Culture Shock?

Today is our first day in India and we are experiencing what some people have called a Culture Shock. But to be honest, our previous travels and laidback attitude have prepared us a little and the things we see are not as shocking as you might think. South India is in many ways more relaxed than North India and most people are very friendly (and sometimes a bit too persistent, especially beggars and sales people)

A local train_1

We get Dohsa in the morning, a dish resembling a big pancake with some lovely sauce (Dahl). Afterwards we take a rickshaw ( a motorized three-wheeler) to the station and take a second class train to the center, which costs about 7 Rupies (Rs), that's about 14 eurocents ;)

A local train_2

The trains have compartments for first class, second class, ladies and physically challenged people. We even manage to find a seat after 15 minutes, and watch the spectacle of beggars, singers, musicians and everyday commuters pass us by.

At Egmore station we take another rickshaw to Spencer Plaza, one of the biggest shopping malls. When we enter the mall, it resembles one of these old Eastern European shopping centres where you have all these small shops. But there is a new part that looks just like our malls, and no beggars are allowed inside. Claudia has a friend who knows the owner of a carpet shop, and we drop in for a nice chat, a drink and buying some clothes.

At Spencer Plaza_1

Claudia gets three blouses and I have myself a Kashmir coat/mantle, which will be tailor-made and ready for me at the end of the month. In another shop i get myself 2 Kurtha Pijamas, which are traditionally worn at weddings but very suitable for travelling as well, as it is very light and bright (good against mosquitos). The sales lady told me I looked lovely, but I got the impression everything was lovely to her ;)

We had a drink called cream soda but that is something best forgotten.

We also got a sim card for a mobile phone, Joe helped us picking the best one and now you can reach us here in India : +91 99 40 26 80 02.

At Spencer Plaza_2

Afterwards we went to the Marina Beach (with a little detour because our rickshaw driver wanted us to visit a shop), which is a pleasant spot for watching people enjoying themselves. There are lots of beach side shops and food stalls. Only the south part of the beach is not so pleasant, with lots of persistent beggars.

We had dinner in the station (chicken Massala and vegetable Biryani) and so far food has been kind to our stomachs. Not too spicy and lots of flavour.

We then took a rickshaw to Joe and Betty's place and met another German HC member Anna (HC : berlinerkindl83) .

Auto or Rickshaw

In Spencer Plaza_3

On the beach_1

On the beach_2

On the beach_3

On the beach_4