Kolkata!

Visiting Kolkata is like taking a time-machine back to the mid 1900s with the countless large yellow 1940’s taxis and soot that covers the city making it appear as if you are stepping into a black and white photograph. The heavy British influence is still visible in the architecture, street layout, taxis, street trolleys, and larger central park, but Kolkata is by no means stagnate, and what makes Kolkata interesting is this mix of British and Indian culture. There are certainly signs of modern western influence, posh hotels, coffee shops, restaurants, and book stores that cater towards the English reader, but in Kolkata a street beggar, cycle-rickshaw, or cheap street food vendor is never far off. The city appears a jumbled mess, there is constant honking and traffic jams, piles of garbage, towering and tangled banyan trees lining the street, crumbled sidewalks, street fires used to serve deliciously cheap Bengali food, shanty towns squeezed next to five star hotels, and buildings that probably haven’t been touched since the British built them a hundred or more years ago, however, if you have time to get past the soot and noise, there are layers of culture and complexities that make this city a must visit in India.