Chennai, India

Wow. What did I see yesterday? Maybe I should say, what didn't I see. After taking a short nap and visiting the internet room, Jon (who is from CO as well) and I headed out to wander around the city and find some food. Chennai is a big city, but outside of the main center, it is just a maze of narrow dirt roads and crumbling sidewalks. There are chai tea stalls every block, so we hit up a few of those. They just serve the tea in little dixie cups, so it isn't much, but it is the real deal chai- super yummy. It rained a little overnight and drizzled a couple of times during the day, which made the streets nasty with huge puddles to jump over. Had my chacos on, so my feet got so disgusting yesterday, but it is a heck of a lot easier washing my feet than my hiking shoes. There are cows lounging around on the sidewalks and roads, goats and chickens everywhere, scooters and rickshaws all over the street, the women are in colorful saris, of course, and the men are either in pants or skirts. The first thing that turned my head was a wiener-dog-sized rat getting eaten alive by 4 birds. They just kept pecking and pecking, it was so gross, but I couldn't stop watching cause I have never really seen a rat that big. Let alone one getting pecked to death. There haven't been many beggars so far, but as I was looking down at a map yesterday, this old man tapped me on the shoulder wanting some money and when I looked up I just saw big huge bloody holes where his eyes should have been. yikes. Anyway, we had a great lunch at Ratna Cafe- ohhhhh hahaha I just realized that it was called Ratna, I guess I didn't make that connection after seeing the rat yesterday. Anyway, I had a masala dosa, which is kind of like a crepe stuffed with a delicious potato mixture with lots of spices and different dipping sauces. After that, we hopped in a rickshaw- just like a tuktuk- and went to a bookstore where I was able to get a new lonely planet guidebook. No bargain though, so I had to suck it up and spend the $25. We also boarded a city bus just for the fun of it. The buses are so old and worn down it is hilarious- but you cant beat the fare...2 cents!!! India is sooooo cheap. About 50 rupees = one US dollar. A decent meal is about 75 cents to 2 bucks. The hotel room was about 5 dollars. I like it! Had some beers with dinner last night and sat on a great rooftop patio with a view of the city. There was a mosque next to the restaurant, so at sunset we heard the evening prayer, which is broadcast over loudspeakers and sounds like a chant and song all at the same time. Back at the hotel, I took a cold shower with a massive cockroach perched on the shower head, but it was still one of the best showers ever. Humidity makes me gross. Bed by 9pm, up by 3am- not by choice- my body is still adjusting and I just couldn't sleep anymore. Jon and I went separate ways today. It was nice to have him around for the first day- he is just one of many, many people I will be fortunate enough to meet on this trip. But I gotta say, he walked too fast and talked too much, so I am glad to be on my own today considering the sensory overload. Too much chit chat hurts my brain, especially when I am trying to take all this craziness in. I took a 5 hour train from Chennai to Bangalore today. The train station was very user friendly and the ride was pleasant- rode past mostly jungle type landscape, flat, palm trees, green fields. The train is definitely nothing fancy and the people-watching was fun. Vendors would walk up and down the aisle selling chai and coffee, samosas, dosas and soft drinks. Then blind people would get on and beg for money. And then, I have no idea what this was about, but some transvestites got on the train and walked down the aisle doing some kind of magic trick for money. I was trying so hard to figure it all out, but all I know for sure is that is was definitely men dressed in saris and Indian jewelry. After they left, I looked back out the window just in time to see a guy going poo on the train tracks. nice. So, now I am in Bangalore and was planning on heading north to Hampi tonight, but train tickets have to be purchased a day in advance, so I found a hotel and here I am. Less humidity, in fact the weather is perfect here:)