Communists, Cathedrals, and Couchsurfers: Kolkata!

After a very quick flight from Bangkok, we made it to Kolkata, India. Kara was so excited to finally be back in India! Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta under the British empire) is located in West Bengal state, just on the border of Bangladesh. It was the first major outpost of the British empire in India and the monuments of the colonial era are still some of the most recognizable landmarks of the city. Though most international attention has focused on Kolkata's poverty and the efforts to alleviate, most notably through Mother Teresa's charities, Kolkata was and is still an intellectual, political, and cultural focal point of India. During the 11 days that we stayed in Kolkata, there was no less than 5 "bandhs," or strikes that we knew of. Pictured above is propaganda graffiti of India's CPI-M (Communist Party India, Marxist) who are currently the controlling party of West Bengal.

Our wonderful hosts, (from Right) Buku and Romy, and their cousin Choton. We met them on couchsurfing and immediately hit it off. The night we arrived, we entered their parents house where we were told to sit down on the bed with the rest of the family and just hang out. We pretty much mastered the art of hanging out by being with these people. Romy and Buku live in Berlin half of the year, and have an interesting and unique perspective of their country. Despite living abroad, their hearts are in India. This photo is from our first night at their beautiful apartment. We started with drinks at 9 pm, ate dinner at 1 am, and just when we thought it was time to sleep, they took us out for lassies (yogurt drinks) and a car tour around Kolkata at 3 am. Apparently going out so late helps to avoid Kolkata's infamous traffic. It was a great introduction to the city.

The first day we decided to walk around, we were swarmed by packs of children. The strike was on, and the streets were filled with impromptu cricket games instead of cars. It was a paradoxical introduction to India with no traffic, few crowds, and little hassle. We weren't able to do or see much during the first few days of our time on account of the strikes, but we enjoyed walking around and hanging out at Buku and Romy's house where we spent a lot of time watching Discovery Channel documentaries about India in Hindi.

This is an average serving of rice (before seconds) at Buku and Romy's house. We ate such wonderful food there.

The group of Muslim boys who lived close by. They spent most of their days playing various stick and ball games in this alley. They always paused and stared Kara down with curious eyes whenever she walked by and were surprised and delighted when Max "salaam alakum" -ed them.

Victoria Monument, Kolkata's biggest landmark and largest physical remnant of the British empire. It is a memorial to Queen Victoria of England and is now a museum.

Not far from the shiny marble edifice of Victoria Monument, the slums of Kolkata spread out along the railway tracks. Kolkata became notorious for its teaming masses of poor after the partition of East and West Pakistan from newly independent India in 1947. Another wave of largely Hindu refugees fled into West Bengal after mostly Muslim Bangladesh was created in 1971. Though Mother Teresa's missions and charities made the plight of Kolkata's poor known to the world, 70 years later, the slums and poverty still persist.

Speaking of the Christian influence, seen above is St. Paul's cathedral. St. Paul's has served Kolkata's Christian community (currently 0.88% of the population) since 1847. The building has withstood several earthquakes and renovations. Mass is held in both English and Bengali.

Waiting outside of the Birla Planetarium, the first and largest in Asia. The signs at the planetarium itself boast that its the largest planetarium in the world. Our program was about the planets, and though we didn't learn any new information about our universe, we enjoyed it nevertheless. We particularly liked our elderly speaker who insisted that all parents take crying babies out of the auditorium and stopped her speech numerous times to scold cell phone users. We were painfully reminded about Pluto's demotion to a dwarf planet number 134340. Can you spot Maximilian among the crowd?

After days of the bus strike, we finally caught one home at the fraction of the price of taxis. The insides resemble the bowels of a ship.

Walking around Kolkata one day, we stumbled upon this illegal market. The sellers, seated on straw mats above sell monkey skulls and other animal parts for spiritual and medicinal purposes. Kara was shunned when she tried to take photos up close and had to sneak this one from afar. She hopes that some poor monkey head is not being carved up to curse her.

Our first taste of Pav Bhaji, what Max deems as the Indian vegetarian sloppy joe.

A highlight of our time in Kolkata was spent with Kara's old friend and travel buddy, Lauren Clark. She had been living in Hyderabad for the past year and made the couple thousand kilometer journey up to Kolkata to meet up with us before moving back to the states. Here we are seen half way into our double-double gin and tonics. Just to clarify, if you order a double at the Moulin Rouge bar in Kolkata, you will receive two hefty glasses of alcohol each. Later that night we found the best street food in Kolkata and ate it on top of Lauren's friend's car hood, not pictured for discretion. Lauren is one of the most intelligent, fun, and lovely people in Kara's life and we were so happy to meet up with her. In spite of several years of sporadic communication between the two women, and having never met Max at all, we immediately fell into natural conversation and had a blast.

Romy's father Manuel, pictured center, was about to undergo major heart surgery as we arrived in Kolkata. Despite the eminent-life changing operation, Buku and Romy insisted on hosting us, and welcomed us into their lives as part of the family. A couple of days before the surgery, the family threw a party for Manuel in which all of his closest family and friends attended. We were honored to be there. Highlights of the party included singing and dancing. When we were asked to sing an American song for the group, Max and Kara drew a blank. For some reason they remembered the Hebrew chant of "The Four Questions" traditionally sung during the Passover Seder. So that was interesting. It was well received. Manuel's surgery was a success and he has recovered quickly and well.

Howrah Bridge, rush hour. Lonely Planet describes it as the busiest bridge in the world, and we can believe it. At any time of the day you will find porters carrying massive bundles of who knows what alongside cows, cars, buses, and businessmen.

After a week of acclimatizing, we were ready to continue our journey in India. We were excited to move on to Banaras, one of the holiest sites in all of Hinduism, "just" 24 hours by train from Kolkata. When we had originally booked our flight from Bangkok to Kolkata, we had planned to move on as quickly as possible. We never would have spent so much time learning and exploring in this cityscape if we wouldn't have met Buku and Romy, and for that we are grateful. Being that it is one of the most important cities in modern India, Kolkata is not a place to just stop through. So much so that we ended up taking the 626 km ride back to Kolkata just 10 days later for Romy's birthday.

See you on the great Ganga River,
Kara and Max

The South Shall Rise Again: Southern Thailand Part II

Koh Pha Ngan: a perfect place to spend a week while waiting for our Indian visas to process back up North in Bangkok. Most backpackers head to the island's main beach, Haad Rin, for its monthly "full moon party," which ironically doesn't ever fall on the full moon. Though the party sounds like a good time, we were looking for something a little different. We headed to Haad Tien, a small beach on the other side of the island that Max had spent some time on years before. We now present perhaps our shortest entry to date, solely dedicated to some serious chill out time.

Kara doesn't know why she has her shoes on at the beach.

When Max had visited a couple years before, he had made friends with a Dutch guy, Ara, who had settled down on a quiet strip of beach. Max went to go look for him as soon as we arrived on the island, but when he arrived at what used to be Ara's place, he found only abandoned bungalows. Seeing that we would not be able to stay at that deserted beach, we headed out on boat from the party beach to the serene Haad Tien.

A view from our bungalow.

The water was so clean and warm. Even with tiny biting sealice, it was paradise.

Completely content.

Yoga time. We were able to practice on this cliff side platform looking over the cove.

After a week of doing basically nothing,we (reluctantly) took the bus back up to Bangkok. Here is Max listening to Phish and loving the ocean.

Our last night in Bangkok was spent eating at our favorite vegetarian restaurant and walking over the Rama VIII Bridge, seen above. Thailand, you were good to us. We will be back.

To Kolkata (India) we go!

Kara and Max

Ode to Bangkok.

Glorious Thailand! That's what it felt like the minute we stepped off our flight from Yangon. Below is an homage to Bangkok, the fun and colorful metropolis of Southeast Asia. When we left Bangkok for Myanmar, it felt like any other bustling, disorganized and polluted Asian city. When we returned, we felt like we had landed in the cleanest, most modern place in the world. Though Bangkok still has its share of open sewers, meat on a stick, and crumbling infrastructure, we welcomed it with open arms. It has one foot very firmly planted in the 21st century and it is one of the coolest cities that we have been to. Altogether, we spent close to a month in Bangkok, waiting on various visas for other countries, and taking care of business. We updated the blog, drank beers with some photographer friends, got new books, and sat in the super frigid A.C. that cools all of Bangkok's massive malls and cinemas. Bangkok, here it is:

Metros run throughout the city. Though not the cheapest form of transportation, during the city's maddening rush hours that rival L.A.'s, trains always seem to be the quickest. The system was brand new when Max visited for the first time in 2005, and he was glad to see that it was expanding and improving.

Massive crowd waiting for the bus outside of Bangkok's infamous Chatuchak Weekend Market. This market is one of the largest amalgamations of bazaars to date. We spent about 4 hours there, and Max doesn't even like to shop. Bangkok's youth are some of the most fashionable in SE Asia, if not the world. The bazaars reflect this, as they are filled with some of the funkiest, trendiest fashions that rival Williamsburg in irony and style.

River transportation is one of the more exotic and effective ways to get from one side of town to the other. It's also one of the cheapest and can be quickest, depending on the driver. Max's map was always close at hand.

Thais love their fish and meat, preferably on sticks. The streets of Bangkok are lined with various snack vendors, from fresh fruit to unidentifiable meat balls. Seen above is some scorched fish.

This stall is for all of your King worship needs. HRH King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the IX King in the current Chakri Dynasty. Though Thailand is officially a parliamentary democracy, respect for the King is widespread and compulsory. Defamation of the royal family is punishable offense, earning up to 20 years or more in jail. He is the longest ruling monarch in the world. Before every movie, a 3-5 minute video is played, honoring the King and his good-doings. Every audience member must stand in silence during this short. Also, at 6 pm daily, the nation observes a moment of silence as the King's official song is broadcasted from loudspeakers in public places, as well as on every TV and radio station. Seen above is the King hand feeding his son and the future King, Prince Vajiralongkorn. Every home, restaurant, and work establishment proudly displays a photo of the King.

Malls. In the heart of the city lies the Siam mall complex, consisting of the Siam Center, Siam Discover, and Siam Paragon. Next to it are other mega-malls including the famous MBK. Using a series of tubes, one can go from one massive A.C. shopping complex without ever touching the street. They are confusing, frustrating, and wonderful all at the same time.

Khaosan Road. If you are a tourist or backpacker in Bangkok, you will most likely wind up here at some point. We intentionally stayed 30 minutes away from this place, but found ourselves drawn here at least once daily as it is the center for shipping, Internet, and eating among other services. Though convenient, Khaosan basically sucks and is like all the worst parts of Bangkok, smooshed into one block. The only time we really spent here hanging out was for a fun night watching America vs. Brazil in the finals of the FIFA Confederations Cup. It was the first time America had ever played in a FIFA final and though we lost, we still played BRAZIL and were still up for half the game. Khaosan Road, bringing drunk foreign tourists and the Thais who cheat them together.

The sewage situation in Bangkok is bad. There is a special smell, worse than feces alone that comes from particularly disgusting sewage water. Jakarta has it, Yangon has it, and Bangkok has it.

Boiled peanuts. Can we ever go back to just roasted? No. Again, Thais of every class and creed love to snack all day long.

Hanging out with Will Baxter (right) and Carolyn O'Neill, at Raindogs, Bangkok. Raindogs is the premier hangout for all people in the photo industry in Bangkok. Will is a friend and colleague of Kara's and an excellent photographer. We had met up with both of these photo friends 8 months before at the Angkor Photo Festival in Siem Reap, Cambodia and were happy to hang with them again in Thailand.

Max's birthday! Kara went all out for the celebration of Max's 23rd year. She kept all her preparations extremely secret, which is quite a feat considering Kara and Max spend 23 1/2 hours a day together. She managed to sneak away occasionally during the week before to plan for his special day.

For Max's birthday weekend, Kara brought him to our favorite vegetarian restaurant in Bangkok, Mai Kaidee's for cooking classes. Seen above is Mai Kaidee, owner and chef, teaching us about the various ingredients for our lesson.

Here Kara stirs up some spices for Thai Green Curry. We ate throughout the whole class and could barely walk out the door 4 hours later.

Later that day, Max was whisked away to an undisclosed location 4 hours by bus from Bangkok. Even after discovering where we were headed, which was Rayong, Max still had no idea what we were doing there. The night before Max's birthday, we went to a Tesco, ate clean food, stayed in a hotel with a TV and watched live ESPN coverage of the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest. Seen above is Max having fun at the Tesco, Rayong.

Max after his birthday massage. Notice the clear skin and chilled out facial musculature.

After the massage, we were picked up by a Thai man in a SUV. Once we reached the beach, Max was finally told what his present was: Paramotoring. Here Max examines the apparatus that he will soon be flying in. He was fully surprised.

Yeah!

Max flies off into the distance. Although the ride was cut short by a rainstorm, it was a fantastic experience and one he hopes to have again. For more information on paramotoring or paragliding in Thailand, we would definitely suggest contacting Nyaint at http://thaiparagliding.com. He teaches safe courses and has a good heart.

Back in Bangkok, Max is really stoked.

One major tourist destination in the city is the Royal Palace. It has some of the best examples of ancient Thai architecture and artwork in the country.

Inside the Royal Palace grounds, Kara walks around a very large gold stupa.

After being in Myanmar, it was hard to imagine wanting to see more Buddhas, especially gold reclining ones. However, the massive golden Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok is not something to be missed. The feet of the Buddha alone are worth the visit as they are covered in beautiful mother-of-pearl inlay work.

At the newly constructed Bangkok Art and Culture Museum, BACC. Outside were some giant installation projects. The museum is situated in between the MBK and Siam Mall Complex and is well served by the mass transit system. It is free and a nice place to spend some downtime in Bangkok. Max remembers when this site was a small park and was home to some of the best graffiti in Bangkok. We are glad that it now houses art on a larger and more accessible scale.

Inside the museum, a photography exhibit. This is a section of a photo-montage of the recent protests of both the Red and Yellow Shirts, two major political groups in Thailand. After being in Myanmar, we found this poster particularly disgusting. Thailand's Red Shirts are led by paid "activists" and funded by rogue and ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra. Their "struggle" has nothing to do with democracy or the needs of the Thai people.

Remembering Michael Jackson.

Riding the public boats through the city. Special areas are allocated for Bangkok's large monk population.

Bangkok skyline as seen from the parking lot of the Bangkok Air India ticketing office. We needed to wait about a week for our Indian visas to process before leaving for Kolkata. Though loving the modernity and ease that Bangkok affords, we didn't want to stay another week, so we headed down south once more to catch some beach time.
See you in Koh Phangan.
K and M