Blogs from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia

7 KASIM 2023 SALI Sabah 07:30 da otobüse doluştuk ve yola çıktık… Kahvaltımızı kumanya olarak verdiler..ufak tefek bir şeyler yedim… zaten hazırladıkları herşeyi yemek mümkün değil… Kochi havaalanına döndük.. Bu hava alanı, kendi enerjisini güneş panelleri ile karşılayan Dünya’daki ilk hava alanı imiş.. Arazi bol, panelleri etrafa serpiştirmişler… Chennai uçağımız 12:40 ta kalkacak.. Söylememe gerek yok ki yine geç kalktık ülkeyi batıdan doğuya doğru katederek, 14:30 gibi Chennai ‘ye vardık… Eski adı ile Madras olan Chennai ,Tamil Nadu eyaletinin başkenti olup, Bengal körfezinin kıyısında Hindistan’ın güney doğusunda yer alan ülkenin 6 cı büyük nüfusuna sahip olan bir kenttir. Önemli özelliklerinden birisi, buranın Hindistan’ın Detroit i olarak anılmasıdır ..bütün arabacılar burada … Tüm Hint... read more

Our entry into India couldn’t have been easier, as a pleasant gentleman checked our visa’s, immigration forms and took pictures and finger prints we had our passports stamped, signed and we were free to enter India for the first time. Woolly says – The same gentlemen didn’t quite know what to do about taking paw prints, he scratched his head and then having smiled at me for a few minutes, he patted me on the head and wished me a happy stay. I trotted off to exchange some money for our next lot of currency while the women waited at the baggage claim area for the backpacks to circle towards them. Twenty minutes from landing and I stepped out onto Indian soil for the first time, sadly for us it was wet Indian soil as rain ... read more

Day 4: Thursday 22 September in Chennai After a late breakfast (although I chose not to have breakfast except for a banana that Tom brough back for me – I can’t take all this constant eating!!!), we were met by a Webjet rep who was taking us to The Iris hotel where we were staying for the next 3 nights (3 1/2 stars rather than 5 star). We went for a walk in our new area. While Tom had a haircut (for $1.60 lol) I went for a ½ km walk and came across very depressing slums. Make-shift housing, no running water (trucks were bringing water in) and numerous beggers. Very sad. And yet, ½ km the other way theere was magnificent buildings and wealth. India is a contry of contrasts. After an hour’s walk, we ... read more

I hadn't expected to be in need of 'meals on wheels' for quite a few decades to come but it seems I'm going to have the experience much sooner than expected on board the train from Mysore to Chennai in southern India. As we settle into our seats in a wonderfully cool air-conditioned carriage we are brought the first of many snacks, drinks and meals by railway staff decked out in 'Meals on Wheels' logoed uniforms. All included in the price of the tickets we are brought chai, bottles of chilled water, soup, full airline style packaged meals and even ice-cream that are brought to us every hour or so. It's all very impressive, delivered without a fuss, piping hot and very tasty. The trains might not be quite up to the standards of ours in ... read more

Our hotel in Chennai had Buffet breakfast included in our room rate so we sampled the main breakfast options. Masala Dosa, Idli with Sambar and Vada's. Add a little of what is termed chutney and it wasn't too bad. A quick look outside the hotel and a chat to the front office guys convinced us we needed to get out of Chennai. Limited power, no Internet, no banks open and credit cards not being processed due to connection problems. We organised some rupees through the Hotel and a taxi to our originally planned destination, Mahabalipuram. We couldn't make any booking so headed south heading for the Hotel we had cancelled while in Singapore. We planned to stop at a couple of Art Cooperatives but only found one open. Both were tricky to find because the signs ... read more