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Arriving in India will always be an interesting experience for me. The country has its own peculiarities which you notice straight away, from the heat and the smell, to the mass of people outside the airport and people-filled rickshaws. And this time was no different! Phil and I got here very early in the morning on Thursday, after our Thai Airways from Dubai to Chennai was delayed for several long hours. Immigration processed us very quickly, thanks to a "Foreigners only" desk, and us apparently being the only non-Indians on the flight. Then the wait for our luggage started. At first the quantity of boxes on the conveyor belt seemed a bit strange. Were they not accidentally unloading a cargo plane?! Soon it became clear though that several people on board had travelled with hundreds of boxes filled with goods which might not be available here, or which might simply be more expensive. At first the wait was a bit uncomfortable, but then several more interesting items started showing up which caused a laugh among the passengers: from a carefully packed sink to several African drums! Who would want to carry these things on a plane from Dubai to Chennai, probably
paying huge excess luggage charges! Anyway, one hour of waiting and an inevitable power cut later, we finally got our luggage and could go to our hotel and to bed!
After a well-deserved sleep, we were hoping to see some of the things Chennai has to offer. I can honestly say that we finished very quickly. Chennai, like any other Indian city, is dirty, smelly and noisy. What it doesn't have however (or at least I didn't manage to find it) is the charm of a city like Jaipur, or the beautiful monuments of a city like Delhi. It also seemed to lack the apparent liveliness and hustle and bustle of a city like Mumbai. We tried to find Fort St George, but even the local rickshaw drivers had no idea where it was, even though we should have been within a couple of hundred meters of it! After wasting a lot of time, we opted to go to the Government Museum which houses an archaeological section, a natural history and zoology section, a bronze gallery, and the National Art Gallery. The archaeological section was well worth it (partly because some rooms were air-conditioned), but the rest, while interesting,
can be found in many cities around the world, except for the sweltering heat and stuffiness, that is! Disillusioned with Chennai we went back to our hotel and started making plans to leave earlier than expected. By dinner-time, our plan to stay for several nights in Chennai had radically changed. In fact we had decided to take a rickshaw for 55 km to Mamallapuram the next morning. We found a friendly driver who was willing to take us there for 500 Rupees (about 9 EUR).
On Friday morning we met up with Viejay, the rickshaw driver, and we got on our way after helping him earn several fuel coupons by visiting some tourist shops for which he got commission (Lots of crap - didn't buy anything). The ride was an interesting one: I had somehow not realised that we would be travelling down a coastline battered by the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami. Even though the loss of life and damage was small compared to some other countries affected, the impact was very clear when driving through the countryside. In some places, several hundred meters between the road and the coast were simply barren: no houses, no trees, nothing! On
the other side of the road: houses, fields, trees etc. as one would expect. Littering this landscape were housing camps for tsunami victims, and sometimes a dozen or so graves could be seen in the middle of nowhere. It gave the journey a bit of an eerie feel, while at the same time seeing people going about as usual, with cars on the road, and hotels and restaurants open for business.
The destination of the drive was Mamallapuram, a small coastal town famous for its rock carvings and laid-back atmosphere. I liked it from the start! Friday, Saturday, and today, we have been enjoying the 1300 year old temples/mandapams/rock carvings that have given the town a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List, as well as the hotel swimming pool, delicious fresh seafood and cool beer. The first evening we had a great time, drinking ourselves merry and sitting on our balcony. We spotted a bat below a leaf of a palm tree and had a great time photographing it.
As we hope to see many other places in India after Mamallapuram however, we have also been trying to do some planning for the next 2,5 weeks in
India. Possible places to visit included: Pondicherry, Madurai, Trivandrum, Kochi, Ooty, Mysore, Goa, Hampi, and Mumbai. I already figured that visiting all these places would be too ambitious. I didn't expect South Indian Railways to brutally torpedo our plans though. Every single train we could think of to get away from the west coast (Chennai/Mamallapuram/Pondicherry) towards Madurai/Kochi/Trivandrum proved to be fully booked for the coming days, if not for the coming weeks! When Phil and I visited North India with my brother Pim 2,5 years ago, I was impressed by the standard of the railways. Well not this time! What is the point of having a widespread network of tracks if you don't buy the trains to run on them? How do people travel around this country, if at all? Several frustrating visits to the Railway Reservation Office later, I presume that the existing trains are still comfortable. Getting a seat seems to require too much effort and time though, and Indian Railways needs some major changes in how it operates.
In the end, Phil and I have now booked a taxi to drive us to Mysore tomorrow, about 550 km away. The ride will set us back about
125 EUR and should take about 7 hours. After Mysore, we hope to travel by bus to Ooty, followed by trains to Kochi, Goa, and Mumbai (+ perhaps another place or two). This is however based on us finding trains on routes which have not yet suffered from serious mismanagement. We'll see what happens... I'm still having a great time here in India, and would recommend anyone to visit this great country. Forget about Chennai though, and try to book trains about a month before you arrive!
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Mouli
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Tickets
The trains normally run fully booked during the summer months (April-May). You'd have to book in advance. Still, tourists do have a special quota where you'd be able to book at the last minute... Just make sure that you mention this the next time you're at the ticket counter (not sure if they insist on dollar payments)