Chennai
We spent five days in Chennai (Madras) from October 14th to the 18th. Here’s a summary of my time in India:
Day 1
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| Typical rickshaw taxi |
Over the course of my stay in Chennai I learned a lot about Indian driving rules: lane lines don’t mean anything – often two lanes can be made into three or four; bikes, cars, rickshaws, motorcycles, and people are all often within inches of each other (going both the same and opposite directions), and traffic can make a 15 kilometer commute turn into an hour drive. Also, because there is so much congestion, vehicles honk their horns frequently to let others know they are close, and it is usually not taken to be offensive.
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| Chennai traffic |
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After we looked in the first store we walked around the surrounding area and did some window shopping. I bought an Indian CD for only 75 Rupees (1 USD is just under 50 Rupees) and Rob bought an Indian film at a media store. We took a rickshaw back to the port by 12:30 and had a quick lunch before the FDP, which was on the ship and only lasted a few hours. Rosencranz and several Indian environmental activists talked about the current situation in India and what is being done to help tighten and enforce environmental standards.
After the FDP Henry, JR and I went to City Center mall and had dinner at the food court. We walked around the mall and then got a rickshaw driver to take us to a local bar. Most places close early (around 11:00), so we only stayed at the first bar for about 30 minutes and at a second one for an hour. We tried an Indian beer called Kingfisher, which was okay but definitely not as good as some of the beers we had in Namibia or South Africa. We went back to the ship and got to bed fairly early both because most places were closed and Henry and JR were going on an SAS trip to the Taj Mahal that left at 6:30 the next morning.
Day 2
I woke up at 10:00 and packed for my home stay, which left at 11:30 and lasted until Friday. There were 30 of us, and we were paired with one other SAS student and an Indian family. I stayed with Austin, who is from Illinois and goes to school at the University of Missouri. Two of the host family members, Arun and Prem, picked us up; Arun is 22 and works for his father’s real estate company, and Prem, his brother, is 19 and goes to a local college outside of Chennai. They drove us to their family’s business, and we took a tour and met their uncle. We actually stayed at their uncle’s house, but Arun and Prem’s family lived on the same block, and their father also worked for the company. After meeting our host, the four of us went to an Indian restaurant and had a great meal with bone soup, chicken, fish, mutton, cauliflower and a rice dish (Arun and Prem did not eat any of the meat).
We then drove to the house, making a short stop along the way at the beach. When we reached their uncle’s home, we met the family – Arun and Prem’s mother, aunt, grandmother, and three cousins. They showed us the house, which had just been built and was very modern, with white marble floors, three stories, a big kitchen, and a large bedroom and bathroom for Austin and me. After getting to know the family a little, we left at 6:00 to go to the Rotarian meeting at a hotel in the city.
The Rotary Club was the organization that agreed to host us, and all of the SAS kids and their families were there. Several members gave speeches and we got a group photo, which was followed by dinner. They had some traditional Indian dishes along with several kinds of pasta, all of which was delicious. After the meal we socialized for awhile and then headed back home, where we talked with the family before eventually going to bed.
Day 3
We had a group tour planned for the day that met at 7:45, and they woke us up at 6:30 to get ready. I had tea and then breakfast at the house before meeting the bus with Austin, Arun, and Prem. We drove to a town called Mamallapuram about 50 kilometers outside of the city where there were several old stone Hindu temples. We visited three sites, one of which was constructed in the late 7th century (I’m not sure when the other two were built but they were probably around the same time).
The ancient temples of Mamallapuram, near Chennai:
While we were there I got a chance to buy a few souvenirs from local street vendors. On the way back to Chennai we stopped at one of the Rotarian’s homes for lunch, which was great, like most of the meals I had in India. Before being dropped off we went to a place called Crocodile Park, where there are over 2400 crocodiles, along with snakes and turtles. I saw a 16 foot long croc and three king cobras. When we got back to the house I took a shower and showed the kids a few basketball moves out in the driveway (they didn't have a hoop) before dinner.
We ate a traditional south Indian style meal, sitting on the floor with banana leafs as plates. We only used our hands (actually, only the right hand), no silverware. It was an interesting experience, and I think I got better with my hand as the meal progressed, although I know I probably looked like an amateur. After dinner we watched the promotional video and several commercials for the family business’s newest project, Estancia, Chennai’s first integrated township. We also watched about 15 minutes of a Tamil movie (most natives of the Chennai area speak Tamil) starring the actor who was in the promo.
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| Traditional south-Indian meal on a banana leaf. |
Day 4
We woke up early again – around 6:45 and had tea and breakfast at the house. Prem and Arun came to pick us up and drive us to Estancia, where we could get a tour and see the construction. The site was about an hour outside of the city center sitting on 82 acres. When the project is finished it will include an IT park, a school, a shopping mall with a movie theater, a workout center, and close to 1900 apartments with underground parking. As of now two of the apartment complexes are under construction (they will be 17 stories each) as well as one building in the IT park. We saw some models of the buildings and floor models of the different apartments.
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| Part of the Estancia apartment complex |
After seeing the site we drove to Prem’s university, which was right next door, and took a short driving tour of campus. We then drove to an outdoor museum that showed the various types of traditional village homes and shops in southern India. Afterwards we drove back to the house, had lunch, packed, and said our goodbyes to the family. Prem and Arun drove us to the port, and their mother met us there because they were supposed to take a tour of the boat. Unfortunately her dock pass was under her husband’s name, so the port workers would not let her through the gate. After several hours of trying to sort it out with the port officials she gave up and told us to go on without her.
We got on the ship and gave Prem and Arun a tour, and then we decided to go out to a restaurant where some SAS kids would be. Austin had an early trip the next morning so he stayed behind, and they told me that I could spend the night again so I brought my backpack with me. We drove to the restaurant and I introduced Arun and Prem to some of my friends from the ship. Later we went with a group of people to a club nearby. Henry and JR, recently back from their trip to the Taj Mahal, showed up a few minutes after us. After dancing and hanging out with them we left at 12:30 and got back to the house by 1:00.
Day 5
I slept in a little later (9:30), got a shower and had breakfast by 10:30. Arun, Prem and I decided to meet up with a couple kids who were at the club the night before at a shopping mall called Spencer’s. I packed and said my goodbyes again, this time for real, and we drove to the mall. We shopped around and I got a snack at the food court before leaving to go back to the ship. Luckily we left with plenty of time, because there was a political rally in the city and the drive took over an hour. When we got to the port I thanked them for everything and made my way back to the ship by about 4:30.
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| Not exactly what I expected for my shopping experience in Chennai |
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