Lemon Tree Hotel, Chennai Chennai (Madras)

... got my blouse back from the tailor again and just about managing to squeeze into it!! It was so lovely to wear it, felt quite like a princess lol and all the staff at the hospital were really impressed with us! While walking to work we were stared at even more than usual! White girls....in Indian clothes - you'd have thought we were aliens! Some people were so amazed that they nearly walked into things while they were walking down the road ...

Kaere alle Efter en lang flyvetur kunne vi i nat kl ca 01 indisk tid gaa ud af flyveren og maerke tropevarmen. Inderne siger her ikke er saa varmt i oejeblikket, kun ca 28 grader om dagen. Manden i paskontrollen var forundret over at jeg (nana) havde et dansk pas, og begyndte straks at stille en masse spoergsmaal om min familie i indien, hvilket jeg selvfoelgelig ikke kunne svare paa. Saa lige et kort sekundt ...

... model, so the garbage just piles up. Everywhere! <br>Another example are some of the social conventions present here. It is not polite to say no to someone for fear of dissapointing them. If you ask for directions you will usually get some pretty detailed ones, even when the person has absolutely no idea what you are looking for (and Indians get fooled by this too, not just westerners). If you ask an Indian whether he can get some task done he will usually say no problem, even if he ...

My sister, Oralee, is a talented kuchipudi dancer (the classical dance of Andhra Pradesh, the state immediately to the north of Tamil Nadu). Several months ago, when searching for study abroad programs, I promised her that if I went to India, I would find her a costume. So, armed with a list of "yes" colors and "no" colors, measurements, and a tailor's address, Jessie, Morgan, and I headed to Chennai. We hired a car, got ...

... Luckily for me this didn't happen as I had my 2 trusty guides with me. But the bus loads of tourists were constantly being harassed. I am a rare oddity in India. With my red hair and piercings the amount of stares is astronomical.It doesn't bother me as much as it does the people who are with me. I offered to cover up hair for them, but they were embarassed about it. Interenet here is dreadful. They advertise broadband, but it is ...

... I spent about an hour cruising around Chennai for 300 rupees or $9. Raju ripped me off by 100 rupees but had him again the next day and beat him down this time actually walking off without paying at one point and then returning to get my price. (2hr ride, 250r down from 500) He wasn't happy saying "today is happy new year, 500 rupees". I told him that hed had his happy new year yesterday and gave him 250. Bargaining across the board is buisness as usual, actually ...

Travel time! This is definitely the best part of India.... So two weeks ago, after news of the American lock down, a few friends and I went to Ooty, a hillstation (little town on a high elevation that the british used to go to to escape the heat.) in Tamil Nadu, the state next to Karnataka. We hired a driver and took on the bumpy roads. I tried to sleep in the car-- i though i could sleep anywhere-- but was literally thrown from my seat too many times to ...

... buses, bullocks pulling wagons and cows. That's right, cows. They just walk down the street and people know to avoid them. To the people here, it is no big deal. The factory tour was good. The people that work for the company are very proud of their work. The workforce is a good mixture of male and female, old and young. The inside of all of the building are cleaner than some US facilities that I have been to. The outside grounds for the company are well ...

... internet place because it's too hot. Having the beach is also good for cooling down and it is certainly breezier here than in Pondicherry because of it. I've got a cold today, so feeling abit pathetic and sorry for myself! Hopefully it won't last too long. Going to Chennai tomorrow for the night before i head off to Cochin and Kerala. Not really looking forward to Chennai though. It is a massive city full of traffic and pollution... XX

... the road. The sidewalks are for the more permanent places. As you walk by there are tarps fastened to the walls which surround houses and buildings, they come out like awnings, and people sleep underneath, on the hard cement of the sidewalk. There is one woman between the hostel and school who cooks breakfast on the sidewalk every morning. There are cabinets periodically, this is for holding the tools for whatever job the person holds. There are alot of people who fix ...