Chennai to Coorg
All things in India, or at least in the lovely household in which I have been residing these last few weeks, are decided by committee. And these decisions, which require significant time and noise in the making, are subject to change. Without notice.
These requirements led to my staying in Madras without seeing anything for four days. Now, normally I would have gone out to entertain myself. But, I was warned, such an action would not be safe here, as tourist spots are challenging places to get around. So I remained an (increasingly frustrate) inmate of the house for a few days. We finally ventured out on Wednesday for a whirlwind tour of Pondicherry (former French port with Ashram and temple and lovely beach + gandhi statue) and Mamallampuram (decently old damn cool stone carvings). My hosts then informed me that I had seen nearly everthing that Chennai has to offer. So I changed my plane ticket, so that I leave the day after we return from Coorg & Mysore. I will be spending 4 days in Copenhagen, where I can regain my role as a fully independent travelling girl.
After that decision, my trip improved significantly. I spent the day on Thursday at Tamil Nadu's version of Greenfield Village (homes from all over South India). It needs some docents, but the waiters at the restaurant convinced me to order a huge meal, and then teased me when I ate it my own way, which I found amusing. On Friday we went shopping and I bought some nice stuff for my family and myself (silk scarves, silver jewlery that is priced by the ounce, etc). All really great stuff from R's family's favorite stores, some of which even extended the family's discount to me.
I also got to hang out with R's friends and listen to them evaluate the new fiance (via arranged marriage) of one of the girls. And fall asleep on the table at the bar of a very exclusive boutique hotel (my body wants to sleep from 10pm to 6am here - I think that I have adjusted to the time change too well). R and her circle frequently dine at the restaurants of 5 star hotels, where they are guaranteed a clean and overpriced meal.
Things got even better during our trip to Coorg, which I will try to write about in the next few days. I'll be leaving Chennai tomorrow for Copenhagen (via Dehli and Amsterdam). I've had a really interesting trip and I am very grateful to my wonderful hosts. Today they dressed me up in a gorgeous silk sari to attend the wedding of R's second cousin, which was pretty funny. Pics to come!
posted by Amy @ 12:03
8 comments
8 Comments:
Did you have fun? It sounds like you were frustrated by some cultural differences.
Both are true - I wouldn't have minded the cultural difference so much if it hadn't left me stuck in the house. But I had a really great time once we travelled around Coorg. So four days of frustration and 13 days of fun is not so bad, on balance.
My parents have basically said not to let any of you whiteys out alone either. But, they are already planning on setting up tours to the Taj and Rajasthan (our desert state that has beautiful clay/stone palaces). But, if you wanted to venture out alone, they'd probably have somebody go with you, and if you insisted enough, they'd just say "fine, go, but if you get mugged, don't come crying to us." :-P
I'm glad you got to see some of the carvings. The caves with the centuries old dirty statues and carvings are on the other coast, so you missed that. I'll just have to show you photos.
R had all these plans for what we were going to do when I booked the flight. Then, about a week before we left, she told me that we coundn't go to any of the places that we talked about. But she said we would still do something every day. Then, I got there and sat in the house for 4 days. I had to tell her that I was concerned before we did anything at all, and then I had to spend moola to change my ticket to avoid continued boredom, as she told me that we had done all that there was to do. And, I could tell that travelling alone wouldn't be a good idea. But it is a good idea in Copenhagen (apart from the high cost of a hotel room) and I am super excited to be out on my own again.
Oh, and if I make it to Sylvie's wedding, I now have an invite for a place to stay in Dehli for a few days with a cool relative of R's. And, I'll have a better idea about what I'm getting myself into....
well if you have an invite there, I would suggest making your trip for a week to 10 days, my parents have stuff booked for everyone starting with the wedding on the 29 and 30th (it's a 2 day event), and then some tours of the Taj and New Delhi for a couple days and then you can stay with R's relatives. If you do start planing the trip though, getting there on the night of the 27th or early morning 28th would be best since my parents will be in Delhi picking us and Maddie up.
for some reason i have complete confidence that sylvies plans will work out....
It's because I am a planning God and I am already driving my parents crazy for details about the plans.
Hi Amy,
Good that you had fun in Coorg. India is improving every day. I do admit it is not as sophisticated as it is in the developing countries but it is not as bad as it was 5 yrs back and it will improve for sure. I was searching for information on Coorg and got to see your blog. I live in Chennai. There is a lot of interesting places in India espcially in South India. I agree that you need to plan a lot and you should have a proper person to guide you. If you are visiting India next time buzz me on this email ID maran4u@gmail.com I will give you some tips and places to visit.
Thanks for visiting India.
Regards
Maran.R
mmaran.blogspot.com
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