Pleasant Surprises

Pleasant Surprises are just that: cities one expects to be dismal, dirty or perhaps dangerous but which leave a different impression. Following are several on my list.

• Kolkata, India, still known to the world as Calcutta, is a good example. On my trip in 2001, I thought, “What a filthy mess it will be,” but, lo and behold, it was a very agreeable town.
It is, of course, densely populated, but this city has soul. People who live in close proximity tend to get along. There are also wide, open spaces and huge monuments. I found Kolkata an enjoyable city to visit.

• São Paulo, Brazil — It being one of the world’s largest cities, I anticipated a little chaos on my 2001 visit. It was crowded, but I found São Paulo to be Brazil’s most cosmopolitan and modern city, with a state-of-the-art subway system. Turn-of-the-century immigration from Italy and Japan has produced, in my opinion, the most cultured and best-educated middle class in South America. A pleasant surprise to me, anyhow.

• Baku, Azerbaijan — I expected to find a boring, dreary Moslem city, but in 1998 this place was jumping! It was alive and fun.

• Seoul, Korea — On the narrow backstreets of this pulsating city, one finds the heart of the land. Koreans work a hard 10-hour day, and afterward this is where they get together to eat, drink and make merry. As hard as they work, it seems they celebrate even more intensely. It’s a great place to spend a few days, as I did in 1999.

• Surabaya, Java, Indonesia — A big place, holding 2.8 million people, Surabaya is one of the most livable cities in Indonesia. It has a lively Old Town with crumbling Dutch architecture, an Arab quarter and a Chinatown. (2004)

• Dubai, United Arab Emirates —
What a change 27 years can make. Dubai moved from being a sparsely populated river town to being one of the most up-to-date cities on Earth. This all took place between my visits of 1977 and 2004. I plan to step by again in the 2030s to see new changes and spend a few more days in this Arab “Las Vegas without gambling.”

• Kiev, Ukraine — I spent three days visiting this thoroughly modern city of wide boulevards and broad squares in October ’05. St. Sofia Cathedral and the Caves Monastery are where Russian history began along with its art and architecture.

KURT SHAFER
Chatsworth, IL