Park Street- Stay safe if alone

Not yet midnight and Park Street is flowing with drinks and the PYT-s clad in little somethings. Im in a salwar suit, for godsakes... coming out from a late night formal meet with husband in tow. Just crossing The Park in front of the paan shop is a group of fatso-s, average height 5'3''. I hurry towards the car, traffic is usually a mess at this time of night on weekends. "EY HEROINE. CHALTI KYA" comes the comment from the dwarf group behind me. On auto mode suddenly I swing around and walk toward the group. Immediately they start looking like trapped animals, guineapigs. My husband (thankfully, a 6 foot 160 pound-er) is just approaching the paan shop. As he sees me he realises something's wrong and catches up. The tallest in the group of 6, about 5'6'', is left to do the negotiating with my husband, who takes charge, while I stand fuming... well, because Im not being able to create the scene... and tapping my sandal on the kerb. "We are all family men, saar... Jaane dijiye". Yeah, right!!! Anyway, the paan shop seemed a better bet at spending time and energy, so we veered that way and munched our way back to our parked car near Flury's.

BTW, The Park's renovation does not seem to end. Its a mess with people and cars using the same narrow path in, with guards literally running after bikes which are not allowed inside. More so at night when most of the crowd is half drunk.

Kolkata Travel- Mandarmani

For all those who think Digha is the only beach in West Bengal, here is a resounding WRONG. Almost as far as Digha, about 140 kms from Kolkata is Mandarmani, or Madarmani, as the locals call it. I read somewhere that it is the longest motorable beach in India. Grossly under publicised (which is a good thing, seeing Bakkhali's condition now), this stretch of heaven just never seems to end. Virgin sand takes on another meaning.

REACHING THERE- From Kolkata via Kona Expressway, via Mumbai Road to Kolaghat. Then Contai. Take Digha route. On the Kolkata-Digha road reach Chawlkhola. Be sure to ask directions, the left turn from this road is almost impossible to find unless you are looking for it very carefully. Once you leave the Kolkata-Digha road, the paved roads end and the bone rattling drive for 10 kms begin. Keep asking directions every few minutes. If you survive that drive, you will reach the beach and will have to drive on the beach itself for a good 4-5 kms till you reach your resorts. The beach drive can be tricky, at high tide this bit is submerged and vehicles might have to wait for the low tide. If availing public transport and Kolkata- Digha bus will drop you at Chawlkhola from where local transports are available. (Trekkers where you can hang on for dear life on the stretch). Its worth the trouble when you see the beach.

Go to this link for the wiki map of the area- http://wikimapia.org/510487/

STAY- Resorts line this beach, pick one according to your pocket. We stayed at the Sana Beach Resort. It was expensive, but very nice. Rooms were tasefully decorated, with AC, the reception area is huge and well decorated too. The food isnt bad either.

WHAT TO DO- Loll around on the beach. Some resorts have their beach beds, with umbrellas and towels. There are shacks where you will get simple yummy crab curry (they will make it for you if you order), prawns, beer, bread, eggs, packaged water and soft drinks. People drive on the beach, but ideally its not recommended due to the ecology of the area. You can walk/drive toward Digha on the beach itself until you reach a river cutting through to the sea. Its shallow enough to wade into, deep enough to have a small ride if you can convince a local boatman. We did. The resorts also have good game rooms or pools.

FOOD- As long as you keep the money flowing, there will be no dearth of food or drink. Vegetarians will have a problem, will have to stick to biscuits and bread-butter on the beach, or else get from restaurants of the resorts. All the resorts have their own restaurants.

You can google Mandarmani for more information. Lots of it available, including photos. For photos go here - http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India/East/West_Bengal/mandarmani/