Besat Nagar

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We arrived safe and sound in India on August 21st! My first few days in India have been wonderful and relaxed. Though I was prepared for the incredible heat that everyone warned me about, I was pleasantly surprised that it was much cooler here than in Cambodia. We were greeted by the warm smiling faces of amma, appa and vassu mama. The airport was not very crowded as ours was the only flight arriving at that time so we quickly got our luggage and made our way home to Basat Nagar. Even the traffic was much less than I expected.

I found out quickly however that I spoke too soon about the traffic in India. What can I say other than it is completely crazy......cars, buses, bicycles, motor scooters, people walking, and most dangerous of all the auto rickshaws! All of these on small roads with no lanes and no order. The other thing that complicates the driving around here is that there are huge trees in the middle of the road that have been left in place. This makes it quite dangerous when driving at night. Thankfully Sanjay's parents are able to arrange for a driver who can safely transport us to our destinations.

Sanjay's mother took me to a shopping area (Mylapore and T. Nagar) where one of the oldest sari shops is located. You cannot imagine how crowded this area was with people shopping and driving. The sari shop was four stories high and had millions of saris to choose from. By the time we were leaving the shop we were practically pushed out by the crowd of people. The jewelry shop a few stores down from the sari shop was also a surprise to me. It seems that most Indians want to by gold when ever they can. Unlike jewelry shops in the U.S. that are often empty, this one was packed with people and you could not even see the counters or jewelry until a number of people had completed their purchase and stepped away from the counter. I was told the shop is like this everyday and even during festival times you cannot even enter the shop because of the crowds. (Sorry I forgot my camera that day)

I will start taken pictures of our travel here and will add them to this entry as soon as I can, sorry for the delay.

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Photos

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street vendors

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road near the beach

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view from Sanjay's parents flat

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public transportation

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local stores

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The building Sanjay's parents live in (2nd floor).

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Sanjay's parents

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Kyle, Sanjay's mother and grandmother

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Sanjay's father and kyle

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Sanjay with his other two favorite ladies.

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THe streets near his parents house are filling up with people during the protestant church festival.

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THe streets near his parents house during the protestant church festival.