Calcutta (India)

Advantages: Lovely food, lovely people, a shoppers paradise...
Disadvantages: Too hot at almost any time of year & traffic's a nightmare

...Londoner (British Indian) I visited Calcutta as a child and remember disliking it immensely because of the heat and apart from being spoilt by relatives I couldn't wait to get back to London. I didn't visit again till January 1998 for 2 weeks when I enjoyed my trip and with one thing and another didn't get to go back until December 2003 and since then I've been back in 2004, 2005 and 2007 usually for 2 or 3 weeks. Are you sitting comfortably? This ...
...give you an idea about Calcutta in general: • It was renamed Kolkata in January 2001 (Kolkata is how native Bengali people pronounce Calcutta). • Calcutta was the capital of India until the British changed it to Delhi in 1911. Mother Teresa, after coming to Calcutta in 1929, was a permanent resident of Calcutta until her death in 1997. • Calcutta's first underground network "Metro" started as late as 1984. • When India gained ... Read review

Advantages: see text
Disadvantages: see text

...but word travels fast in Calcutta and you will be a soft target for every beggar in the city. I arrived in late September, the middle of the monsoon season, amidst heavy downpours that quickly filled the streets up to mid calf level, within 15 minutes. It was an amazing site to see, the rain drops almost as big as golf balls, cascading out of the sky, obliterating your view to within a few feet. The car awaiting me was an off white, 2 week old ...
...that! The markets in Calcutta are an experience in themselves, you can buy the most fantastic wooden items, with which my homes is full of. I also have a great collection of huge wooden animals, be very careful though, my mother has just discovered 'livestock' in some of hers and has had to get rid of it!! As well as wooden items you can buy some beautiful jewellery - my best buy had to be a silver bangle, ornately hand decorated. I have seen similar ... Read review

Advantages: Amazingly hospitable, Great people, Historical British architecture, Great transport links, Good food .
Disadvantages: Racist overcharging of foreign visitors. Third world government for a first rate people .

...of 8000 Rupees per night. There is something for every level. I'm happy at Centre Point. All this in a city that's cheap and easy to travel across because of a huge availability of transport links. Metro, bus, taxi, rickshaw and hand rickshaw, make Calcutta a must see destination. ... Read review

Advantages: BEAUTIFUL, CHEAP, helpful people, cultural, colourful
Disadvantages: dirty, crowded, old. hot and humid.

...visit place for everyone. Calcutta is very reasonable when it comes to food and accommodation. Travelling is convenient on Metro, which connects most of the city. The Indian Government does arrange to stay with Indian families so that one can enjoy the authentic feeling. Otherwise rooms range from £5 a night to £30 a night. But it is more likely to be around £5 - £15. When in Calcutta, one should eat the authentic Bengali Cuisine, which is a ...
...active around Park street area, with lots of night clubs and pubs. Be aware of the cheap hookers. It’s a safe city for women travellers. It’s a woman friendly place and very active and filled with people all night. Cabs are cheap if one needs to take one. Rest of the year its intolerably humid. The best time to visit the city is during September to January. The weather is cool then and its the festive season of Durga Puja and Diwali and Christmas. ... Read review

Advantages: You'll never forget it
Disadvantages: You may never want to remember it

...it's chaos, poverty and pollution, Calcutta is the kind of place that will tattoo itself to the inside of your eyeballs, and stay in your sub-conscious for ever. Once the epicentre of the British Empire in Asia, Calcutta has a jaw- dropping architectural heritage. Crumbling colonial buildings gather moss and squatters, in a state of collapse amongst the millions who scratch out what appears to be a miserable existence on its pavements. Men pulling ...
...of South Kensington and Bloomsbury. Calcutta may be only three hundred years old, but it could be three thousand... it has the appearence of a city that has been hit by catastrophe, with life teeming amongst its ruins. The smells of pollution, open fires, cooking, exotic spices, decaying organic matter, stale urine and fragrant incense, waft through appallingly congested colonial avenues and streets. Waterloo Street, Harrison Road, Elgin Road, Curzon ... Read review