Okay, where was I?
After my last post, things got a little crazy. Hard to believe it after all the stuff we'd been through, but it's true.
So, we were done shooting. We got back to Bombay, did a day of shopping, sightseeing, and B-roll photography, and began the jump to China at 6pm. By midnight we were in Kolkata (Calcutta). I am convinced beyond a doubt that this is the worst city on the face of this earth - and we hardly left the airport. A mix between the disgusting shambles of India and the outdated, impoverished culture of Communist China, Kolkata has earned it's reputation among world travellers as the armpit of Asia.
It started as soon as we arrived. Rafters hung from the ceiling, puddles of rainwater water lay untended where the roof had given out. After a brief hike and a pair of non-functional escalators, we arrived at baggage claim. Upholstered benches had been torn from the walls, upended and promptly forgotten. The islands between the baggage conveyors were covered in... astroturf. Fake grass. I still can't wrap my head around it. Moving on.
Once connected with our heavily damaged luggage (mine sustained a large tear and some localized moisture for no apparent reason) we had to leave our terminal and find the international terminal. After a familiar episode of comical yet frustrating sign language with the natives, we found where we needed to go. Problem was, our flight was temporarily delayed. Which meant we couldn't get our tickets. Which meant we couldn't get into the business-class lounge. Which meant we were sitting ducks for all the scary people we found around us. We hunkered down in the airport restaurant and feigned toughness while we discussed (read: argued over) our options. I decided to leave the pack (they're idiots) and try to reason with airport security. And, for reasons I still can't understand, they just let me in without hearing me out. So I called over my guys, they came in too, and we all laughed nervously.
Customs. We had to talk to customs. Who turned out to also be the janitor. Permits stamped without a single question.
More stupid things happened, which are too petty and numerous to waste your time with. We ended up boarding an ancient, communist-era plane at 3 or 4am. I somehow slept through to Kun Ming, China. I'll chalk it up to the stress.
The city was a dump. Not in the Indian sense, but more in the "city that China forgot" sort of sense. Countless buildings nobody used anymore, 70's era decor, wide streets with no cars. That place creeped the hell out of me. I used my 14-hour layover to sleep and shower and sleep and breathe slightly less polluted air.
On the car ride back to the airport to the airport in Kun Ming, our producer came down with "Dehli-belly" and literally soiled himself. Being a typical group of mature male adults, we almost died of laughter, and really didn't stop laughing until Guilin.
The Guilin area of China is amazing. It's not like the rest of China, it's a carefully-crafted tourist resort for high-end world-class clientele. And we were (and are currently) put up in a five-star resort. I'll leave it to the pictures to explain the serene beauty of this place. Finally, after a week and a half of non-stop stress from all sides, some calm. The last two days have been great, but I'm still working, and usually in remote nature locations, so there isn't much internet, save for the hotel, which explains my absence. We fly to Beijing at 5:30 AM tomorrow, then to Manila, Philippines the day after.
After my last post, things got a little crazy. Hard to believe it after all the stuff we'd been through, but it's true.
So, we were done shooting. We got back to Bombay, did a day of shopping, sightseeing, and B-roll photography, and began the jump to China at 6pm. By midnight we were in Kolkata (Calcutta). I am convinced beyond a doubt that this is the worst city on the face of this earth - and we hardly left the airport. A mix between the disgusting shambles of India and the outdated, impoverished culture of Communist China, Kolkata has earned it's reputation among world travellers as the armpit of Asia.
It started as soon as we arrived. Rafters hung from the ceiling, puddles of rainwater water lay untended where the roof had given out. After a brief hike and a pair of non-functional escalators, we arrived at baggage claim. Upholstered benches had been torn from the walls, upended and promptly forgotten. The islands between the baggage conveyors were covered in... astroturf. Fake grass. I still can't wrap my head around it. Moving on.
Once connected with our heavily damaged luggage (mine sustained a large tear and some localized moisture for no apparent reason) we had to leave our terminal and find the international terminal. After a familiar episode of comical yet frustrating sign language with the natives, we found where we needed to go. Problem was, our flight was temporarily delayed. Which meant we couldn't get our tickets. Which meant we couldn't get into the business-class lounge. Which meant we were sitting ducks for all the scary people we found around us. We hunkered down in the airport restaurant and feigned toughness while we discussed (read: argued over) our options. I decided to leave the pack (they're idiots) and try to reason with airport security. And, for reasons I still can't understand, they just let me in without hearing me out. So I called over my guys, they came in too, and we all laughed nervously.
Customs. We had to talk to customs. Who turned out to also be the janitor. Permits stamped without a single question.
More stupid things happened, which are too petty and numerous to waste your time with. We ended up boarding an ancient, communist-era plane at 3 or 4am. I somehow slept through to Kun Ming, China. I'll chalk it up to the stress.
The city was a dump. Not in the Indian sense, but more in the "city that China forgot" sort of sense. Countless buildings nobody used anymore, 70's era decor, wide streets with no cars. That place creeped the hell out of me. I used my 14-hour layover to sleep and shower and sleep and breathe slightly less polluted air.
On the car ride back to the airport to the airport in Kun Ming, our producer came down with "Dehli-belly" and literally soiled himself. Being a typical group of mature male adults, we almost died of laughter, and really didn't stop laughing until Guilin.
The Guilin area of China is amazing. It's not like the rest of China, it's a carefully-crafted tourist resort for high-end world-class clientele. And we were (and are currently) put up in a five-star resort. I'll leave it to the pictures to explain the serene beauty of this place. Finally, after a week and a half of non-stop stress from all sides, some calm. The last two days have been great, but I'm still working, and usually in remote nature locations, so there isn't much internet, save for the hotel, which explains my absence. We fly to Beijing at 5:30 AM tomorrow, then to Manila, Philippines the day after.
Thanks for taking the time to paint word pictures for us. Really enjoying hearing about your adventure...I mean work!
ReplyDelete