took a ferry for 1/2 hours, 1 hour bus, tuk tuk, 13 hour train, 7 1/2 hour bus for a grand total of 29 hours to get from Koh Samui, Thailand to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Had my last drinks with Jeeva and Vina then the flight to Kolkata.

Showed up in India with the following information:
"Volvo bus to city center by Royal Cruiser. 5 routes, 3 prices (20/40/60) -> outside arrival at DOMESTIC terminal, from INTL turn left and walk 800 meters. Fuck the taxis, bunch of sheisty bitches

Sudder Street Area = Budget hotels"


Knew this would be enough and everything would come together, as it always does. I knew nothing of India when I arrived, by the time I was through it was without a doubt the most fascinating place I have ever been

Landing in Kolkata blew the mind. First impression, they need birth control! Never have I seen so many people, poverty or filth before. There is a direct correlation between standard of living and # of children per household. This was so apparent in India I noticed it within 5 minutes of leaving the airport. Nothing during my stay in India would change that impression.

doing laundry in my room

Queen Victoria Memorial

Add grounds cover 64 acres, was completed in 1921caption

View of Grounds from building

Rainy season in Kolkata

India is mostly Hindu but is also home to the 2nd largest Muslim population in the world

While in Kolkata I received a CS message from Arnav that stated the following:

Hey Max,

Its so difficult to meet travelers up for different things. Its crazy!
I am in University right now and am looking for a travel companion to venture into some off the road, rural villages in the poor and impoverished districts near Calcutta. (and of course, have a lot of fun doing that!)
Rural Development is something I am deeply interested in and I'd like to take up a couple of day trips to visit the villages and learn from the people there. The villages are impoverished and really backward, places which need a change and are still a thousand years from modern civilization and there's much to learn there.
Come with?
I'm sure there's much to share and learn from each other.
My email address is xxxxxxx@gmail.com and my phone number is 0933186xxxx.
Feel free to contact me anytime.

I took Arnav up on his offer. It turns out he attends the India Institute of Technology which is arguably the most competitive school to get into in the world. The students at IIT are taking America's jobs and the truth is they deserve it. They are just as intelligent and more motivated than the University students in the US. It's my opinion the greatest threat to the US isn't terrorism, but falling behind China and India in math and science.

I met up with Arnav in Kolkata and we took a train towards the University stopping along the way in the outskirts of the city. 

Best part about the train aside from being dirt cheap (13 hour sleeper to my next destination is 6 dollars) are all the people who come on to sell food

Stopped at a random station and went for a walk

Took the boat across the Ganges

same cart, preparing for a Hindu festival

The goats are smart, they take cover in the rain

They got mad I took a picture of them bathing

They were not mad, older women walked over and posed for several pictures

Showdown at the O.K. Corral 

Drank some tea while waiting for the rain to let up some

English couchsurfer returned to Kolkata and I went to Arnav's University (IIT)in Kharagpur which is also in West Bengal. Then we went on a bicycle ride the next day

Passed this soccer field in the morning, then again on the way back. On the way back kids playing were older, maybe 15 and must have been a thousand people watching

Was quite the fight, this goat was ready to fuck!

love everybody on the bus

obviously took this trail to see where it led

Decisions, decisons...