Calcutta

The place famous for poverty and Mother Theresa is the last economic center on the east side of India. It is part of the Bengal region which has been cut in half when Bangladesh has been founded. The Golf of Bengal reaches all the way to Thailand. People speak Bengali and the local Government is extreme left wing.

Many different world powers had a place on the river here to do business before India's Independence. The British had a especially big footprint, because from here they shipped opium to Hong Kong and China which fueled the two opium wars in Hong Kong.

Calcutta has some colonial architecture, but only one sight is truly impressive: Queen Victoria Memorial. Kind of looking like the Capitol building in Washington it is set in a huge park with small lakes around it. Indian architecture has been merged into it.

Calcutta has a really old British trolley system and a Russian built subway (North South).

Indian history museum which is the biggest in India doesn't match the size with quality.My stay here was rather short because I already booked the train to Chennai and the diarrhea kept me close to the hotel.

Calcutta is better than Delhi but worse than Mumbai. Chennai never made the competition.