Friday November 21, 2025 – Khulna to Benapole/Petrapole Border
We were awakened at 5:00 by Call to Prayer
blaring through speakers close by the hotel. We ordered continental breakfast
last night for 7:30 today. The manager brought out toast, chocolate mini muffins,
bananas, hard boiled eggs, and fruit that might have been guava. When Tom &
Cathy came out, he then brought out the same for them.
Piku and the driver got us going around
8:00 for the 3-hour ride to the Bangladesh/ India border. We made good time as
it was around 2 hours. It was a rough ride on mostly dirt roads.
When we arrived, Piku took us to a
window to pay an exit tax. We had not been informed of that by the tour
company. It wasn’t expensive but we tend to “spend out” of the local currency
before we leave a country. Luckily, among the 4 of us we put it all together.
A porter took our luggage and despite
not speaking English (I don’t think he was verbal as he didn’t speak on the
Bangladesh or India side either) He guided us out of the country with many
stops to show passport stamps and visas and bags x-rayed several times and one
pat down. He must have dual IDs as he was able to cross over the border with
our luggage.
When we got out of the Bangladesh building,
we entered an old building on the India side that appeared empty. We kept
walking and came outside where we were met by a young man in a cart that drove us
the short distance to the new terminal. Here we went through more passport
stamp and visa checks and finally got stamped into India and we proceeded to
leave the area to find our guide. It was a long walk dragging luggage down this
ridged and bumpy walkway. A guy was waiting for us right outside the gate where
we had one last passport check.
The guy that picked us up explained they brought 2 cars
for easier transport instead of a larger van. The roads are narrow and due to
the political situation (the ex-Prime Minister of Bangladesh fled to India and
then found guilty of crimes against humanity in Bangladesh) both countries
prepared for potential issues.
We had about a 3.5-hour drive to
Kolkata on the first paved roads we have seen in a while. Traffic was less
crazy here and it was nice to have paved roads. I slept a lot of the way since
we were touring later.
Kolkata was officially known as
Calcutta during British rule but reverted to its Bengali name, Kolkata, in 2001
and is the capital of West Bengal, India. Calcutta is known for its rich
colonial history as the British Raj's capital until 1911 and is known as the "City
of Joy." We have been to India 3 other times but had not been to Kolkata,
so it was nice visit another area.
We got to the Raajkutir, Kolkata –
IHCL SeleQtions hotel around 3:00 and we had a 2-hour tour after we got settled
in the room. We were greeted with a dot painted on our foreheads and she patted
on our heads with herbs and gave us a sweet candy, a blessing, and a tasty
welcome drink that tasted like cinnamon apple.
The hotel’s design is designed to
transport you to an era defined by the Bengal Renaissance and each of their 48
rooms and suites is an ode to Kolkata’s grandeur and is named for different
people. It is
an attempt to demonstrate a slice of life of the English influences on upper
class Bengali society from the eighteenth century. The staff is trained to tell
you the story (which is the last thing we wanted after our long travel day) and
when they take you to your room they have to tell you the story of the room.
All we wanted to do was get settled in. The rooms were huge and very
comfortable.
We agreed on a time to meet the guide,
Maitreyi for the short tour (was supposed to be half a day, but the journey
between countries took longer so she moved things onto our other days)
So, she did a shortened version that
included visiting a Jain Temple and a famous sweet shop. Most Jain Temples are plain,
but this one was gorgeous. It was like being inside a jewelry box. It was
designed by a jeweler, and it showed. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed
inside. It was getting dark, so the outside photos don’t do it justice.
The Kolkata Jain Temple (also known as
Parshwanath Temple) was constructed in 1867 by Ray Badridas Bahadur, a
prominent jeweler and philanthropist, to create a beautiful complex dedicated
to Jain Tirthankaras, famous for its intricate architecture, mirrors, murals,
paintings, mosaic designs and glasswork.
The main shrine is divided into three
sections. The innermost section enshrines images of Tirthankaras. The marble
images may wear gold necklaces, have a diamond-inlaid forehead, and sit upon
silver lotus pedestals. The floor of the temple is elaborately paved with
marble and the walls, ceiling, and columns of the shrine's outer section is
richly decorated with ornate mosaic glasswork. The outer section also features
a Murano chandelier of unique Jain design with over a hundred branches.
Inside the sanctum sanctorum, there is
a lamp fueled by ghee (clarified butter) that has been continuously burning
since the initiation of the temple in 1867. It’s a continually burning flame, which
represents a light of peace, reconciliation, human harmony and mutual love.
Next, we visited the Girish Ch. Dey
& Nakur Ch. Nandy, a famous sweet shop that has been in business since
1844. Sandesh is a quintessential Bengali sweet made from fresh chena
(paneer/cottage cheese) and sugar often formed into different shapes and other
flavors mixed in. I imagine it’s an acquired taste if you grew up eating it.
The guide first gave us the
traditional one and then chose some different flavors. She made a box for us to
take on the train and made an identical box for the Krill’s so they could try
them as well. We thought that was thoughtful of the guide.
We did a short drive to various areas,
but it was so dark we didn’t get to see much. The guide took us back to the
hotel and told us we had to be checked out and ready to go aa 4:45 in the
morning to catch a 6:30 train. She ordered breakfast boxes so we could eat them
on the train.
We grabbed a quick pizza at Pizzeria
Uno (yes, same as here in the States). Then back to the room to shower as we
weren’t doing that in the morning.
Border crossing - Kolkata https://photos.app.goo.gl/vzCHMCd1oouGsumd9
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