Day Four Pt. 2

Hena and I are feeling some better. However I think we'd both need to improve further to be able to simply die. :) We've slept most of the day, we're sore and coughing a lot but we're improving. There were a couple interesting thing I saw that I snapped pictures of. A herd of goats being herded the wrong way on the highway and a herd of buffalo being grazed at the end of the building Sheru lives in. Also I snapped a picture of the hospital Hena and I went to. So yeah, I'm going back to sleep now. Until next time...

Day Four Pt. 1

Well, the whirlwind has been slowed. Hena and I both have the flu and I have an upper respiratory tract infection as well. I will say this though- socialized medicine is nice- the visit took about 20 min total, the medicine was available on our way out, and everything cost me only three hundred Rs. and some change- around $15- even though I am a foreigner!
Anyhow, we've been prescribed bed rest and water on top of the medicine for two days so the first leg of our trips out of here has been delayed. Mushu (the one who got us sick) is getting the refund for our tickets :) - nice irony. Anyhow when I feel better I'll write more but I'm really tired and achey. I can't believe I caught the Indian flu but don't remember ever having it in the US - not nice irony. :)
Until Next Time...

Day Three

Forewarning: I may not be able to post every day in the following days. Tomorrow Hena and I are leaving for another town and I am unsure of internet access.

Anyhow, about today!
Woke up at 6 am again for no reason but I put myself back to "sleep" until 8 am when everyone else woke up and the cleaning lady came. :)
Hena and I didn't venture out until later in the day but it was nice to sit around, read, watch the US news reported in Indian accents. :)
I had my first full bath from a bucket today. I had obviously washed before now other wise Hena would have shipped me off home! But once I got over the strangeness of it, it was really very pleasant.
First we went on the train (I want to call them trams because they are electrical but whatever) to buy our tickets for the sleeper car train ride to Bangalore. I found out what "footboard riding" is, it's riding in the doorway of the car! We had a time getting the tickets because we went to the wrong booth the first time and the correct one had a que line of CHAIRS it takes so long to move forward. The guys behind us were not shy about my photographing them, lol.
From Chennai we're riding a sleeper bus two days later to Hyderabad. From Hyderabad we're taking another sleeper train from there back to Chennai after two days so we can do laundry and make our next foray south to the tip of India.
Anyhow, about today! :)
Next we went to the Pondy Bazaar which is actually in Chennai so Hena and I are not sure why it's called that. There were more colors and smells there, whew. Some smells were vile, some were questionable at best, some were ok, and some of them were hunger inducing. Hena and I ate fresh mango and pineapple while walking around. I did some shopping- principally for bath shoes (flip-flops called hawai (pronounced like the US state). I also discovered that I have as much trouble fitting into Indian clothes as I do American clothes. It fits my waist OR it fits my shoulders OR it's the right length- never all three. I also found a dress that I thought I was going to buy- it was so pretty- but we had misread the tag quite badly and there was noway I was spending Rs. 1365 on it. Although it would have been very nice! It was blue with sequins and a full skirt that flared if I twirled. Who knows maybe if it is still there and I want it badly enough I'll get it when we're in Chennai again. *shrug*
Next we ate lupper at Woodlands: Multi-cuisine Vegetarian Restaurant. We ordered *almost* ordered too much food- but we managed to eat it all. We had naan (flat bread), Palak Paneer (spinach gravy with chunked cottage cheese[green]), Gobi and Mushroom Manchurian (cauliflower florets and mushrooms battered and "fried" in Indian and Chinese spices) which are actually Indo-Chinese dishes, not Indian but they were still good [mushrooms in seperate picture]. I like the Palak Paneer and the Mushrooms best, the Gobi was a bit warm- but I ate my half! We also had lassi (yougrt, buttermilk and salt blended together) and while I was very skeptical it was very good and good at taming the burn in my mouth!
The other thing that happened at the restaurant was I got a rude introduction to Indian closets. They are bathrooms for both genders that have holes in the floor in a little bitty room with water to wipe with. I must say my attempt was eventful and embarrassing. It resulted in me yelling for Hena and almost crying. So, yeah... *awkward silence* :D NEXT!
After lupper we went to the beach so I could try to get Gandhi's picture again. But someone told us the wrong bus SO we saw the late Prime Minister's tomb, monument and park. By the time we were done with this and managed to find a auto-rickshaw to take us to the other end of the beach (probably five miles or so by my guess) it was too dark again to get Gandhi's picture... so I will attempt to take a picture of another Gandhi statue somewhere else.
After the beach we started to the flat but we found out that the Cathedral of St. Thomas was lit up at night so I wanted to see if I could get pictures. I photographed the sign, and the garden with the fountain outside, and parts of the interior of the church. Then we went into the tomb and I took pictures of the interior- even the tomb. So I made a donation and whispered a prayer that it was just in case I shouldn't have taken the pictures. :) Keep in mind I took these after dark please...
After that the guard outside the tomb said the bus stop was a block up the street- I must say an Indian block is a long, LONG way. Then we had to wait a very, very long time for our bus. The trains are very good at following the schedule, but the buses just go as they will. I fell asleep on the bus briefly and woke up to discover Hena was dozing as well. I think it was because we were sitting in the front seat which has no windows, nor does the seat behind it, and is over the engine that was burning oil or something rather badly. I think the CO or the CO2 got to us or something- because I wasn't tired before we got on the bus or after we got off. Anyhow earlier in the day I made a short video of light, nice traffic. Keep in mind this is easy traffic- and excuse the movement of the camera as the roads have Lots of bumps.

So yeah, we came home and I am going to bed soon. Write to you all soon.


Ps- If I come home fat it's because Sheru makes Indian sweets every night and bugs me until I try them. :)

Day Two

So, we started out lazy today however we made it to the temple! I woke up at 6 am (for no aparent reason) and just lazed around playing Guild Wars and reading until someone else woke up at 8 am. :) Evidently I am still a morning person.
The first place we went was to the local store. Hena and I walked there. Crossing the crazy traffic was an adventure! But we both made it safely obviously. So I bought eggs and cheese to make scrambled eggs with cheese for everyone for breakfast. :) And some other random stuff. Hena laughed at me because I said "My first Indian store purchase!"
My first auto-rickshaw ride was back from the store. :)
So, I made breakfast for the three of us, Hena, Muchu, and me. Adventures in cooking on a little gas stove. :) Everything turned out palatable and afterward we sent out for the Kapleshwar Temple in Nylapore (an area within Chennai) by train (Don't freak Dad and Goo!). These school girls in the train kept trying to get one of the others to pose for me because they saw my camera in my lap. Eventually the when the group was standing still I snapped one of all of them. I put the camera on review and offered to let them see it and one girl came over then all of them did. After that they started calling me "Aunt" because that's what kids call elders that they don't know. One of them yelled "Bye" and waved to me as the train left from the staion she got off at.


The temple was amazing. It is a temple complex to many Hindu Gods and Goddesses but mainly for Karthik, the second son of Shiva. Featured prominently also are also Shiva, Shiva Lingam, Ganesh, Parvati, and one for a miracle that happened three hundred years ago, to name the ones I can remember. There was also and area for the planets of the solar system which shows how Hinduism has elements of astrology. Did I mention you have to pay to take pictures- 25 rupees for all the pictures you can take (so it's a deal). There was a guide who showed us around and told us about things (amazingly didn't rip me off really badly). There is no brochure with all this information, you guys only get what I can remember. :) He was very kind, if slightly impatient, and informed about the different areas of the temple complex. He also anointed me with sacred ash (from offerings in the temple complex) and vermillion (the stripe, if you can see it just above the bindi [dot]). The two temples I particularly liked were the ones for the miracle and Parvati. The miracle was a girl that had died by snake bite, been cremated, and held in a pottery jar for a week was ressurected when a saint sang eleven songs of faith inside the temple. Pavarti's temple was at the location where Pavarti was transfored back into a human after she'd done her pennace to Shiva. She'd been transformed into a peacock because she'd been distracted admiring a dancing peacock when when Shiva was trying to tell her something important. After her reverse transformation she worshiped beneath a tree that is still there. It is held that your deepest desire will be granted if you pray while you touch the tree. People tie cradles to the tree for marriage and desires for children. People write notes with their desires and pin them to the tree. They also continue to anoint the tree with sacred ash and vermillion.
Next, we took a auto-rickshaw to the mall in Chennai. I bought a silver ring with a garnet for about four US dollars- I was amazed at how cheap it was. We also had dinner- I experimented again. The only thing I didn't like was that the chicken had lots of bones (little bone slivers too- grrrr) and I didn't eat the boiled egg (gross). I almost snorted rice though with my nose when one to my companions said something funny- I have no idea what. :) Then we bought sweets to bring home from from mall.
From the mall we took an auto-rickshaw, with a hostile driver, to the beach. He was offended at something I said or asked and then he and Hena got into an argument I completly couldn't understand because they were switching between three languaes. I wanted to sink into the floor for causing a problem. However, I think I cought the smell of alcohol on him so maybe it wasn't all my fault- he might just be a mean drunk.
It was dark so pictures at the beach wern't really possible. Hena and I think we may go back tomorrow to take pictures and really see the water but maybe not. We took the bus all the way back to the flat and I got many, many wierd looks from the other passengers. I was evidently looking slightly wierded out because Hena leaned over and told me it was because most Indians picture all Americans as RICH. They would be very confused by me taking the bus which is a "cheap" transportation within the city.
So, once again safely at the flat I have told you about my day.

P.S.- This is the room Hena and I are sharing for now. She lets me use the bed and she uses the rolled pallet in the floor. :S

Deep Announcer voice says: "Tune in next time for further adventures of the boisterous duo!"

Day One

Well, we never got to the temple.

We went to the Science Park and played with the machines that still worked. Most were missing a part or three. :(

The Peririyai Science and Technolgoy Center was interesting but amazingly stuck in the 1970's in my opinion. It reminded me of a stripped down, not up to date, broken Fort Discovery. Many of the exhibits were broken or simply removed.There was one exhibit on the heart that had almost a hundred real hearts and other specimines preserved in formaldehyde or something similar. The aquarium inside the Science Center had been emptied of all but 6 fish. :(

The Birla Planetarium was very nice. I enjoyed seeing the stars from a very different perspective than the one I have seen all my life. :) I hated that I missed part of the show because I fell asleep for a while (we were in a cool, dark room). My reason/excuse is I hadn't slept since I landed at 5am. :)

We went to Spencer Plaza which is a shopping mall in the American sense and at the same time it had stores that had an open market stall feel inside the passageways.



I had Thai food at The Noodle House with Hena and Sofie. I had bean rolls which were good (despite being a bit spicy).The best part was desert when the three of us split fried ice creme balls and Darsan (ice creme on top of very sweet, crispy noodles). But we ate them so fast we forgot to take a picture of them.

After a bit of shopping with Sofia, Hena and I had juice drinks from The Fruit Shop. I had the Glenn Thomas Special- kiwi and sweet lemon juice freshly juiced and mixed. It was delicious and managed to get me back on my feet because I was falling alseep on the table as we waited.

Next we tried to visit another friend of Hena's but we missed each other by seconds. Our cab stopped to let her cab out into traffic.
Then there was the failed attempt to get me a phone for while I am here. I must get a photo to give them before I can even get a prepaid phone. And I have been unable to locate calling cards anywhere...

The craziest thing of the day was the traffic. I will try to get a picture of it at some point but I will attempt to describe it.
1- We are on the other side of the road from in the States.
2- Painted symbols or lines on the road are suggestions to be ignored.
3- There is a crazy mix of buses, (tiny) cars, mopeds (called scooters here), bicycles, and motorcycles on the road. The mopeds, bicycles, and motorcycles all weve through traffic with no attention to lane and no signals. The only thing everyone obeys are the traffic signals.
4-Everyone uses their horn more than anything else. I think they could live without a motor but not without a horn. :)

So yeah, day one was interesting. Hena and I did all this in a cab rented for the day- tomorrow we tackle the buses and trains. :)

Did I mention we both fell asleep in the cab. But Hena was mean and took a picture of me. :)

Flying In

So, not much to report yet really.
My first flight was delayed. The next was moved up (AND overbooked) but I still made it into Mumbai (Bombay) just fine.
My wait was made interesting by a gentleman who helped me find my gate and then wanted American Dollars... well he was disappointed, poor him. The airport was under construction so it was a bit of a mess.



The flight into Chennai was late but Hena and Sharat were waiting to pick me up and all was well.
Got back to Sharat's house and am about to venture out with Hena to get breakfast and go see a temple. :)