Adam Barkl's Indialog

Tirupati and Chennai

It’s Monday morning here, and we just got back from our weekend away. We went south to go see Tirumala, a huge temple area next to Tirupati. Our bus left Hyderabad at 9:45 Thursday night, and we were supposed to arrive around 7:30 on Friday. But, since this is India, and you arrive everywhere early, we arrived around noon. After walking around and letting our butts come back to life from 14 hours of sitting, we found a hotel. To get to the temple, we had to take a bus up some mountains. Despite the numerous signs cautioning to drive slow, because of hair-pin turns, that is still the fastest time I have probably ever seen a bus climb a mountain. After hanging at the temple for while, we descended back into the city, had some dinner, and called it a night. Since we couldn’t decide who would sleep on what bed, we combined all four twin beds to make a sort of super bed. It was hilarious- we all got to cuddle for the night. // The next morning, we went to Chennai to hang out. That is India’s fourth biggest city, a bit bigger than Hyderabad. Chennai is a coastal city on the Bay of Bengal, and so I was able to see the eastern coast of India. Aside from relaxing on the beach, and walking around, we didn’t do much. We did however stop at a place that sells both cheeseburgers and bacon. This is something of a miracle in a country where much of the population is vegetarian (the Hindus), and the rest doesn’t eat pork (the Muslims). Either because it had been so long since I’d eaten beef, or just because of the restaurant, it was one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten. Oh the simple pleasures of Western foods when you eat Indian food nearly every day. You realize you take for granted the wide variety of foods that make up the American diet, both good and bad. // Our last adventure found us searching, to no avail, for a cheap hotel. We were disappointed to find that not many exist in Chennai. So, we had to resort to staying at the Ramada, and paying 5000 rupees (somewhere around $125). Usually you can find a decent place for around 600 per night, so this was a lot. It was ok though: even though we all had to cram onto a king sized bed, it was the most comfortable I’ve slept on in India. // And finally, I just heard that classes are cancelled today because of student protests; not sure why. It’s causing me to reminisce about my days of arriving to school in France, only to find a wall of chairs blocking shut my building. However, I am assuming this protest (unlike the ones in France) will only go on for a day or two, and not half the semester… unless we get lucky. // Photos should be added soon.

Posted at 12:01AM Feb 25, 2008 by Adam L Barkl in General  |  Comments[1]