Well, it has not been 48 hours, but I have yet to be disappointed. Except, perhaps, by the heat. By some amazing grace it has been raining at night, keeping it cool during the day. I'm sitting in my hotel room, at high noon, in pants and a long-sleeve shirt, without air con. Ok, that just sounds crazy. but I ain't lyin! To be fair, I should give credit to global warming rather than my ability to adjust to new climates (we all know temperatures other than 82F/28C are not my forte). Weather here is so predictable that people tell me the day I need to leave certain areas to avoid monsoon. The day! Actually, I read that the monsoon started a day late this year...see, the world is a changin my friends.
Anyways, I digress. I arrived on Friday night, it was a simple journey. None of the expected air transport surprises: delays, lines, friskings, removal of treasured beauty products from carry-ons, etc. I did come across a few new flying events though. Ever seen someone barefoot in an airport? Heard a stewardess yell at people for running off the plane? Have most of your fellow passengers carrying 5-10 bags as hand luggage? Best of all: kept your electronics on during takeoff AND landing? Yeah, I did all that. Now, this is living. It was definitely one of the most pleasant transits I've had outside of business class.
I will say I was slightly overwhelmed when I stepped out of the airport. I had to go back in, make a phone call, then try again. But I made it, and all the way to my really nice little hotel. In that hour-long exposure to Chennai, I decided that anything can happen in India. That every story anybody had ever told me was probably true, that I might be able to do anything I want to while I am here and that I am constrained only by my own boundaries of discovery and energy and time. Lucky for me, none of these have been particularly limiting yet in my brief 25 year experience. I do have some acclimating to do, and I don't mean to the weather. Of anywhere I have been, India is by far the most different from home. I happen to have some help on this front, however.
In the past almost year (yes, I left almost a year ago...) I have met people from all over the world and a large minority of them have been from India. Ram, Nimesh, Sam, Rajeev, Sanju, Jay, Prasanna and Manik have been the sources of my inspiration, information, lodgings, transport, direction, cultural training and encouragement for this trip. I would probably be working in a cold and quiet office in Singapore if it wasn't for them...how's that for polarity? Actually, Corey gave me his Lonely Planet India, and Karen, Chris, Ted & Sherry suggested some stops for my itinerary, but nothing quite compares to the local experience. As a solo, Western female first-timer in India, I would have struggled a bit. But upon my arrival, Ram's friend Vasanth took me for a few beers and some Malai Kofta (hmm sounds like life in LA...oh wait the food cost $2.50 and there are goats on the street along the way).
The next morning we drove out to Puducherry with a few other friends of Ram's. Along with answering my deluge of questions about pretty much everything ever, whether they know it or not, they were showing me the ropes just by taking me around with them. Little things like honking the horn means 'I'm here' and is compulsory if there is another car/bike/rickshaw/bus/truck/person/cow/dog/etc on the same road. And let me tell you...that happens a LOT.
We walked around Auroville and went to an Ashram, which was a delightful retreat from the hussle bussle of this (comparatively tiny) town. In an attempt to get pizza, we ended up at this cool rooftop restaurant, where we had beers with our meal (which you can only do in hotels in Chennai) and sat next to the reserved local government table. It was a long drive back, past a salt farm (who knew!) and along the east coast of India, listening to A. R. Rahman (who did the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack and is from Chennai).
