Has anybody here been to Kolkata or West Bengal in general? I

>>1276282
Kolkata is a shithole desu even by Indian standards. You can take a flight from there to Guwahati and check out the North East. If your travel date is around Durga Puja(biggest festival in the Eastern India) then it's worth staying in Kolkata.

I've been interested in Kolkata for its colonial heritage so here's a free bump OP.

20 years ago...

Was pretty cool. Hot as fuck. As in SEA hot and humid.

Fairlawn Hotel was interesting.

Yeah, the victorian remnants were interesting to see. The people were OK.

>>1276290
Not OP but I'm in India around this time and was looking for an excuse to go to Kolkata thanks man

>>1276290
What makes it so shit? I know it has a lot of slums but then I keep reading about how it has developed a lot and how the food/nightlife is good,there are lots of open, green spaces etc.

>>1276282
Calcutta weather report,
35° cloudy with a chance of poo showers

>>1276701
>can we have a goa thread?

yes! but this is a kolkata thread

>>1276704
Sorry didn't mean to post it here, it's now at >>1276703

>>1276644
Very intelligent and helpful response. Shouldn't you be posting on /b/ or /v/ or /pol/ if you want to shitpost like this?

I spent about a week in Kolkata back in 2015.

I was there for New Year's Eve 2015/2016 and took a flight over to Bangkok before heading on back for another night.

I've been to India seven times and lived in New Delhi for a while.

Kolkata isn't a particularly prosperous place, but I enjoyed it a lot. It's a bit hectic and filthy, like other Indian metropolitan areas. However, the local people are considerably more friendly than in North India, in the sense that most folks who approached me had innocent intentions.

Aside from a prostitute, everybody who came up to me and started a conversation simply wanted to talk. One fellow from the Indian Army invited me out for dinner and drinks. Pretty much any time I stopped to have a cigarette on Park Street, someone would come up and have a chat.

The Victoria Monument and some of the other colonial remnants are definitely worth visiting. Street food is pretty good and extremely inexpensive.

The only downside is that the weather outside of winter can be horribly, horribly hot and humid.

At any rate, I'd say Kolkata is definitely worth visiting. Although my opinion of India has declined in recent months - the culture is incredibly backwards and people are quite awkward - I wouldn't mind returning there.

If you have the opportunity, you may as well take it. What's the worst that can happen? It's Kolkata, not Caracas or Mogadishu. Food poisoning is about the worst-case scenario.

>>1276827

I'll also add to what I wrote above: rural West Bengal is intensely beautiful.

There's a lot of agriculture in the western part of the state, as well as hill stations like Darjeeling in the north.

Word of very mild caution: the eastern swath of India has been beset by a Maoist insurgency for upwards of forty years. The portions of West Bengal closest to Jharkhand and Odisha still experience low-intensity combat between Naxalite rebels and Indian security forces and paramilitary organizations.

You really don't have much to worry about as a foreign tourist, but security forces can make traveling in Naxalite-affected districts challenging.

>>1276827
Can anyone tell me how the area compares to Bangladesh?

>>1276834
I wish all city reviews on /trv/ were this honest and informed.

>>1276827
>>1276834
Thank you for your thoughtful response, probably the only helpful response so far. I will be there during the Winter. I will mainly be In Kolkata, but I will also be visiting Santiniketan - the person I am going with is all into humanitarianism and charity and whatnot. I would also love to take a trip to Darjeeling, so I don't think I need to worry about the Maoists.

I think I may do it, it would be an experience for sure, the food and colonial architecture seems cool, and I kind of want to experience the hecticness of it all at least once. I have heard people say it is crazier than the big cities in Vietnam or Thailand.

I was in Kolkata back in November. Cool place to wander around for a few days. The old colonial architecture it is very interesting and there is a lot of Atmosphere in that area

I stayed around Newmarket but didn't go down to South Kolkata where I believe the more modern parts are. The government had just cancelled money and I didn't want to waste the few rupees I had in transport going to look at stuff I can probably look at anywhere else.

>>1276839
>Darjeeling
Check the news, there has been a strike in Darjeeling recently and much has been closed. Dunno where it is at now though

Also you need a 1 hour flight Kolkata to Bagdogra followed by a 4 hour jeep ride to get there ... and back again. Keep that in mind when planning

>I have heard people say it is crazier than the big cities in Vietnam or Thailand
They are correct

>>1276839

Winter is fine for Kolkata.

Most Indian urban areas are chaotic. While I can't provide much in the way of comparison between Kolkata and Southeast Asia, you probably will find the city hectic.

Do take a walk over the Howrah Bridge at some point while you're there. On the eastern bank is a large flower market, as well as a handful of ghats along the Hooghly River. Watching the sea of vendors and worshipers walking through the narrow water-side alleys is quite an experience.

>>1276838

Haven't been to Bangladesh yet, to be honest.

I might go in October or November.

Mexico completely spoiled the enthusiasm I had for India, so I think I'm going to cut my trip there a bit short. If I don't have the cash to fly back to Latin America, I'll probably check out a little more of South and Southeast Asia.

I heard Bangladesh is quite an interesting place to visit, though. Very crowded, but people are genuinely nice compared to India, in the sense that there aren't nearly as many scams and con artists chasing after you.

>>1277211
What's the dominant religion there, Hinduism or Islam? I thought it was Islam.

>>1276644
kek and check'ed. >>1276803 is a asslord fedoradeluxe

>>1277275
Hinduism actually. When the Raj was split between India and Pakistan there was a huge transfer of population from West Pakistan to India, but also from East Pakistan (Bangladesh) to India, leading to Bangladesh becoming more Muslim and West Bengal becoming more Hindu due to Hindu refugees coming from Bangladesh.

I just watched 'Lion' and I don't know if I'll be able to visit Kolkata without adopting a street kid. Reconsidering my whole trip.