The day after we went to Marina Beach, Caroline wanted to go to the Zoo. Through Google Maps, I found out that it was 37 kilometres away and while having breakfast, Caroline asked the waiter who answered that it was 27 kilometres. Regardless, since I knew that Marina Beach was about 15 kilometres away and that the auto-rickshaw drivers charged 70-80 rupees for that, I knew that a trip to the Zoo should be 150-200 rupees.
Imagine our surprise when the drivers demanded 400-700 rupees! Finally, we found an honest(?) driver who informed us that there were actually two Zoos, one of which was further away, and that he would take us to the closer one for "only" 260 rupees. Since it is difficult to deny Caroline what she wants, we went.
We arrived there and found out three things: 1) It was a National Park not a Zoo (although it did have animals); 2) It was not significantly further away than the beach, so it ought to have been no more than 120 rupees--and certainly not 260 rupees; 3) The Park was closed on Tuesdays, and we went on Tuesday!
Not being able to do anything about that, we decided to take a bus for a second day at the beach. However, even that turned out to be expensive as it was 26 rupees for two people. In Kolkata, a ride of the same distance would be 10 rupees for two people.
Nevertheless, I was very happy to be there again as it gave me the opportunity to put my feet in the Bay of Bengal (not quite the Indian Ocean, but close), which I neglected to do the previous day.
In my recent Language post, I expressed concern that even large corporations in India have misspellings in their signage. This sign was done by the government itself--your tax dollars at work!
Even cows enjoy the beach (actually, the park in front of the beach).
People enjoying the water and the beach
Even Muslim women enjoy the water
People on the beach with buildings in the distant background.
The same scene, using a telephoto lens, to show the buildings in the distant background
Even the "Master Blaster", Sachin Tendulkar, enjoyed the beach (ha ha).
Boats for rent
People in a boat, and I suspect that life-vests are not mandatory nor even provided. Throughout India, I see few motorcyclists wearing helmets.
My "friend". Caroline knows that I am fond of ice cream, so whenever she sees an ice cream trolley she says that my friend is here.
Although most stalls are quite busy most of the time, there are some that appear to be almost a ghost-town at least some of the time.
A stall selling engraved sea-shells, reminding me of the sea-shells sold in stores along Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.
In places, the beach is extremely wide. It seems that even in crowded cities, people still want human interaction so people tend to avoid these rather desolate areas.
Caroline's favourite stall, selling nivanjuram fish. It is coated in a red paste/sauce, which indicates that it is spicy. However, it was not. I do not like the taste of fish, and have not had it in many, many years. However, I did taste this, and it was quite good. Moreover, it had very few thorns/bones in it.
He was quite proud of the size of the fish.
He related to us the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. He said that the water came all the way to the main road (about 1/2 kilometre away from the water's edge and--I estimate--7 metres above sea level). He apparently witnessed this from his home overlooking the beach. It is difficult to find the numbers, but it seems that at least 200 people--and possibly 1,000 or even more--perished at this beach. He said that none of the stalls were there at the time.
In my Day 1 post, I find the infrastructure of the beach to be fascinating. Here, there is another example of it. I wondered, however, about the quality of the water. A short time later, Caroline tasted it and it was indeed salty. I suppose that it is for the merchants to wash pans or to cook with.
As the sun sets, the lights come on.
