Our pool buddy
Cockroach killer, qu'st-ce que c'est?
We were happy to arrive at our dream destination at Dream Hut Resort. We checked in at reception, tired and sweaty. Reception was littered with fold out cots covered with mosquito nets and inhabited by drivers (which is where our driver would live for the weekend - on our bill of course). We were directed to our dream hut by 5 members of this overstaffed establishment and on the way we were stopped to check out the pool. sadly, it was empty but we were promised that they would fill the next day.
The room was... well, let's just say that the $50 (CAD) charge per night was probably based solely on the fact that the room was so close to the beach (slash highway - more on that later). The service was incredible however as everytime one of us shrieked about a cockroach scurrying through the bathroom or across a pillow, at least 5 hotel staff came to our door within under a minute. There cockroaches were so big they took 4 men to wrestle them to the ground and one man to stand around and stare awkwardly at us while the other four played hero.
The restaurant, also staffed by these foreigner rescuing heroes, was extremely accommodating and sure that anything that we requested that they did not have was available for us hours later. Though they happily charged us extra for their effort (ice was 15 cents a cube).
As we were the only foreigners west of Kolkata, the people on the beach were equally as attentive. The beach, which also served as a highway between the two beach towns, was a dangerous place to set up a towel and relax on for the day. Getting to the ocean required looking both ways before crossing the street/beach while also looking down at avoid steeping on crabs. When we did decide to sit on our towels just far enough from the waiter that we didn't get wet, Indian tourists on route to the other town stopped their car beside us to snap our picture.
I will have to confess our disappointment however regarding the pool. Now, please understand, Kolkata is extremely hot and unbearably humid. In our daydreams of our Mandarmani Dream Hut Resort vacation, we envisioned ourselves frolicking in the pool. The "resort" did fill the pool as promised, though to our dismay they pumped water from the ocean, along with sand, algae, frogs and crabs.
Our four hour journey back took a harrowing four hours, swerving in and out of traffic our driver made sure to keep one hand on the horn at all moments. Needless to say, we needed a vacation after our vacation.
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