Some Details...:confused:

brishti

you've obviously hit a raw nerve atala

whilst what you say about the bengali form of vegetarianism is true, what you have obviously overlooked is -
calcutta has 2nd/3rd generation marwaris, gujaratis - all strict vegetarians and malayalees...

hence, there are a variety of eateries catering to this not-so-small community/ies.
not everyone may know of them - but available they are!

am collating a list for you... which will not be comprehensive... but there is a choice


:brishti

mousourik

In Calcutta, it'll be difficult to find A/c rooms at less than INR 1200 - that too at a decent place. Some guest-houses are available in Gariahat area in south Calcutta. Gariahat is somewhat away from CBD, but if you take a cab, it'll cost you around INR 100. Aletrnatively, you can avail metro rail services from "Kalighat" station and commute to Gariahat which is 2-3 kilometers away. A/c rooms at Raj hotel will cost you INR 1500 + 10% tax.

As for a local tour, you can go to Murshidabad on the banks of the river Ganges. It's approximately 5 hours journey from Calcutta by train. So you can start in the evening from "Sealdah" railway station, spend the next day there and come back to Calcutta by overnight/morning train. It was once the capital of Bengal (the state of which Kolkata is the capital) before the British period. You can enjoy "Hazarduari" (meaning thousand doors) palace, Katra mosque, Kathgola Garden etc. and take boat rides to Khoshbag and Rani Bhabani temple on the opposite bank of the river. A lot of foreigners go there and the best place to stay is Manjusha Hotel. Even Mr. George Reverter, a frequent contributor of photos to indiamike, also put up there. You can check phtos of Murshidabad in this very site.
If interested, pl. let me know - i'll give you more information on this.
In the evenings, instead of going to bars, you can explore millenium park, victoria memorial, citizen's park and certainly science city. The latter boasts of a theatre which is very unique in nature and the nearest city where you'll find a similar one is Singapore !
Most welcome to the city of life and joy.

Ann

I am pure vegetarian & staying in Kolkata for nearly 7 years. Though I don't mind eating anywhere whether veg or non veg restaurants, but the food should be vegetarian. But my mother minds a lot so we have to take her to a pure vegetarian restaurant. And please note that we take outside dinner once in forthnight.

We usually goes to Ganguar(J.L.Nehru Road near to ITC center), Anand, Dhaba in Elgin Road, Haldirams and many others.

It depends atala, what r u looking for. As u dont have problem with non veg, you can have anywhere u feel like but if you are pure vegetarian & looking for only pure vegetarian restaurant, you will surely get atleast one if not many in any place. I totally agree that here most of them (means Bengalis) like to have egg & fish in dinner so mostly restaurants are for both veg & non veg. In Kolkata you will find marwaris a lot & they are pure vegetarian in nature so there has to be a restaurant for them as well.

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mailpbk

Still I can't get very straight reply...

1) Accomodation in range of 300-500 INR ? Is sudder's street the only option ?

2) Where should I go to checkout nightlife of Kolkata, good pubs would be just fine ? As during day I would be busy with my work ?

3) Is there any online info on Kolkata Metro Stations and Time Table or something ??

4) I am waiting for you Bristi... Make a good list...

5) A good & clear road map of kolkata... ones I found online are a bit too small and hence I find the info in them to be very cluttered... Can someone post a link to good road map of kolkata

shashank.aggarwal

mailpbk...did you check burrp.com, I am sure they would have some reviews of the night spots and eating places..

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mailpbk

Nope... will do in few mins...

Now have checked the link you mentioned... am sure it would be quite helpful...

Now main requirements are

1) Accomodation in range of 300-500 INR

2) Good road map

3) Info on Metro Trains

mousourik

Pl. read the discussion on the following topic -
places to go to in kolkota

Check calcuttaweb.com for maps of Calcutta.

brishti

mailpbk...

ok - thishere is really spoonfeeding
all the info you have been wanting has been provided by the various links on this thread...

cap'n has posted an exhaustive list of vegetarian restaurants in his link.

and with the link mousourik provided - the thread has an exhaustive list of budgeted places to stay.

mousourik has also provided a link to maps.

as for nightlife - follow mousourik's link... its ALL THERE!!!


there - all done!!!


:brishti

hey ann - you might like to check out the list of vege eating places!

mailpbk

I thank you guys for all the info given...

BTW the maps on calcuttaweb.com is a bit confusing for 1st time visitors... There isn't a single map of entire kolkata... there are several maps of various suburbs of kolkata...

Does any one know about a large/clickable of map of kolkata ??

What about Metro Train information (Stations, fare, frequency, tips etc)...

machadinha

Google sometimes really is your friend: http://www.kolmetro.com/

I'm not very into online maps, it's a giant city though, I'm not surprised if maps get sub-divided. I'm sure you could buy one there or before arrival. Good maps & free online distribution just don't seem to go together very well, I think I can see why. Try these guys for commercial maps (and some free online stuff): http://www.mapsofindia.com/. Tourist offices are always worth checking for (free) maps. Other than that, almost any local bookstore should be able to serve you, or a specialized travel bookstore wherever you live.

Have these freebie sites been mentioned yet?
http://www.mapmyindia.com/
http://www.multimap.com/

ps

I really wouldn't know and it's been too long, just walk around and follow your nose, won't be hard to find. Or at least I hadn't the slightest trouble with it (I don't eat meat; can't remember stumbling into fish all the time either). If you mind your neighbor having lamb, maybe it requires a little looking harder, but as most others have noted, I can't see how it would be very difficult. Seeking out some places that are off the main tourist drag I'd call far from useless, but generally fun and rewarding instead. Even sticking to it though, I don't think it will be a problem.

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Nick-H

I'm surprised that Google Maps don't seem to have it covered very well, at least not down to the detail of Chennai. District names and main road names only.

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capt_mahajan

http://www.ganguly.de/calcutta/calmap.html

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atala

Thanks everyone for their input. I think together we bring some good info resources together. I know of people who have been to Kolkata a lot who have complained about lack or scarcity of pure veg places there.

chief61: Anand is exactly the one name that I missed on Chittaranjan Ave, the place which I mentioned in my first post which upset at least two of you. But that is a South Indian restaurant that serves only Tiffins (dosa, idli etc) no complete meals = a Thali. If I have to puzzle my meal together by way of 7 different orders without getting a decent rice-japati-dhal-subji plate, I can't call it a meal really that feeds a person sufficiently, and i hesitate to call that a vegetarian restaurant.

I have been at Anand a number of times just for the pleasure of sitting in a restaurant with the hope of getting a taste of South India. I have not been to the one in Lake Market, but in a travel guide I read that it is also just a South Indian restaurant that serves Dosa, and I doubt one gets a thali there.

But at least these are pure vegetarian, pure in the sense that they do not serve any non veg food.

Flury's at Park Street was not mentioned, which is not really a restaurant either, but a Café; it is another excuse if one is looking for a place to sit somewhere and eat something, even though not a meal...

Other places that Ann mentions would need to be explored. Are they serving Thalis there, and that in a pure veg environment?

Considering the size of Kolkata, compared to other metros, it appears to me still now legitimate to say that it has a scarcity of pure veg places.

chief61

Here member's informations are much more accurate
than travel guides, those guides are not being updated
as frequently as eateries are coming up every corners
of the city .

Cheers

brishti

atalaaaaa:

meals can be gotten [!] at, for starters :
south indian
raj hotel - off hazra road [south cal]
south indian hotel - park circus
there are others too - names aint remembering -
look around lake market area - [south cal]

gujarati thalis:
annapurna - behind poddopukur [off lansdowne road][south cal]
there is another place in the alley next to nepal sweets on lansdowne road - name is not getting now

and check out the vegetarian url that cap'n has posted.
you'll get some more - totally, absolutely, positively ONLY vegetarian places!!!



:brishti