Chennai on 10-May-09: From a tourist point of view

Arrived in Chennai around midnight. Went straight to the hotel for a good nights sleep. Traffic was heavy. Everyone was honking all the time. Such a difference from back home in Malaysia. In India you are expected to honk, the other driver has no problem with that. Try that in Malaysia and more often than not the least you would get is a rude stare.

Breakfast at the hotel was good, good Indian buffet breakfast. (By the way restaurants in India are also known as hotels) So be careful what you mean when you ask for a hotel.

After breakfast, a tour of Chennai. weather was hot but bearable and windy. Cleanliness poor. Flies have a field day, they are everywhere. Never try to eat or drink out doors unless you want your food to be swarmed with flies. Air conditioned restaurants are fortunately clean, presentable and fly free.

Some photos of Chennai:

The roads of Chennai. The 3 wheeled 'auto' is very popular means of public transport. It is either 3 or 5 seated.

The famous Marina beach. You have to walk about half a km to reach the sea, or so the locals say.

A drink kiosk at the beach. Drinking bottled water is ok.

Buying sea shells and gem stones at he beach. The prices are not too bad. But you have to bargain, just like in Chow Kit or Petaling Street.

The shanty fisherman's village at Marina Beach. No electricity, water supply and sanitation. Bathe at roadside water taps.

Looks like some estates houses in Malaysia......................

Fisherwomen selling fish (what else!) by the beach. Just like the women in Kelantan. Women power or empowering women?

A mosque somewhere in Chennai. The roads are dusty and littered, littered, littered!

This is the train from Chennai to Kannur. It has about 20 coaches I think, but who really counted. It will be a 13 hour train journey from Chennai to Kannur