Kolkata: Salsa and Dancing and Sangria

Anando and Devaleena

We woke in the morning to yet more delicious food. This time a big fry up of bread pieces, onion, sausage and eggs all washed down with yet more kopi luak and a big glass of orange juice. As it was Sunday, not too many shops would be open so our errands were put on hold for the most part. We did go down the road to get some new passport photos taken and were amused by the narrow staircase that led to a photo studio with huge lights ready to make us look Nepal worthy.

We had lunch at home and it was amazing despite me feeling slightly unwell. We had chicken do-pyaza served with a sweet pulao with dried fruit, cinnamon, cardamo and cashews.

Afterwards, we drove into the city and parked up at the shopping mall where we would meet Devaleena, Anando's girlfriend. To park though we did had to get the boot of the car searched for explosives and then have ourselves checked before we could enter the mall. We had a bit of time to kill before dancing and took advantage of it by getting a guide book for Nepal which gave in depth day-to-day explanations of the trek. This book would prove very handy for Chris within the next couple of hours.

We went next door to the International School where Anando and Devaleena attend weekly salsa dancing classes. Encouraged by the mix of people's ages (both kids and adults) we joined in. Not that we had much choice...the teachers were very persuasive. Chris got about half way through the shimmy shoulder warm up before deciding salsa wasn't for him. I, on the other hand, stood with the children and beginners and started my first ever salsa class. Before long I was plucked from the beginner group and thrust into the hands of a guy who would be my dance parter for the evening.

I was spun more times than I could count and couldn't believe that Devaleena was impressively dancing in heels. I followed the lead of the teacher, Anando and my dance partner who had the horrible habit of trying to talk to me while I was concentrating on not falling over. Didn't he realise that I couldn't dance and talk simultaneously, let alone answer questions about whether a 'flapjack' was an Australian animal? Chris entertained himself with the guidebook as he resisted the urge to join us on the dance floor.

Dinner and Drinks at Zara

We danced until we were all sweating profusely. When class ended Anando took the opportunity to talk to the dance teacher about selling our bike. He had a few ideas which sounded promising and we planned to meet with him tomorrow to work out more.

Next stop was the shopping mall again. Chris found Levi jeans for $40 (so cheap!) but they didn't have his size. We were impressed that they could alter them there and then for us but ended up visiting Spencer's (which sells everything!) to buy a cheap, stretchy pair instead. We figured that Nepal will be rough on our clothes. Giving up on buying foam earplugs after trying a number of shops, we went to Zara, a Spanish restaurant, and settled in for drinks and food. We ordered a pitcher of a fruity cocktail and followed it up with another pitcher, this time of white wine sangria. We ordered tapas too: fried calamari and a chorizo/calamari dish. While we did have plans to relocate next door for a big serve of meat, our booth was awfully comfortable and instead we stayed at Zara for dinner. Fish and chips, pasta, chilli con carne (sort of) and more fish.

After stuffing ourselves silly we dropped Devaleena home before heading home ourselves.