Arrival in India

I've been in Kolkata for two exciting days now after arriving with no major hiccups (thankfully). In the few weeks leading up to my departure I talked with many fellow travelers who passed on heaps of helpful information on what to expect. So luckily I found the cab ride in chaotic, free-for-all, horn blaring, mere centimeters away from other cars/rickshaws/bikes/trucks/people/cows traffic from the airport to be more on the entertaining side than terrifying.

Victoria Memorial - built during the British Raj

I went to see the Victoria Memorial with some Aussies, and we found the Indian vs. Foreigner prices to be pretty amusing. We had heard that locals get quite a discount to enter sites such as museums, so we could only laugh at the 10 Rupees (20 cents) they pay, while we shelled over a whopping 150 Rs ($3.20). Definitely  not complaining, as when you compare the earning power it's only fair, we just loved how open and honest it is. I'm currently reading Shantaram (love it), and at one point he makes a related comment:

'There is a difference between the dishonest bribe and the honest bribe, the dishonest bribe is the same in every country, but the honest bribe is India's alone'  

So far I've successfully made it through 3 days without the dreaded 'Delhi belly', and my body seems to be adjusting fine. I had planned to take it easy the first few weeks and cook my own plain food before jumping into local cuisine, but upon being offered some delicious looking food that idea went immediately out the window

Walking around the city has been sensory overload, so the main thing I'm trying to do is observe and go with the flow, as it is too easy to just instinctively criticise everything.

I'll have the weekend to settle then start work on Monday, so pretty excited about that.