Tuesday
Wow! The airport is akin to a bus station in the US. There is one one shop, a small duty free place. There is a passenger info stand outside customs, and that's it. No ATM, no money changer, not even a sign for the train station. Coming from Singapore, which literally had a giant mall inside its airport, this is a shock! Welcome to India.
I asked the guard at the door where the train station was and he didn't seem sure what I was talking about. (Only later will I understand this as a lack of understanding of English.)
A 'helpful' taxi driver told me the general direction, but still no signs. I went in that direction and then followed two young men with luggage who seemed like they might be going to the train. Outside the airport, it's a construction site. Poorly marked. (Later I will come to understand that this is the new international terminal being built.) I guess you just know where the train is or you take a taxi.
I did finally happen upon it. I paid 5 rupees for the 35-minute train ride to town. This is about 8 cents USD. Guess I should have gone with the taxi. Maybe paid 8 dollars for the same trip without all the trouble, but what did I know. I never take a taxi.
But then I wouldn't have had the experience of the local train. A nice young woman helped me buy a ticket and told me about the ladies car, but she told me the wrong car, so I didn't get on the right one, so that made me super uncomfortable. So I didn't sit down. Just stood by the door, which stays open the whole time on local trains like this one. In retrospect, it was a pretty cool experience. Not that there's anything cool to see from the train, it's pretty trashy actually. But this is how the locals travel so I can say I did it to.
Arriving at the train station was overwhelming. Main road, lots of cars. A TON of rickshaw drivers asking if I want a ride some place. But the hotel is a block away so it doesn't make sense, but maybe it would have been worth it since I had my luggage. Still so in the first world mindset.
Thankfully, I found the hotel because this one driver would not leave me alone. Maybe because I'm tired, but I don't want to leave the hotel. I cried. After, I felt better enough to go down the street for dinner, but it's difficult to be out there. They don't understand what I say and I don't understand them either.
I had a masala dosa, which I've had many times before at home, but this came with three chutneys. At the restaurant where I eat Indian food in Houston, they have these chutneys, but I never knew to eat them with the dosa. Go figure. No silverware, you eat with your hand. Right hand only, I think. Imagine tearing apart a tortilla with one hand and dunking it in the sauce. I think chopsticks are way easier. I gave up and just used both hands.
Wednesday
After breakfast at the hotel, I was brave enough to leave the hotel and go out into the chaos of the streets. Lots of fruit stands everywhere. Lots of traffic and people and noise. Hired an auto rickshaw driver for the day. It seemed easiest.
Duriah, my driver, has been very helpful to boost my confidence and is very tourist friendly. His English is pretty good and he knows all the sights.
Visited a Hindu temple this morning. Had to remove my shoes and didn't want to leave my very expensive shoes outside in the dirt, so I carried them in. But immediately a monk came out of nowhere and told me to take them back to the door. Woops!
The inside of the temple was still really outside but apparently you don't need your shoes. No photos allowed. There was a ceremony going on in the main temple but they wouldn't let me in. I never figured out why. I want wearing shoes. They had cows and goats in a stable around back. And Duriah helped me sneak a photo of the elaborate temple top!
Then we visited a Buddhist temple nearby. They had a special shoe check room underneath the sanctuary. Really beautiful inside. No pictures again.
I wandered around the grounds and got shooed out of the garden by a monk. He didn't actually speak, just made hand gestures.
Had orange juice from green oranges. It tasted the same, really good.
Mopeds everywhere, plus carts of all shapes and sizes. Honking is common, though whether people get out of the way is another story. I think they are immune to it. Two-way traffic is insane. On a small road people may pass on either side of you. It's a free for all. Just get where you're going, however you can. They do signal to turn - with their hands! And a surprising amount of speed bumps, which most people slow down for. And everywhere signs that say' Chennai traffic police, please follow traffic rules.'Apparently there are some, though I'm not clear what they are yet. Haven't seen any animals in the street though.
Today I also visited the theosophical society and the beach. The beach was empty- it's mid week. And rocky waves and scorpions running around everywhere. Not exactly a great hangout beach. The water wasn't too bad though.
The grounds of the theosophical society were a large garden. I guess you need a large space to boil all the religions down to what they have in common. It had some beautiful banyan trees and a herd of cows grazing in a palm grove. So unexpected!
For lunch I had idly, which is south Indian breakfast food. Idly is a spongy fermented rice cake that you eat with sauces. Very tasty. Also I had two different kinds of vada- a small cumin spiced donut.
Last stop of the day was the government museum. I concentrated on the air conditioned part. Which was really not that cool temperature wise. This turned out to have dozens of amazing statues of all the various gods and goddesses inn their various iterations. It was a great introduction to all the statues I would see later in the temples all around India. Most were Hindu, but some were also Buddhist.
My hotel lost power twice this evening, but only for a few moments. Not really cool! Apparently brown outs are common in the evening all over India.
Thursday
Holy domestic terminal! It's brand spanking new and just like an airport should be. This I think accurately reflects where Chennai is: in transition. There is construction going on absolutely everywhere. In five years, this will be a different place.
The streets are so dirty- dirt everywhere but the road. That's what comes from not having wall to wall cement. (The irony is cement is big business here.) But the people are all clean, wearing nice clean clothes despite the incredible amount of dust. There are street people who look dirty, but not that many and so far none of them are begging, just sleeping.
At the airport, they have a ladies line. Only about 10% of the passengers are women so it's not a very long line. And they wand every individual, but the woman's area is enclosed so the wanding can only be seen by the ladies in line.
Indians have a very particular head bob that means a number of things: go ahead, anything else?, of course, enter, maybe. Some seem reluctant to talk aloud to me, so they communicate with this head bobbing thing.
I would not say Chennai was tourist friendly, but I suppose they don't get a lot of tourists. Despite the street chaos, they have quite a few places with large parks and quiet areas such as temples. While those places we're nice, I definitely feel like I had an overwhelming and abrupt introduction to India.
On to the next place: Konark.
