Kolkata, the city of joy, a land where the
aged finds heaven!! Isn’t that what this city is known by? Well, it’s not
difficult to understand the reason why tourists come pouring in to this city.
There is so much to do and see in Kolkata. From famous architectural marvels to
some mouth-watering food, the city has it all. So here’s a little glimpse of my
experience of self-driving a rented car in this city.
Landing
in Kolkata…
So where to begin from…? Catching an early
morning flight and landing in this iconic city was a very different experience
all together. Getting out of the terminal, I was welcomed by this heavy traffic
of Kolkata and an air hard to describe. So let’s get straight on point without
wasting any further time, shall we? Obviously we all know about the city’s
offerings right? Now here’s a thing, the heavy traffic congestion in Kolkata
alone, let alone the whole of India is a big problem, and so it proved to be
for me as well. Settling myself in a nice hotel room and then thinking of
moving out and exploring some street food of this city, specially the egg
rolls…yep you’re right, those famous egg rolls, I was welcomed with open hands
into a world of freaking travels and long walks. Now I thought the metro would
be a better idea to travel, but there you go again, what a disaster of an
experience it all was!!
Coming
to know the rental service…
So sitting in my hotel room and gulping my
hard earned egg rolls, I came across something like self-drive car rentals in Kolkata on the net, and thought about
giving it a go. At least the travel would be comfortable I thought. The cost
didn’t matter although it wasn’t very high. So I chose a small car according to
my need, booked it and got it dropped at the hotel itself, just about on time.
The condition of the car was fine, I got it with a full tank. So overall it was
pretty hassle-free. Now here’s the next thing, how did my experience pan out to
be? Well, cling on…
Trying
it…
Now on getting the car I didn’t waste any
time and started my exploration around the city. So I drove to the famous Victoria
Memorial, that’s right, that iconic marble building of Kolkata and holy heavens
what an experience it was!! The car meanwhile worked fine, even though the
clutch was a bit hard but honestly, who likes a loose clutch, right? But since
it was a concern in any case I informed the road side assistance helpline and
they offered to provide me with a changed car even though I didn’t take it. Quiet
a service that, getting a car changed this quickly along your travels.
So what should I talk about? I took a halt
at some of the popular places afterwards like the Indian Museum or the huge
Howrah Bridge. Although the traffic was annoying in the city but honestly you
can’t run away from it when in a city like Kolkata right? You’re not going to
get any traffic in the metro or local trains there but there will be a lot of
crowd to hamper your experience.
Now after a 2 day movement in the city it
was time I fly back home but not before dropping the car back. So here’s
another surprising part, the car was pickup up from the hotel itself where I
stayed and no extra charges of any sorts were levied upon me. So the experience
was quiet pleasing as far as the services are concerned. But here’s a
suggestion for all the travel freaks thinking of renting a self-drive car, do
look for the rentals which offer the most services and best price range. I
personally recommend using self-drive rentals in cities where you have even a
small amount of trouble travelling. Not only it makes your travel cheap and
happening, it also gives you the necessary privacy.
