Back on the Mainland
I'm in raucous reeking Chennai again.
J's gone, off to Delhi then back to Kabul tomorrow.
I'm sad, but not as sad as our previous parting since this time it's only for a month and during that time I'll have my hands full trying to survive India.
I was dreading leaving the Andaman islands but at the same time it was time to go. Something about islands...J says they trap energy, which could explain why some islands are just swimming in good vibes, others quite the opposite. Havelock definitely leans towards the weird vibe side.
Perhaps its just too much of a good thing.
We spent our day on Ross Island yesterday. A really cool abandoned British playground just a hop skip and a jump from Port Blair. All the crumbling buildings are held together by ficus trees a la Angkor Wat in Cambodia. There are loads of deer and peacocks and pretty views. Really enjoyed it.
One thing about the Andamans, the food is the pits and expensive to boot (by Indian standards that is), with one exclusion The Red Snapper at Wild Orchid on Havelock YUM. I had a run in with some chilli yesterday in Port Blair and again at breakfast. Ouch. It burns ALL the way through.
So at least we could enjoy some decent thali for lunch in Chennai today. Although getting to the 20 rupee feast on a banana leaf entailed making our way over the most wretched scenes of squalour. Not so great for the appetite or the people forced to live and ablute on the so-called sidewalks. In the 20 metres we covered from Hotel Himalaya to the Maharaja restaurant we stepped over a tot pooing yellow worms, the foulest ditch of god knows what, a quite possibly dead dog, ancient people (probably 40 but looking at least 300) twig thin with claws outstretched, sacks containing small children judging from the tiny fingers and toes peeking out of them and a gazillion auto-ricks, taxis, bicycles and filth filth filth.
I knew that I wasn't quite prepared to return to all this when the guy on the ferry yesterday started shoving me mercilessly and caused a tsunami sized wave of rage to well up inside of me.
So I'm practicing the art of complete and utter surrender. I boarded and disembarked from the aircraft last to avoid any unnecessary unpleasantness and intend to make the most of my mid-range hotel (grim but with the ultimate luxury -- hot water) by avoiding Chennai until I leave on the first bus tomorrow.
I'm off to Mamallapuram which has some lovely stone cut temples and a dance festival on at the moment. I only intend to be there for a night or so before heading to Pondicherry.
J's gone, off to Delhi then back to Kabul tomorrow.
I'm sad, but not as sad as our previous parting since this time it's only for a month and during that time I'll have my hands full trying to survive India.
I was dreading leaving the Andaman islands but at the same time it was time to go. Something about islands...J says they trap energy, which could explain why some islands are just swimming in good vibes, others quite the opposite. Havelock definitely leans towards the weird vibe side.
Perhaps its just too much of a good thing.
We spent our day on Ross Island yesterday. A really cool abandoned British playground just a hop skip and a jump from Port Blair. All the crumbling buildings are held together by ficus trees a la Angkor Wat in Cambodia. There are loads of deer and peacocks and pretty views. Really enjoyed it.
One thing about the Andamans, the food is the pits and expensive to boot (by Indian standards that is), with one exclusion The Red Snapper at Wild Orchid on Havelock YUM. I had a run in with some chilli yesterday in Port Blair and again at breakfast. Ouch. It burns ALL the way through.
So at least we could enjoy some decent thali for lunch in Chennai today. Although getting to the 20 rupee feast on a banana leaf entailed making our way over the most wretched scenes of squalour. Not so great for the appetite or the people forced to live and ablute on the so-called sidewalks. In the 20 metres we covered from Hotel Himalaya to the Maharaja restaurant we stepped over a tot pooing yellow worms, the foulest ditch of god knows what, a quite possibly dead dog, ancient people (probably 40 but looking at least 300) twig thin with claws outstretched, sacks containing small children judging from the tiny fingers and toes peeking out of them and a gazillion auto-ricks, taxis, bicycles and filth filth filth.
I knew that I wasn't quite prepared to return to all this when the guy on the ferry yesterday started shoving me mercilessly and caused a tsunami sized wave of rage to well up inside of me.
So I'm practicing the art of complete and utter surrender. I boarded and disembarked from the aircraft last to avoid any unnecessary unpleasantness and intend to make the most of my mid-range hotel (grim but with the ultimate luxury -- hot water) by avoiding Chennai until I leave on the first bus tomorrow.
I'm off to Mamallapuram which has some lovely stone cut temples and a dance festival on at the moment. I only intend to be there for a night or so before heading to Pondicherry.
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