Chennai
After seven months traveling on rails, road and water, we finally took to the air for our first flight from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai (formerly Madras) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
We thought we’d seen our fair share share of chaos on the roads as we’d made our way across south east asia but the relatively short taxi ride (in a wonderful HM Ambassador) from Chennai airport to the suburb of Triplicane provided more near misses than the previous seven months combined. Our driver weaved his way past motorbikes, cars, packed buses, bicycles, hand carts and of course, numerous wandering cows,
Chennai lived up to it’s reputation as one of the most unhealthy and polluted cities on the planet. After an hour an hour of so walking around we were covered in a thick layer of dust and ready for the shower.
Despite the grime, we enjoyed our stay in Chennai. We became acquainted with Southern Indian ‘meals’, served on a banana leaf, and learned something of the arrival of the British on the sub-continent at Fort St. George. The plaques at St. Marys Church made for interesting reading. A large number of the deaths were attributed to the ‘ungenial climate’ and Colonel McNeil of the Madras Light Cavalry was unfortunate to die from a case of sunstroke.
We were fortunate enough to be in Chennai on a Sunday. This meant we were able to hit Marina beach with what seemed like the rest of Chennai’s six million citizens and indulge in some serious people watching whilst sat on the sand sipping chai.
