In d air to India
INDIA | Wednesday, 18 August 2010 | Views [528]
Impressive, Instantaneous, Imperious, Impulsive, Interesting, Incredible India
Invidious, Intractable, Insolent, Intimidating, Infuriating, Impossible India
...and that's just the start of the 'I's. It's a little late, thanks to the nature of the place, which is everything at once, but here are our belated India updates...
We were a little sad to board the flight from KL, as we had been so excited about the idea of getting home without planes. Added to which, we failed to check exactly where the flight left from, so we got up early, left our airport hotel to get a 30min bus to the budget terminal, arrived and had to immediately scramble for a taxi back to the main terminal where our flight was actually listed on the departure board! However, KL is a very well run airport, and Air India Express were a pleasure to fly with. We checked in with less than an hour till take off, and were told we were their first non-Indian customers and given seats at the front of the plane.
Chennai airport felt tiny and parochial, heavy on security with a few noisy money changers and not much else. Our experience waiting for luggage was in many ways a pre-cursor to much of the coming weeks:
- It took much longer than we expected it to
- At points, people moved en masse to one or other end of the hall, seemingly knowing something we didn't
- Some kind souls tried to give advice, like telling us our luggage was "in the pile over there", which turned out to be well-intentioned but wrong
- Queuing was not among the legacies of colonial India
Eventually, with our luggage on our backs, we smiled our nos to the many auto rickshaws and taxis outside and trudged through the smelly heat to the train. Our second class carriage was fairly crowded (though nobody on the roof or hanging out the door) and it cost pennies. Hotels book up fast here, which is made additionally complicated by the fact that some places never know if their guests are staying or going, since they don't ask when you will check out! It took us a while to find a bed as many places near the station were fully booked, but by mid afternoon we were checked in and full of masala dosas.
There is not a lot to see in Chennai - and what there is is fairly well hard to find in the myriad similar streets, with dense buildings and a distinct lack of signposts. It is a huge sprawling city that's very hard to get to grips with. It is essentially like a huge bus stop with lots of men standing around not doing anything and with no real purpose. There seems to be little life to the place or any sort of reason for it to be big. It was exciting for us to be in the streets, see so many colourful saris, piles of spices and the cliche of cows wandering though the traffic. The piles of rubbish, sewage smell and constant hassle make it a tiring place to be. The official sights consist of:
The Fort and Fort Museum. We arrived at the wrong side of the Fort, which is now used as a military base, so we spent 1hr walking past many road blocks and armed soldiers before reaching the tourist bit. The museum contained a slightly dusty collection of armourments, oils of colonial governors (and of course Queen Vic), and some delightful prints and paintings showing 1900 India.
The Marina, with a beach to sea ratio that rivals Weston Super Mare, holding the dubious honour of being the longest marina in the world.
Various churches, mosques and temples, some of which we visited courtesey of a scamming auto rickshaw driver who needed $200 by the following day to be able to sit an exam that would change his life. Jimmy Hill Chinny reck.
Our highlight of Chennai was not a sight, but the chance to be extras in a Chollywood movie! We got up at 6am, were given coffee and driven to the set - a very plush glassy restaurant in leafy suburbia. We sat here, stood there or walked as instructed, but mostly waited around and watched the proceedings. The supporting actress was sweet enough to tell us a little about the film. She was amazed that our blue eyes didn't come from contact lenses and (like many people here) loved Oli's hair. We can't remember the name of the film or the directors, so if you want to see where Oli started his starring career, you'll have to scan the background of the 800 movies made in Chennai every year!
We'd been looking forward to visiting K V Kuppam - the fair trade factory which supplies Bishopston Trading in Bristol, and is a few hours from Chennai. Seeing the factory was inspiring - and affirmed the good that fairly trade products can do. It is possible for consumer choice in the UK to make a real difference to people's lives. We were treated to a tour of the premises, the work force predominantly women, in well lit fairly spacious rooms. K V Kuppam is unusual in that they produce everything themselves - right from from weaving the fabric to stitching on the finishing applique. The manager seemed genuinely fond of all the workers, and explained that he tries to talk to each of them every day so he knows about what is happening in their lives - some have many problems at home, and he helps where he can.
The next door house where guests can stay was a lovely building with clean rooms and plenty of space. We were really happy to be alone in the house at night - the first time we've been properly on our own in a long time. Sadly, because it's not really a guesthouse, and because we are not directly connected to Bishopston, they didn't really know what to do with us! Our interaction seemed to be a series of clumsy miscommunications and misunderstandings. We felt uncomfortable being waited on hand and foot, especially on Independence Day which should have been a holiday, and things like eating at the table while they ate on the floor nearby. Equally, they felt uncomfortable when we tried to help, looked disappointed that we couldn't eat the mountains of food that was cooked for us (often enough to feed 6 people!) and seemed to want interaction but not know what to say! We had some interesting conversations about India, and were happy to meet such lovely people, but left feeling sad that so much had been so awkward.
If you are going:
- Paradise Hotel has a connection to the Chollywood guys looking for extras
- Book early!
- The veg chain does great food...
- People on the train seemed to be giving loose coins to beggars so we followed suit
