I whirlwind through cities...

Luckily for us, there's an internet connection in our hotel this particular evening. I haven't had enough time to catch my breath after we left Kalimpong, much less think of something worthy to write. It seems the whole ordeal has been nothing short of hectic up until now. In the past 4 days we've been in Calcutta, Bangalore, and now Kerala. We'll continue on the southern route for several more days before we make our way back towards the east coast, where I fly home from.
We're all run down from the planes, trains and head pains incumbent with traveling in a country that is uncomfortable no matter where you go, but it's gorgeous where we are now. It's also hot.
Very brief recap, because I'm exhausted.
Calcutta was every bit as scary, exciting, and enormous as I had expected. In the span of about 4 hours we witnessed goats being ritually sacrificed at a temple that was straight out of some B- horror movie, and then ate pastries and drank tea with the beautiful upper middle classers at a place that was a dead ringer of a "Cheesecake Factory" clone. That was pretty much the theme of the stay. India is the land of contrasts, but Calcutta accentuated the poles. There was more poverty than could ever be imagined in the West, but a good deal of the city felt oddly comfortable and familiar. Much moreso than the hellish runaround of Delhi. For a city of 14 million people, Calcutta seemed to have pockets of tranquility that even New York doesn't have. And there are human drawn rickshaws (which are unfortunately being phased out by the Marxist government, for some reason). I'll post some disturbing and beautiful pictures when I can find a computer with USB.

Next was Bangalore, which was our first foray into South India. Chennai was experiencing inclement weather in the form of cyclones, so we changed our flight and went to the west side instead. Bangalore is the IT hub of India, and easily it's most Westernized city. It's also where all of the infamous call centers are located, which means that there's a good chance that I bumped into that guy that methodically coached you back to good wits when your Dell computer crapped out on you. All of the development has turned it into a bland strip mall-ish city, that is void of any character or worthy sights to see. It was nice to walk around and feel that "American comfort" of knowing that the person flanking you on the sidewalk is not dirt poor and sizing you up to steal your wallet. On the other hand, it embodied much of the America that I'm glad I've been away from the past 3 months. There was a very nice park though, which was cleaner and greener than anything else I've seen here in cities. The people were pretty, wealthy, and proud of the fact that KFC and Pizza Hut are within a stones throw from each other.
Next up, and where I'm falling asleep writing this right now, is Cochin. It's gorgeous here. Jungle brush and the Arabian Sea. Tons of tourists and not enough natives to shield them, but the ocean is reason enough to forget about it for a few days. Tomorrow we're going to a beach town where we'll travel by boat through the "backwaters" of the mangrove and palm tree islands, weaving in and out of the ocean. We'll be in Kerala (the state we're in now) for a few days, then take a long train to Madurai which is home to perhaps the most famous Hindu temples in the country. After that, I'm done. Back to homebase in the states, and getting culture shocked all over again. Hopefully I'll see most of you upon arrival.
I can't promise that I'll have this kind of time again to write because we're constantly on the road it seems, but we'll see. If I do, I'll try to post some pictures.
Ok, I'm falling asleep. I'll be at the beach the next few days. Have fun shoveling.