Blogs from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia - page 18

We made it to Chennai airport after what can best be described as a taxi ride straight out of 'Wacky races' - lanes of traffic with vehicles lane hopping constantly and slip roads where there was no 'slipping' just 'coming ready or not!'. There were even countdowns flashing on the only traffic lights I've seen - as they got to 5,4,3,2,1 the reving was manic and everyone shoots off in their very own grand prix - or at least for the 500m to the next set....I had several moments where I closed my eyes as we squeezed through gaps that i didn't think we'd fit through and avoided a pedestrian in the middle of the 5 lane road..... I've decided if I ever (and I dont plan to) open a taxi service in india I'd call ... read more

Ok so I am starting to get a little more organised. It's a week since I last wrote, have swapped the colonial look for the hippie one. Now in Goa and have moved from the upmarket room in the colonial house for a hut on the beach with a balcony, a deck chair, a woman named Suzie who walks around selling the nicest fruit ever, 2 good restaurants within a 2 minute walk and an alternative therapy room (shack) next door. The perfect place to stay for a night or 5, collect ones thoughts and recharge the battery before heading to the feared and dreaded north, where all the horror stories that I have ever heard about India have occurred. I am sure that it will be all worth it. So here is my second offering.. ... read more

27th September, Chennai Central Station. Great Indian Railways. The Train arrives in Chennai perfectly on time - 6.00 am. It never amazes me, the whole Indian Railways thing. Its like a nation in itself, and the stations its cities. As we come onto the Chennai Central platform, a new dawn is breaking in that city. People, ingeneous people still to wake up from their night's sleep, sleeping in proper beds - mattress, bedsheets, pillows, covers, mosquito net hitched up between adjacent station benches. Somewhere people wash up and brush their teeth, somewhere people are getting ready to start their day with boarding the train they must board. And over all the enormous gulf of people, like a steady stream, slow, langurous, moving in one (or predominantly one) direction, weaving, lurching, swinging. As i got on ... read more

LAURIE We arrived in Chennai at nearly midnight but that doesn't mean it was quiet. There was an enormous traffic jam outside the airport, horns blaring, everyone trying to shove in a nd getting nowhere. There were people everywhere, waiting for their friends or family, touting for taxis and hotels or asleep on the ground. And it was so hot and sticky. Welcome to crazy India. We found our driver quickly but we had to wait for one of the other people from a different plane. So we waited and waited but she didn't appear. We were so tired and hot. We got quite grumpy. After waiting more than an hour we gave up and went to or hotel. So we didn't get to bed till 2am Indian time or 4.30am Singapore time or 6.30am Blue ... read more

Arrived in Chennai and this place is HOT! Our friend Rangu met me at the airport and took me by his apartment where the housekeeper lady served some coffee and desserts. Then I went with Rangu to run a few errands. He had to stop by the tailor for his final fitting of his wedding garment. It's like an off white silk with dark red detail stitching down the middle front that will match the red of the bride's dress. Change of plans: we were originally supposed to stay at the Madras Club but it was booked so we're staying at the Madras Cricket Club instead. This suits me fine since Sundeep will also be staying here on Wednesday and Thursday and he promised to bring a good bottle of scotch for us to share. The ... read more