India: Chennai continued

A new day is here, and this is the view from my Chennai hotel suite. I was on the 7th floor. It's going to be a very hazy and humid day. After I opened the curtains this morning, I realized I also had a private patio. The door is on the right side.

Not something I would actually want to hang out on since it was quite dirty with pigeon dropping and even trash! Also, the heat & humidity in Chennai is killer for November!! I did step out for a weather check, but quickly came back in to the A/C.

The miles long deserted beach on the Bay of Bengal. We went to the port to see containers loading & unloading, but there was a strict "no photos" policy. The men walking around with rifles were pretty convincing. I decided not to take any chances. I don't want to end up in India prison or an Indian hospital!

My lunch at the dismal Chennai airport. No shops. No restaurants. Only a snack bar. But this chip flavor "Cajun beats" is pretty unique and, in Indian style, pretty spicy!!

Here's the airport. Not part of it. The whole thing. No jetway boarding. Everyone takes a bus out to the runway and then walks up the stairs.

Chennai Airport runway. The red & white building on the left is air traffic control. I see there is a jetway on the right, but do not be fooled. No planes come up close enough to the building.

Also of note is airport security in Japan, China, & India. No one is quite as hyper as America. You can bring liquids (although the sign says not to), you can wear your shoes (even my steel toes), and India doesn't metal detect women. We go behind a screen and get patted down.

Another posh hotel room in New Delhi... Mini bar on the left, bathroom on the right.

Another big bed, which I'm thankfully for. Tomorrow night we're taking the red-eye back to Japan, so sleep will be sketchy.

Hotel bathroom. I haven't featured all of the toilets I came across in India yet on my blog, but let me assure you it's not a pretty sight. I do appreciate a clean Western toilet much more now.

Here's a pic of me on the way to India. I was so excited to see English TV again. It didn't matter that it was in the children's section at Hong Kong or Pink Panther!!

Here's a few extra tidbits on India I've been taking notes on:

I said there were no traffic laws, but I don't think I mentioned that when traffic is stopped on one side of the road, cars occasionally flood the other side of the road, and start going into oncoming traffic. It's like a death wish!! I'm told that India follows the U.S. closely in the number of automobile fatalities. It's pretty crazy since India's speed limit is 40kph, but now that I've seen it I'm not surprised!

The hotels here remind of vacation resorts in Mexico. The workers are all so friendly and happy and willing to help while speaking in their accented English. There are usually multiple amenities, too, like a pool, spa, restaurants, shopping, etc.

Most buses were colorfully painted and often with religious sayings on them. Many even had streamers, ribbons, tassels, and ornaments strung up inside.

All women (even babies) have their ears pierced. Gold jewelry is very popular. Most men even had at least one gold ring on.

No smoking is allowed in any restaurant in India. That's a nice change from Japan, where smoking is not allowed on streets or sidewalks, but please light it up all you want inside of buildings... Yuck!!

OMG Bugs are crazy here!! I noticed they were crawling on others while at the Transystem yard, and then upon inspection, I realized they were all over me, too. Ants on your shoes and in your socks. Spiders on your legs, and many other weird creepy crawlies. Sometimes I would make a big fuss and start brushing them off, and people just laughed at me. (Probably thinking "Silly girl!") In addition, flies are every where. Crawling all over your food in restaurants. Buzzing around your head even in airplanes. It was so bothersome. Again, I was the only one who seems to mind.

There are a few American food places here that people were eager to point out. McDonald's, which I've already mentioned. Also, Domino's Pizza, KFC, and Pizza Hut. Their menus are, of course, modified and are generally only vegetarian options (even KFC, I'm told!!) I also saw a "Kentacky Chicken Corner" from the car one day. The spelling cracked me up, but I'm sure it is a wannabe KFC.

Even in the poorest conditions, I saw many people on cell phones, which I really found ironic. But then I started reading the billboards, and perhaps it's because cell phones are so cheap. Service providers often charge calls by the second, and the texts are charged per character. LOL.

We had lunch at a golf club one day, and I saw another course in Bangalore. There are no golf carts in India, but no worries because you will get a uniformed caddy (super cheap) at your service! I hear the actual greens fees are not too expensive, either. (Although this was from the Japanese guys, and they may be poor judges since the price of golf is astronomical there.)

One very ingenious thing was that most public buses had small gutters on them. This is so during the rainy season, the windows can stay open and very little water gets in. Most of it drains down the front or back of the bus.