Firstly, Tea for 3-6:

a pot of water
add:
-a tea spoon of grounded ginger
-half a clove
-2 pieces of crushed black pepper
-pieces of raw cinnamon (two piece of 5cm, broken into pieces)
-as much honey as you please

boil for 20 minutes

Secondly, I woke up. Getting out of bed around 16.00 (local time), most of the day had slipped away, while dreaming. So instead of driving somewhere I decided just to walk around in the neighbourhood, which is called Mohammadpur Village. Just below the hostel is a big bare area where kids a playing a congregating. It is surrounded by cars and roads and just off to the left is a road full of stall, which further left is link to a bigger road and even more stalls. This is the road I arrived at last night and the life and colour is completely different. I do enjoy seeing all the vegetables being displayed, as much for the colours, as for the fresh sense of atmosphere they give (eyes, even if the road is really filthfy). Further the streets are full of people, cars, tuk-tuks, kids, dogs, sellers and more. I have been  quite aware that the shock of arriving to India is quite big – that the way things are can be quite overwhelming. So I had prepared myself, though I think I must be in a quiet neighbourhood, as I feel the streets here are easy enough to muster… busy of course, though not more than other places I have visited or experience. Anyhow, this is not so important, as I retraced my track from last night, where the empty streets and alleys suddenly where full and unrecognisable – where last night I noticed the smaller wind blowing a piece of paper, now I paid not heat to this, as there was so much movement around. There is a show for everything, singularly, not one shoe with everything. Every one has their own little shop with their type of products: one with light bulbs, one with rice and grains, one with sowing accessories and I can keep going. And food shops of course. I found a little place and dived right into. It had two tables and benches, the front was covered by a table with two big metal jars, which contained food – one veggie and one with chicken. I received a half-potion of the  veggie, which was so big that I thought I accidentally had ordered a full plate. It was good to eat. I hadn’t eaten since my on flight meal, so I slowly moved through the mountain of rice, which was spicy too. I was wondering whether my stomach could hack this, though on the other hand I might as well dive into the Indian way of eating, so I continued decending the mountain (though it has to be said that I bought a tiny coka cola after, just to keep the stomach at play).  While sitting there, with my metal plate and cup, we (myself and the young guy running the shop) watched Hellboy on the TV in the place. So with finding a place to stay, sitting quietly sipping water from my metal cup and digging into the rice while watching TV, I found myself thinking that arriving to India has worked out just fine.

I paid and went to the market and bought some oranges, which both costed 50 rubies (this is more a note for myself). I didn’t pay too much attention to what veggies and how they looked, as I more enjoyed to looking without having to be active – just taking in the rhythms around me. Though I did notice what looked like a red parsnip, which got me a bit curious to begin to cook. Though everything in it own time. Now I at least know how to make tea (recipe above), which I was taught by this young guy who work at the hostel. Else the evening was spend, with a warm shower and warm clothes as it is quite cold at the moment – especially a cold wind is making it chilly. In the evening we sat on the terrace, covered in blankets and whatnot, getting to know each other, smoking joints and letting the evening float. Around 22.00 I went to bed and I must admit I slept beautifully!!

Lastly, I also booked my train yesterday, for today, and was lucky to get a place (it is better to be a bit in advance I have learned). I’ll leave at 16:55 and I will travel fro around 17hours, arriving in Kolkata tomorrow morning around 10:00. Today, I will slowly get ready and then move towards the main train station, seeing a bit of the city on my way. On that note I’m really looking forward riding through the city in a tuk-tuk or taxi, watching the city passing by…