What we did: Metro to Hazra Rd and Gariahat Rd, fed stray
dog, Sudder St, shopping
Budget: 3500R/$70; Spent: 9024R/$180
· Thursday is a day off for all the volunteers so thankfully we got to sleep in.
·
At around noon ventured out to Hazra Rd and Gariahat Rd where
according to Lonely Planet the “fashion conscious” locals head to shop.
We decided to walk a 1km to catch the metro and then walk
the rest of the way this area. With some help from strangers we found Hazra Rd. It was very run
down and in bad condition especially compared to the areas we have been hanging out in. We saw things that we hadn't seen anywhere else in India like people bathing themselves on the street with water coming out of the well. There were dead rats on the road and so many stray dogs.
Kolkata's poverty is very in your face. Kolkata has forced us to see first hand what it is to live in poverty and what suffering for these people looks like.
On our walk down Hazra Rd. we came across a stray dog that was just skin and bones. He
was gnawing on his paw when we saw him. There was a vendor about 20 feet away
from him so we decided to see if he liked biscuits. Turned out he loved them.
He enjoyed them so much we bought him another pack and we just kept tossing
them to him. His little tale wagged too. Jeff continued tossing them to him and then I went looking for a cup to put water in for him. There were no cups available at the vendor's shop. I was desperate to give him water so I picked up a used
up plastic cup sitting in garbage and put water in it. Funny enough it was even
too dirty for the dog. The vendor who up until that point had been smiling at
us looked at me in disgust and then brought me some water to wash my filthy
hand. As I was washing my hand another man stopped and
threw the dog a piece of his chicken.
We continued down Hazra and it became apparent there was no
shopping to be done there. Hopeful, we continued on to Gariahat Rd. and quickly
learned there was no shopping there either. Good job Lonely Planet. We hadn’t
eaten anything yet and were getting desperate. Hazra and Gariahat were so
unhelpful that there wasn’t even a restaurant in sight for us to even consider
eating at. Made us wonder how LP could be
so wrong! Honestly, why in god's name would they have recommended those 2 streets. There's more shops on the street right by our hotel.
We finally just decided to pick up a taxi and head back to
Sudder St. The good ol’ tourist area of town. We settled in at the Blue Sky
Café. This time LP was right about a place. This café had good food and good
prices. We both ordered porridge and I had a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich
and Jeff had a soup, and then we were still hungry so we shared toast with banana
and nutella.
It was getting late and we still hadn’t shopped for some
much needed outfits for the wedding we will be going to in Bangkok. We also
wanted to bring Tiny Tim to a vet nearby. It didn’t look like we would be able
to do both. Since we were already in a shopping area, we decided we would see
about bringing Tiny Tim the next day after volunteering.
The tourist area was way better for shopping! There were so many stores. One helpful worker at a store
directed us to a market for langhas which is what I want to wear for the wedding. A langha is a floor length skirt and a matching top called a choli, that is also worn with a scarf called a dupatta.
We stopped at a couple stores on the way but none had
anything worthwhile. I did buy 4 packs of bindis at a small vendor though.
When we got to the market it was actually several floors of
shops – more like a mall. We were hopeful we'd find something there. We walked up to the 2nd floor and instead of going
into the huge shop just in front of us I headed straight to a shop on the left
that caught my eye - I would end up buying a langha from that store.
I knew exactly what I was looking for. I had almost bought
one in Mumbai but there wasn’t enough time to do alterations so I left it. Knowing exactly
what you want can be a good thing and a bad thing. I frustrated a lot of
vendors since most of them didn’t have what I wanted. This first shop had the
closest thing but there were many alterations that would have to be done so I
figured we would use it as a back up and continued looking. We spent another
hour with different shop owners who showed us lengha after lengha. You start feeling bad
because none of their stuff is merchandised on hangers. They actually have
pieces neatly folded in a plastic bag which they need to open and spread out
for you. As they pile up they begin looking annoyed because they know they’ll
just have to fold them all up and put them back in their slots.
I found nothing comparable to the first one we found. We walked past the shop we started at and the
cute store owner joked with us and told us he would see us soon, implying we would
be back in his store and would end up buying that langha. He was right. Shortly
after we went back and he took my measurements. What a cute bubbly sales guy.
We spent about half an hour in his shop talking with him. We have met so many nice
people lately, especially in Kolkata. The people are here are wonderful.
The sales guy suggested Jeff try finding something to wear
for the wedding somewhere in the mall. One of his store clerks went off and
came back with 3 kurtas for jeff to try on. The guy even selected 3 styles that
matched my langha perfectly. 2 were nice, the other was eliminated immediately. Jeff ended up
going with the middle of the road style. It was the 2nd most
expensive and the 2nd most elaborate. It also fit him like a glove
and goes the best with my langha. Jeff has such good luck with shopping. It was
perfect for him. Great price, great fit, great looking, nothing more to think
about. We're ready for the wedding and we will now blend in with our Indian outfits. Should be fun. On our way out we saw some shoes we liked. Jeff bought a curly pair of Indian shoes to match is Kurta for the wedding I replaced my holey, ripped flats I bought in New Delhi. We paid about $14 for both.
We walked away very happy that we got that done. We were sad though that we didn’t get a
chance to see Tiny Tim to take him to the vet. Hopefully we get the chance tomorrow.
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