In my recent Good post, I alluded to the fact that I encounter good things before and/or during my trip. Now, I shall elaborate upon that.
I wrote that I had found out that the temperature would be four degrees cooler in Chennai than in Kolkata. I do not know if that information was correct; I do know that it was uncomfortably hot. I usually took three(+) showers each day to keep cool and to wash away the perspiration.
I always wake up earlier than does Caroline so she had asked me to go to the train station to confirm the time of our train, on the last day of our stay in Chennai. She apparently had thought that I would take an auto-rickshaw, but I did not want to pay the added expense (if they charged exorbitant prices when they were talking to Caroline then who knows how much they would have demanded from a lone foreigner) and I have always felt that walking around is the best way of getting to places (assuming that they are not unduly far). Moreover, it was early in the morning (about 7:00am) and I thought that it would not be uncomfortably hot.
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I walked to the Chennai Central Railway Station, confirmed the departure time and found out that it would leave at platform number 8. In hindsight, I should have walked to platform number 8 to see exactly where it was but when we departed that evening, it turned out to be not far from the entrance, so it did work out well.
At the Railway Station, I thought that I saw the bus stand from where we walked to St. Anthony's Church the first time that we went there. I wanted to go to the Church again because I had photographed many memorials there. (See my future Genealogy post) I then saw more memorials outside. Unfortunately, by that time, the sun had set so I could not take the photographs. Thus, I wanted to go back to the Church to photograph those memorials that were outside.
I started walking and soon came upon a road that not only appeared to be long but also actually was long. Toward the end of it, I thought I saw the road that led to the Church. When I reached it, I did not see anything that I had remembered. I was not lost (since I was able to easily find my way back to the Railway Station); I was simply uncertain about the direction to the Church (and perhaps about whether or not the bus stand was the same as the one before). I thus gave up on going to the Church and photographing the outside memorials. Perhaps it was just as well. When I saw them (albeit in the dark), they appeared to be worn and faded so even if I did photograph them then the names might not appear.
When I returned to the Railway Station, I saw that I was on Wall Tax Road! This is where I thought that Metro Lodge (where Caroline, her mother and her sister stayed 30 years ago) was located. I had read that it (if it still existed) was on 20 Wall Tax Road.
Streets and street signs in Kolkata are confusing. Here, there is a street called Lindsey Street but signs on streets that run perpendicular to it indicate that those streets are also Lindsey Street! In Chennai, street signs are even more peculiar. On the side of the street on which I was walking, I saw signs that were in the 200 series (e.g., the address was 279, Wall Tax Road), but on the other side of the street were signs in the 100 series (e.g., the address was 150, Wall Tax Road). I walked very far but could never find 20, Wall Tax Road; I walked much further than I thought that Caroline's mother would have travelled. I thus walked back to the hotel.
Later, in reviewing the print-out of the map (which I had left at the hotel), I began to get the impression that I had walked along a street more accurately called Old Wall Tax Road, and that there might be a street called New Wall Tax Road, which was one lane away. Regardless, I could not locate where the actual hotel was located, and I was very weak from the very long walk in the increasingly hot sun.
That night was even worse for me. We checked out of the hotel at about 10:00pm. We took an auto-rickshaw to the Railway Station which took us slightly far from the entrance. Caroline was somewhat peeved but I had the impression that they were not allowed to go that far. Regardless, I took the two bags and started walking. As I wrote above, I did not know exactly where platform number 8 was located but we quickly found it. However, I think that it is Murphy's Law that states that no matter when and where you buy the ticket and no matter where you travel, your seats will be extremely far from the entrance to the station (except in Hyderabad, where the train has always been on the platform closest to the entrance, and our seats have been virtually opposite the entrance). By the time I put the bags on the seats, it felt that I was swimming in perspiration; it took about an hour for me to cool down sufficiently.
In short, the weather in Chennai was not what I had expected and hoped it would be.
I wrote that Caroline had called many hotels to find out the prices, and whether or not they accepted foreigners. Unless you (if you are not an Indian nor an NRI--Non-Resident Indian) will stay at a 4 or 5 star hotel in India, I recommend that you call hotels in advance. Hotels (and their phone numbers) in your desired locations can be found through Sulekha.com and Google+.
She had called and found that the Hotel Surya was affordable and that it accepted foreigners. When we arrived though, the clerk seemed to indicate that foreigners were not allowed and that passports were not a valid form of identification. ???????????????? Regardless, the clerk called the owner (to whom Caroline had spoken earlier) We were then "allowed" to check in.
In my Good post, I gave two additional possible explanations of why hotels in India often do not rent rooms to foreigners: 1) The hotels acknowledge that they offer deplorable service and do not want to knowingly offend people who probably have a more varied and better experience of staying at hotels; 2) The hotels have Indian-style toilets. Both of these applied to the Hotel Surya.
The first thing that I saw was the Indian-style toilet. However, it is possible that the hotel did have Western-style toilets in other rooms. Toward the end of our stay, we visited another hotel (which was even more affordable) that had an Indian-style toilet in one room, and a Western-style toilet in another room.
More objectionable was the service. They frequently hounded Caroline (since she spoke the language) for the rent. They never cleaned the room, nor was there ever any trash bins in the hotel. There was a cardboard box that was partially hidden in the lobby which seemed to serve as a place to throw away garbage. It was difficult to get requested, common and needed things. There were no hangers in the room, and after Caroline asked for them, a servant came back with a hanger. ?????????????? An entire hotel that has only one available hanger?????!!!!!!!!!
It is easy to please me and difficult to get me upset. However, because the hotel apparently had made an "exception" in accepting me, they did not want to be reminded of it. They objected to my sitting on the sofa in the lobby. I felt like a second-class citizen in the hotel that I was paying for.
My recommendation to you, whether you are an Indian or not, is to call the hotel in advance to confirm that they take foreigners. If they do not then avoid it, as you will most likely encounter deplorable service and facilities, as we did at the Hotel Surya.
Although I did not mention this in my Good post, I do want to discuss now the general observation of the expense of Chennai.
In general, the expense of Chennai is far greater than that of Kolkata. The biggest expense--hotels--do seem to comparable and consistent with those of Kolkata. However, Caroline had also called a few people to inquire about apartments to rent. They were asking for 50-75,000 rupees as security deposit. There are some in Kolkata that ask for this, as well, but those in Hyderabad seem to be the most accomodating.
The next biggest expense, unfortunately and unexpectedly, was travelling by auto-rickshaw. The "honest" driver (whom I shall mention in a future Marina Beach Day 2 post) said that 50% of the drivers (especially in the area in which we were staying) were cheaters.
Even simple meals were expensive. We were hindered by the fact that in at least one restaurant, the menu was in Tamil. Although Caroline can speak the language, she does not know how to read it. One dinner there was almost 400 rupees, and I ate hardly anything. At another time, we found out that a small dish of mutton was 160 rupees.
Even simple meals were expensive. At another place we found out that chappatis were 25 rupees and butter for it was 10 rupees. In Kolkata, chappatis are closer to being 10 rupees, and butter usually comes free with it.
Unfortunately, I could not get much work done as Internet usage is 30 rupees per hour, 50% more than it is in Kolkata and other places.
It is easy to please me and difficult to get me upset. However, because the hotel apparently had made an "exception" in accepting me, they did not want to be reminded of it. They objected to my sitting on the sofa in the lobby. I felt like a second-class citizen in the hotel that I was paying for.
My recommendation to you, whether you are an Indian or not, is to call the hotel in advance to confirm that they take foreigners. If they do not then avoid it, as you will most likely encounter deplorable service and facilities, as we did at the Hotel Surya.
Although I did not mention this in my Good post, I do want to discuss now the general observation of the expense of Chennai.
In general, the expense of Chennai is far greater than that of Kolkata. The biggest expense--hotels--do seem to comparable and consistent with those of Kolkata. However, Caroline had also called a few people to inquire about apartments to rent. They were asking for 50-75,000 rupees as security deposit. There are some in Kolkata that ask for this, as well, but those in Hyderabad seem to be the most accomodating.
The next biggest expense, unfortunately and unexpectedly, was travelling by auto-rickshaw. The "honest" driver (whom I shall mention in a future Marina Beach Day 2 post) said that 50% of the drivers (especially in the area in which we were staying) were cheaters.
Even simple meals were expensive. We were hindered by the fact that in at least one restaurant, the menu was in Tamil. Although Caroline can speak the language, she does not know how to read it. One dinner there was almost 400 rupees, and I ate hardly anything. At another time, we found out that a small dish of mutton was 160 rupees.
Even simple meals were expensive. At another place we found out that chappatis were 25 rupees and butter for it was 10 rupees. In Kolkata, chappatis are closer to being 10 rupees, and butter usually comes free with it.
Unfortunately, I could not get much work done as Internet usage is 30 rupees per hour, 50% more than it is in Kolkata and other places.