Kolkata

When we were planning our India itinerary we knew that we wanted to include a tiger safari.  After much research we found the best and most authentic safari destination is Kaziranga National Park.  The only problem is that it is pretty far in the north east region of Assam, very close to Bangladesh.  But we were determined to get there, even if it meant taking a long and inconvenient path.  It was a two-flight plus 6 hour drive to get to our lodge. Starting with our stop in Kolkotta. 

From Varanasi we had a flight to Guwahati, which had a 10 hour overnight stopover in Kolkatta.  Our tour guide had booked us a hotel and airport pick up in Kolkatta, to help us with this stopover in such a chaotic city.  When we left the airport, and couldn't find a driver holding a paper with our name on it, we knew we were in trouble.  We found a cab and headed towards the hotel that was reserved for us, with our fingers crossed.  We knew things did not look good when we pulled up to the hotel and there was a huge arch of flowers and lights set up for a wedding.  When we tried to check in, they did not have our reservation and were fully booked!  Part of us just wanted to go back to the airport since our flight was only a few hours away, but luckily our cab driver helped us find a decent place to crash for the night.  Even without this little miscommunication, Kolkatta seemed to be a crazy city. The hotels were all located about 3-5 miles from the airport and it took 45 minutes to get there. We actually learned that the city has lots of streets that run one direction until a certain time a day - and then switch directions! Who comes up with these things?