I am starting with a five-week organised solo trip through southern India, to get my bearings.
I will be visiting the temples of Tamil Nadu, fertile Kerala, then the state of Karnataka, to finally end up in Goa.
Thereafter, I will continue on my own. I may go back to places I wish to explore further, continue to discover other ones, or simply just elect to rent a place and soak it in. We will see.
Landed in Chennai at 8am. No problems at immigration, just have to be patient.
We hit the morning rush hour, which took me straight into Indian driving style.
They drive on the left here, but actually, it doesn’t really matter. People take over left and right, and sometimes come straight at you, just flashing their headlights asking you to let them squeeze by. Mayhem. After the first few mishaps, you gradually reopen your eyes, and slowly start to trust the skills of your driver zigzagging with his hand on the horn while talking to you in the back. Take a look at what I am talking about :
In a city of 10 million, where space has to constantly be fought for, it’s not quite the same thing as travelling on a London commuter train while reading the paper. We overtake many rickety buses so full there is no sitting room or standing room available. Wonder how I would feel squeezed every morning in one of those ?
There is great poverty all around. Although nearly everyone seems to have a smartphone. Apparently, there are over 650 million people here who have one (50% penetration) ! The vast majority may be dirt poor and not even have modern amenities in their home, but they have a smartphone. These cost on average £120.
While we drive around Chennai awaiting check-in time, I notice official buildings owe a lot to Victorian times (train station, museums, churches). In fact, they are the only old buildings that seem to get a fresh coat of paint from time to time. All the other buildings have turned grey and often look derelict. However, the police headquarters shine bright white ….
There are thousand and thousands of motorbikes, creating an incredible cacophony with their klaxons. As all this moves at a rather slow pace, they somehow manage to avoid each others, cars, lorries, buses, animals, people, often by a hair’s breadth… While all bike riders must pass an exam, nobody follows the code, but everyone uses their horn. Only 20% are insured. Helmets for riders and their passengers are compulsory, yet many don’t wear one. Seems the only time they run the risk of getting a fine is at month end when the police need to make ends meet. It’s even worse In the countryside : 95% don’t wear one.
I stroll on the second-longest beach in the world : 7 km! It takes a good 10 minutes to reach the sea on foot. Apparently it all comes alive at dusk, when whole families descend on the beech when the air is cooler. There are scores of ramshackle huts and carts offering food and drinks, all locked up during the daytime. And makeshift carousels for the children.
On a more recent occasion, when I swung back into Chennai, I visited the flower market. What a sight. It is a very large covered market, that houses dozens of flower merchants. These people get up very early, both because many of them live far out, but also because they need to prepare their stalls as well as the garlands, made of flower heads weaved together in all manner of shape, depending on the type of occasion being celebrated.