The next leg...

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So we flew out of Delhi yesterday on IndiGo Airlines and arrived in Chennai, which is down south in Tamil Nadu, a southeastern coastal state (with much hotter and more humid weather than Delhi, which got pretty cold at night). We've had a few surprises. First, IndiGo Airlines is a local "budget" airline, and my last experience in India with budget flights was literally scary to say the least! (It was a combination of a lightning storm, intense turbulance, and being in a plane that had to be 30-40 years old... the walls of the plane visibly shaking, the wings of the plane "flapping" with at least two feet of movement - lets just say I was crossing my fingers I would walk off the plave alive!) So IndiGo Airlines was a crap shoot to me... cheapest flights we could find, and probably half the price of a "major" airline like Indian Airlines. Our surprise? It was well worth the money! New plane, good service, good pilots (considering how they flew the plane)... it was like night and day compared to my last "budget" flight!

And then we arrive in Chennai... which like my surprise with the flight, isn't near as bad as I last remembered it. It seems that Chennai is making strides forward in terms of its economic standing in India... I don't say it as fact, but the progress is very visible. It says something when a guide book on India says that the clubs in Chennai, and the ngihtlife in general, is second to Bombay! That being said, as I type this we're taking a small break from shopping for some nicer clothes for a night on the town tonight (but also an investment for similar future "nights" on the trip). And I had to splurge... I bought a very nice collared button up shirt for tonight... it would probably be a $70 shirt in the US, and I paid $25, which is seriously a "splurge" when all things are taken into consideration around here. Now we're just crossing our fingers that there's a better nightlife than we saw last night (which was a Sunday, and they all said its the worst night of the week). So we're crossing our fingers...

Another surprise, although it was more of a lucky find, if you ever come to Chennai, it is a MUST that you seek out "Mocha", a coffee/food/hooka establishment, that has only left me (and Kevin and John), with dreams of opening a similar place in the US. I mean I come from Seattle, the "land of coffee", and I haven't seen a coffee shop in Seattle with 1/4 the selection of coffees you can choose from! And I mean brewed, not bagged. The food was well above average, the hookas made the experience simply awesome, and its an upscale establishment when you look at the clientele, being younger "wealthy" Indians. They have an outside area for all the seating, which consisted of nice and privatized booths, or a "side" area of tables under cover from the sun. This place doesn't just offer good coffee, foods, great shakes, and... you name it, they simply offer an "experience". Heck, its almost worth putting Chennai on an itinerary! Ok, maybe not (except its a major city for domestic and international flights), but if you're already coming to Chennai, you have to find Mocha.

Unfortunately I still haven't been able to upload any pictures up here, but I've got a bunch from Delhi on my MySpace profile.

Anyway, we leave tomorrow morning for Madurai, and then down to Trivandrum and Kovallam (in Kerala), which is our "break on the beach" stop... a la Hawaii or Tahiti, to give you an idea. We should be there for a little over a week, and hopefully internet access won't be too inaccessible. To be honest, my only complaint so far has been not the lack of access to the internet, but the internet access speeds we've been stuck with at pretty much every internet cafe. Its not dial-up bad, but for "high-speed" connections they leave a lot to be desired, and make me miss my computers as home. But hopefully the next time I'm on the internet I'll have the time to upload some pictures (the ones I posted on MySpace all had to be downsized before I could upload them, and even then it was kinda slow going, but at least bearable).

I'll post more later...!

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Comments

[Mom]

Peter, Now I am reading through your blogs and catching up...what you describle regarding Mocha reminds me of our trek through Egypt. These comfy coffee, hooka (tobacco), and outdoor living rooms are quite charming. As you know, we don't endorse the smoking components of these sit ins.... Also you might want to download Picasa for your pictures; not sure if it will go faster for you, but you don't have to downsize your photos first. Dad and I will check out your MySpace soon to see your photos. How I love India...I can't wait to come again! Love, Mom