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DESTINATIONS
Read about each of the destinations Irma visits during the series |
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Irma Kurtz's own experiences in Mediterranean
Tales are intensely personal - it's the noises, colours and smells
that shape her memories and the brief or chance encounters that
leave the strongest mark.
If you have been impressed by a particular place or journey and
can say why you found it memorable in 200 words or less then share
it with us. Use the form
below to submit your story and a selection of the best will be published
on the site.
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We flew into Calcutta before sunrise, and being nervous of leaving the
airport in darkness we found a balcony and watched the huge red sun rise
through a smoggy horizon. The outside smelt strongly of hundreds of things,
some good, others bad, and all drenched in heavy incense. It was the first
time we'd been outside Europe. We were finally here with no going back.
The taxi from the airport to backpackers' haven Sudder Street was driven
by a boy who had no fear of death by car crash, through streets riddled
with all kinds of life. Beaten yellow Ambassador taxis everywhere, men
carrying fruit and meat and wood and chai chai chai! More cars, trucks
and lorries garlanded with tinsel, school children in caged vans, on bikes,
darting through traffic to get to school. Men washing under water pumps,
bundles of chickens strung onto bikes, more children running, selling,
sweeping. Cows roaming nonchalantly, battered buses with four, five, six
people hanging off the side, goats, dogs, beggars at the window, rickshaws,
bikes everywhere, people everywhere in saris, suits, uniforms, rags. The
smells keep changing and the noises never cease. Early morning is the
best time to land in Calcutta.
Rachel Ramsay |
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