One - yes, it happened...I was duped by a cabbie! It's a one in a lakh (100,000) occurrence..there are rotten cab drivers in every city, I'm sure. You'd think I'd learn...he seemed unkept & the outside of the cab wasn't shiny...two signs that he's less than proud of his profession. (I've learned in the past to trust my instincts with cabs...lesson RELEARNED) Most of the taxi drivers have been extremely patient as we try to figure out where I want to go, so I wasn't too worried when he stopped to ask directions from someone on the street - it's a pretty common event. But, then we got stuck in Puja traffic, sat through four lights getting nowhere, he turned around & motioned out. I said, NO...this is not Park Street...out he motioned. I was not going to get to Park Street with his help. The good news is I did find Park Street through a bit of walking, seeking help from two groups of English speaking Kolkatans, who put me into the right auto rickshaw & drew a little map when I got lost a second time, plus an absolutely delightful rickshaw driver who spoke immaculate, vernacular American English, although he didn't let on until I was the last person left in the cab! A few scary moments turned into feeling quite good about myself & I got to see several more pandal designs on my stroll. (More on Puja & pandals next post.)
By the time I arrived at my location I was pretty warm & hungry. (Not late, thankfully, since I'd buffered an extra hour just in case & another 30 minutes to account for Puja traffic.) I was feeling so good about finding my way, despite the curmudgeon cabbie, that I splurged for a grilled fish lunch at Flurry's, a long-standing British cake & restaurant spot in the ritzy shopping district of Kolkata, Park Street. I've been eating at home, saving money & trying to avoid the heavily salt & yummy, but calorie laden, fried Bengali specialties. Yet, when I ate the fish it didn't taste nearly as salty as the last time I ate out...it tasted fine. Then it hit me...it all worked together...drinking two liters of water a day, sweating all the time, buying a jumbo jar of green olives shopping because I craved them so much...my body was wanting salt & I'd "listened" to it! That felt great, too...it's going on a month away & I'm sure I'll surprise no one when I admit there were several quiet times of worry & concern - I'm a nervous nellie traveler in the first place! A super day in all - I'm going to be fine! My automatic coping skills kick in when needed, even if my common sense & knowledge base don't always carry me through...not feeling confident...just calmer! :-)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Cal/Kol, WB
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