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Published: August 27th 2007
So much happens on any given day here that I feel like if I miss a day of writing, many savory details will be lost and remain in the moment they happend. On the other hand, I can't very well spend my whole trip journaling so I'll just have to find a happy medium.
On August 21 we had a very nice day indeed. It started with me having breakfast with the boys at a cafateria-type place. I got curious stares from the waitstaff (who are strangely - to me - all men at all restaurants) as I suppose it is rather novel to have a white woman, so obviously foreign, especially when escorted by 3 Tamil men. We got the same reaction, although less benign, and more condemning when checking into our current hotel, The Raj Palace. At the time I was the sole female, white or otherwise, accompanied by no less than 6 men of Indian (or Sri Lankan) decent. We were getting downright dirty stares from the staff and Sanji Mama (uncle) later explained to me how it must have looked to have this single white girl among a group of brown guys checking into 2 rooms!
Anyhow, we passed the morning with some light shopping and then all met for lunch at a restaurant which apparently has a branch in Markham, ON. Small world! The custom here appears to be to use banana leaves as plates, which I have been enjoying, so I was rather disappointed when our table was brought large white plastic trays instead. I asked Mona Chity (aunt) why this was; she asked our server for banana leaves and replied that it was probably because of me. While I appreciate the thoughtfulness of people here trying to provide me what I am accustomed to, it would be nice if I was asked first. I am, after all, in search of the authentic Indian experience, which I'm sure doesn't come on plastic plates! I ate the vegetarian meal for lunch (I am trying to avoid meat, for a little while at least) and ate heartily.
The rest of the afternoon was spent at the hotel, where I updated my blog, did some e-mail and chatted for awhile with the front desk staff (now quite friendly since the rest of the family arrived) about my iPod (which they found interesting) and my sour mints whiuch my sister Alli gave me at the airport and have done me well here...
In the evening Shiva (our able driver) came and picked Abi, Sangeev, Sangi Mama and myself up and we made our way to the beach on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. When we got there, we started in the rather seedy area, where at night the population consists of street vendors, beggers, prostitutes and young couples looking to get some fun in without the notice of their parents. For these reasons, and becasue it had rained in the afternoon, we stayed in the car. Doing so however attracted a posse of young beggers (all children) and we made our way from there quickly, as they were quite persistent. It appears as though beggers here use the same voice when asking for money. It is a hoarse monotone, with a frog-like quality as they tap you and say "Madam," Madam" and gesture their hand towards their mouth in an eating motion. I find this to be extremely disconcerting and don't know that I wil be able to get used to it.
As we drove along the coast, we came to the hardcore slums, where 'houses' (more like huts) had palm tree leaves as rooves and you could see these squat structures maze their way for a 1/2 km towards the concrete apartment buildings in the background. These structures, decidedly sketchy looking, had no window covers and were crumbling with disrepair. Still, there was a livelihood about this place, with people hanging out around an open kiosk-type shop and women selling fresh fish by candlelight on the beach. I feel very happy and priviliged to have seen this place, as I imagine it is not included in many of the tourist sightseeing packages.
We continued with our drive, making our way through narrow mazing streets lined with open shops. It gets dark early here, around 6pm but this is prime time for people to make their outings, as the heat becomes more bearable. This was also a real treat to see the places where common people live, shop, meet and walk.
We snaked our way back to the beach again, although this time to the upscale, posh areas where the resorts are. We were looking for a particular restaurant, and passed $3 million homes to get there. These houses were gorgeous but made me all the more aware of the gross divide between rich and poor. On the beach, across from one of these gated mansions, was a woman sitting on her shawl where her baby lay. This definitely gave me something to think about.
We found the restaurant and were rather disappoited with it. No cold bottled water, limited menu, we decided to have one drink and leave. My beer, expired by a month confirmed this decision. On the road again, we made our way to the Sheraton Hotel, a 5-star stay here in Chennai. Sitting comfortabely in the lap of luxury (where we saw and spoke with 2 famous Tamil movie stars) we wined and dined while listening to amazing live classical music. This was a lot of fun and gave me a sense, once again, of the extremes present in this beautiful land. From caf in the morning to 5-star eating at night, you can get just about anything here, if you have money.
We went back to the hotel, elated and shared our stories and laughs with the aunts. Upon returning to our room, I promtly fell ill (oy veh) and spent the rest of the night and whole next day in the bathroom and in bed. While I know I would get sick at some point, this was terribly unpleasant and made me yearn for food that I am used to and my home and my Mom. I have often dreamt of living abroad and found the idea intoxicatingly romantic. This experience, of being sick and not having the comforts I am used to has taken some of the romanticism out of this concept. Still, I know I am in good hands with my foster family and after a day of fasting (which I will continue today) I am feeling a bit better, but still very weak. Well, I was looking for the full experience, wasn't I? And this is it...
On our way to Trichy for the wedding now... More adventures to come no doubt.
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