First Impressions....

Written By IGS Group A - India Expedition 2008

We arrived in Kolkata at 1:06 in the morning on the 29th of september. As we steped out of the plane onto the tarmac our shoes began to melt under our feet as we walked towards the airport on this humid night.

The first thought that came into our minds as we steped into the airport were the differences from our culture that we could immediatley see. After picking up our luggage we headed onto a coach which took us back to our hotel. driving through the streets we experienced an immediate culture shock with the amount of poverty visiable. After a rest we headed out on a guided tour through Kolkata. At this stage although it was only the first day, we began to adjust to the culture. we visited sites including Mother Teresas missionarys of charity, the White House of Kolkata and an aray of temples.We then headed back to the hotel to pack our bag ready for the over night train. The over night train was an experience in its self which we all quite enjoyed. After 10 hours we finally reached Siliguri, spliting into 3 groups and taking a jeep ride up to Darjeling. With alot of bumps and bruises we finally arrived into the vibrant streets and found our selves sitting on the couch of our hotel sipping on tea and eating biscuts before eating our lunch. After, we spent our time getting comfortable in our rooms before we headed out into the colourful markets.