A random tram ride
In a tram: going on a random tram ride in Kolkata, West Bengal.
There are no dearth of options on how to get around in Kolkata: starting from the hand pulled rickshaw, the cycle rickshaw, the shared auto rickshaws, the buses and the trams to the underground metro, not to forget the ever visible yellow ambassador cabs. The tram is something that is unique to Kolkata and we made it our agenda one afternoon, taking a random tram and going around.
Walking back from the river towards Esplanade, we saw one tram stuck at a signal and ran and caught it before it started. Before we could pay for the ride the tram stopped at what looked like a tram station. There were heated arguments between one passenger and the conductor of the tram and from what we could make out there was a block somewhere further on the tram path and the tram would only go some distance before returning. We saw one more tram starting to move and we got on that one. The conductor was pretty confused when we asked for a ticket to the last stop; he tried telling us that we could get down at some stop and visit a temple. After going some distance we did get down when the conductor indicated that we could catch a tram back from that place. Our conductor here was much more understanding when we told him we wanted to go to the last stop; the tram was stuck in traffic for some time and even the driver came back and sat down stretching his legs under the big fan waiting for the jam on the road to clear. This one stopped at a depot and we were the only ones on the tram; we got down and took a taxi back to Esplanade.
and that ends the series of posts from the 'Kolkata, Feb 2009' set.