Chennai

Flight to Chennai was pretty straightforward. A French woman had a go at me for bumping her chair and I watched Gandhi. Shejal donated her ration of white wine to me which helped smooth things out for a relaxing time. We had to wait for an hour once we touched down in Chennai due to the ‘airport not being advanced enough to handle larger volumes of traffic’ – the Captain’s words. Bit cheeky. 

Once through immigration, we had to find a taxi. The chap that runs the pre-paid taxi service is fast asleep. I try to wake him politely, but ended up having to grab him and give him a little shake. Eventually he sorts us out and we’re transferred to our taxi. 

Being that it was 3am, I was surprised at how busy it was. Loads of traffic on the roads and plenty of chaps just milling about. I imagined that during the day this place must be kicking-off. Plenty of dogs knocking about as expected. Saw one crossing the road with a full carrier bag in its mouth; looked like it had just done its weekly shop. 

Hotel is pretty nice. I do a typical tourist faux pas and give the bell-boy a 1 rupee tip, which he promptly returns to me with a disgusted look on his face. 1 rupee is about 1.3 pence, what a wally.

After a crap nights sleep we head out to discover the delights of Chennai. Hot, loud, smelly, dusty, crowded; exactly what I expected. I thought it may be a good idea to buy a couple of long sleeve shirts to blend in with the crowd a bit more. Coupled with my new linen trousers, I could definitely pass for a local!  No chance, stupid idea. You’re white. 

We spend the day looking at overpriced shirts and searching for somewhere that would sell us a SIM card. No joy. 

We finish the day at Marina beach. Masses of people. Lots wanting to take pictures with me or shake my hand. Not sure exactly what the intention behind all this attention is, but it all seemed very friendly. We bought a kite for 10 rupees and spend the next hour playing with it. Once finished, we gave the kite to a little girl who was over the moon to have it. We’re also introduced to a new born boy who didn’t have a name yet.

 

Back to hotel to plot next places to visit. Got an internet access card; Shejal skyped home. We had a lovely dinner at Hotel Sarahavan Bhavan (not a hotel, but a vegetarian restaurant specialising in South Indian food – dosas etc).  My first foray into Indian food this trip; hopefully the Delhi belly won’t rear its head tonight! The plan for tomorrow is to get SIM so that we can book accommodation ahead. Due to terrorists using mobiles to activate bombs and coordinate attacks, they now require proof of address in India and passport photos. We’ll head over the shop tomorrow to get that sorted. We’re also going to book tickets for bus to Mamallapuram – next leg of the journey south!