Kolkata is probably not a city most people would want to live in, but for visiting, it’s culture, beautiful colonial architecture, fascinating street scene and friendly people make it something special.  If you’ve read any of my posts on this site you’ll probably know that my idea of a good holiday is almost anywhere where there’s the least amount of people.  I live in Hong Kong and don’t need to go to another city with millions of people rushing around, pushing you and filling my lungs with more polluted air.

Victoria Memorial Kolkata

India and Japan are the two exceptions for me.  Japan because it’s civilised and India because it’s something you don’t see everyday, and I love the Indian people.  I know people say Indians are this and that, but I find them some of the friendliest folk around, always willing to have a chat if you engage them and always willing to share a joke. For taking photos, Kolkata and India is excellent because I’ve found most people will encourage you to take photos to the point of being disappointed if you don’t. Kolkata perhaps doesn’t have the reputation of Mumbai in terms of tourism, but I found it one of the most interesting places to visit.  Okay so I was only there for a day, and for the sole purpose of taking some photos, so I can’t really say I know the city and probably can’t give a fair view on it (who can?), but I’d definitely go back, especially if you’re into street photography or just wanting something a bit different.

Kolkata isn’t as popular as some of the other Indian cities in terms of tourism, which to me makes it more attractive to visit, there’s not so many tacky attractions and tourist traps and the locals are genuine, not influenced so much by hoards of tourists.