Somerset Greenways Chennai (Madras)

... cost us a whole 5 rupees each! (an 1/8 of the cost of one slice of cake!) Sunday was spent travelling back to Puliangudi, after a quick early morning visit to the markets. Oh, and we may of sneaked back to the posh hotel for breakfast!! We really did try and find a little bakery, honest, but they were all closed...so you know, that was our only option!! It was such a good breakfast, plus we ate it looking out over the beach! I had cereal for ...

... so polluted that there is no life in them except for bacteria. In the traditional Indian caste system, dealing with garbage and human waste was the exclusive domain of the untouchables. Most Indians would therefore throw garbage over their shoulder or defecate on the side of the road without a second thought. Most garbage was organic though so what the untouchables or the animals would not clean up, would end up decomposing, so there was a balance. Nowadays though, the population ...

... 1000 and 5000 crackers in a row. On Diwali morning we were woken really early and the crackers were going off again (or going off still is maybe a better way to put it). We got dressed in our new clothes for the holiday and went to the temple. We then came back had a little nap and went to an Indian movie which was very fun for me. All though it was all in Tamil I could follow as there was not much of a plot but it was a very electric ...

... outside my room. The next day I took little steps, breakfast of Idly rice cakes, Dosai bread and Vadai went down alright even though it was a bit full on for an empty stomach. I took a 10min walk down the road to acclimatise amongst the indiscrminate filth everywhere. There are divey little shops wedged into every corner and dodgy looking street people everywhere. Everyone stares at the big foreigner in singlet, army hat and boots but are actually really ...

... us to actually has probably a dozen branches around the world, and one of them is in Sunnyvale! So if you want to continue your vicarious adventures with me, go to __________________ and get some chai and buttered na'an! Then the guys pulled up to a gas station and told us that we needed to pay for gas. Eida was ready to pay but I told him that there was no reason we needed to pay for their gas, I've been in lots of rickshaws and never had to pay anything like that, and that anyways ...

... kilometers from the big city of Chennai (which would certainly be expensive property if this were in the US), is a slum and some of the most impoverished area we have seen on this trip (not to mention the overpowering stench of sewage and dead fish). Why does everyone throw trash everywhere? People seem to have pride in their own shop or home, but not in public spaces. Its almost as if as long as the trash isn't in their immediate area, they don't care and it is invisible to them. Why ...

well... last I wrote i was waiting at changi airport for our flight.. now I write, perhaps only a day from then, but having experienced enough to talk at great length... my first intention for this trip is to struggle to find the words to characterise this place, however, i fear it is close to indescribable.. I find myself in the midst of a myriad of confusing streets and laneways - a functional symbiosis of steel and ...

Chennai day two The day started a little rough. I had asked the desk for a wakeup call, but I never received one. Luckily my coworker gave me a wake up call and I made it downstairs before the car arrived. I went to the first factory of the many that I have to visit on this trip. Much of the day was spent doing that and it killed a majority of the daylight. The traffic to the plant today was even crazier than what I experienced last night. Our driver is ...

... and baby Niveda. Niveda is now 8 months old and super cute. We were able to hold her almost as soon as we arrived - she is a very sociable baby. Rabin has taken TONS of pictures of her so far - so everyone back home can at least see how cute she is. The following day (the 2nd), we spent time relaxing, eating and catching up. We got to see lots of photos. Some were from Aunty's wedding, her kids'engagement & wedding parties, and ...

... nothing is ever absolute. So, plans change by the minute, and you just learn to go with it. We had our banquet with the faculty and chairs of the college last night, that was fun. We did wear our sarees for that, getting all dressed up is fun. I don't think I will ever be able to wrap them as beautifully as the Indian women can, though. Tonight we will be having our picture, and then another doctor has decided he wants to have us for dinner. We will be kept busy for ...