Day 4: Things NOT to do in a foreign country

Day 4 January 17 PM


So we went down to lunch and had the Chicken Biriyani and Vegetable Pulao, Samba which is like a sauce and nan which is a traditional Indian bread. The food was very good and we decided to take a walk and check out the town. Chennai is the third most populous state in a country that has over 1 billion people. Chennai alone has 150 million people. The streets are crammed with vehicles of every imaginable size from bicycles to mopeds carrying upwards of 5 people (yes, we regularly see entire 5 member families riding on mopeds that shouldn't be ridden by individuals of large girth), small motorcycles, the cars, the trike taxis and buses that are ridiculously overcrowded and even bull drawn carts. Anyone driving here has to have a mixture of courage and insanity. So on our little exploring jaunt we went to the Chennai train station and walked around then went to an open air market. The most surreal sight here is just how many people live on the street. To them it’s just basic existence. Very little begging as we were walking around, but just a lot of people doing their thing and living where they do it whether they were cooking food, selling items, washing their clothes or whatever. I’m wondering if they ever aspire to anything else like in Slumdog Millionaire, or if this is just all they know.

As we were walking we headed out of the market down a road that runs along the back of the stadium, basically breaking every guidebook and common sense rule one would apply when traveling to a foreign country, let alone a third world country. I’m glad the crime rate is relatively low and let’s just say we wouldn’t be doing this in 90% of other foreign countries. Hell, there’re are places in the US I wouldn’t do this. Coolest part of the journey definitely was seeing two brahma bulls right on the side of the road taking a break from pulling their cart. After looking down one street I told Mark there aren’t enough rupees in India for us to walk down that street. Good thing since we asked Martin on our way to dinner if there were places we shouldn’t go and he pointed down that street. That’s my Miller Lite Great Call of the Day.

After a long nap we went to dinner with Martin at the Madras Cricket Club. It reminded me of our version of a country club. It was very quiet and peaceful, a complete opposite of what was going not 200 feet away from us on the streets. It was very dichotomous. The streets are crazier at night then during the day. We saw a family of 5 on a moped, an minimum of 10 people in one of the trike taxis and buses packed so full I had no idea how they moved. Every imaginable synonym for “a lot of people” applies here: throngs, masses, gaggle, whatever. There are a just lot of F-ing people here and they are all over the place. After a nice dinner of some fried fish (think fish sticks) some cooked prawns and dosa (traditional bread of India that is pretty much a stiffer crepe with some dipping sauces) at the Cricket Club we stopped to get some coffee and talk, picked up about 10L of water (YES!) and are now back at the hotel getting ready for the clinics and camps to start in a few days.

Our first full day in India is almost in the books. Not coming in expecting anything I am definitely more aware of things and in a place so crowded you almost become hyperaware of your surroundings. Mark and I have yet to come up with anything we could call an accurate description of our trip. I’m still amazed by the fact that I’m even in India. Then the all the honking from the vehicles reminds me yes, I am definitely in India.