I kept waking up thru the night, and finally got up at about 5:10. Y called me a few minutes later. I was ready when the taxi came at 5:45. Amazingly, A and Y were with it, coming to say goodbye! What a nice surprise! After a hug and a handshake I was in the taxi and on my way. I hope A and Y go back home and get some more sleep! It was still very dark out! The drive to the airport took about 35 minutes. At first the streets were nearly empty, but as we got nearer the airport, and as it got later, the traffic increased markedly. It is amazing that there are so many people so busy so early! By the time we reached the airport, at about 6:30 AM, it was light out and it was clear that the day had started.
The airport was quite busy, not just with departing passengers, but also with people coming to meet incoming flights. Several flights arrive in Chennai in the early morning. I made my way thru the crowd with my one wheeled bag and my shoulder bag. A young boy, perhaps 11 or so, led me and tried to help. He was obviously working for tips, so when we reached the doorway I gave him the loose Indian coins I had in my pocket. He seemed pleased. Only passengers were permitted into the departure area of the airport, so I showed the guard my ticket and entered.
After placing my checked luggage thru the x-ray machine and went to the check-in counter of Air India. The clerk said my name did not appear in the record. What? Did I call and reconfirm my flight? No, I just arrived a few days ago, was I supposed to? Yes. Go see the manager over there. OK. Well, the manager looked at my ticket, and at his computer, and asked me to sit and wait until 7:00 AM and then come back to see him. I waited, and then returned at 7:00. He was able to find me a seat, 30D. Later on the plane I saw that this must have been the only empty seat. Whew, that was a close call! Apparently even though I have a paid ticket for a specific flight, Air India will not hold the seat unless you call in 72 hours before flight time. Live and learn!
The Chennai airport was very security conscious. My ticket and/or ID was checked when I entered the airport; when I entered the check-in area; when I checked-in with the airline; when I entered to immigration area of the airport; again just before I got to the immigration area; checked by the immigration officer; again before leaving the immigration area; again when entering the departure lounge; again when exiting the departure lounge; and lastly when entering the jetway to board the plane. Whew!
The flight was fine. I had a middle seat in the next to last row, but I spent most of my time reading my guidebook for London, and also my Economist magazine. The Economist costs about $6 US at home, but here in India it was only 60RP, or about $1.40. Great deal! When time came to eat breakfast I had to move to one of the seats reserved for the crew. My fold-down tray drooped so much that the tray would slide off into my lap. Oh well, it allowed me to escape my narrow confines for a while, but after I had finished eating the crew needed to use the seats to eat their meals, and I had to go back. The meal was vegetarian, and very good. I am going to miss Indian food.
We arrived in SIN at about 2:45. After going thru immigration, getting my luggage, and going thru customs, I walked to the MRT station at the airport. I wanted to try taking the MRT instead of a taxi. It was a little bit of a walk, but not too bad. At first I boarded a shuttle train that took me to the other airport terminal. There I took a couple escalators down to the MRT station. A few minutes later the train came and I and several others boarded. We only went a couple stations until we had to transfer to another train that would go downtown. But no problem, it was on the same platform. I took that train to City Hall station. The first half of the ride was above ground, and it was nice to see some more of Singapore. At City Hall I transferred to the north-south line to Dhoby Ghaut station, and then walked the block or so to the hotel. I arrived at the hotel about 4:00PM.
I spent the afternoon getting a bite to eat at the McD, unpacking, checking my email, and relaxing. Later I met my friend S at the mall food court. We had dinner, and I bought some stuff at Watsons (pharmacy). We came back and I showed her my photos from India. She took a taxi home, and I went to bed. I was tired!
I woke at 6:00, and again at 7:00, but I did not roll out of bed until 8:00. At about 8:45 I walked over to A and Y's apartment, and by 9:00 I was having breakfast with Y. It was a wheat-based food, almost like a soft bread/porridge, with carrots and seaonings. Tasty, and very filling. I then sipped a cup of tea, listened to some of the great music that Y was playing on the stereo, and worked on this journal. At 11:00 I will get picked-up by a driver and will go to Elliot Beach, where I will have lunch and maybe get into the water. Then after coming back home to change clothes I will go to Spencer's Mall, the largest mall in town. Later tonight I will take A and Y to dinner.
Well, the morning went quickly, and at 11:00 the driver came to pick me up. We drove to Elliot Beach. The local tour magazine said that there were restaurants at Elliot Beach. I didn't see anything that I would call a restaurant. There were some food stalls and booths, but they looked pretty basic and grim. So we did not stop there, and drove north along the beachfront road. On the right was the beach, a very very wide beach, perhaps 600meters or more. On the left were shacks where fishermen live. Strewn along the beach side of the roadway was litter, and at times goats or a cow grazing thru the litter. It was not a pretty sight. We continued north to the lighthouse, and Santo Beach. Here there is parking for the beach area, and no shacks, etc. We drove all the way north to where the roadway stopped. Here there were many shacks and booths selling foods, drinks, and souvenirs.
I got out of the car and walked the several hundred meters across the sand to the beach. It seemed the closer I got the softer and more difficult the sand got. I finally made it. I took off my sandals and got my feet wet as I walked north along the beach. There were a few drink shacks at water's edge, and people were walking along the beach, some actually in the water. I noticed the women would wade into the water in their saris, but only the men would actually go completely into the water (they were wearing shorts or swim trunks). As I walked north to the end of the beach there were more people, and more food or drink shacks. I reached the end of the beach area and headed back to the parking lot and the car. The walk took me down a pathway in the sand with more shacks and booths on each side of me. Some were selling crushed sugar cane drink, others selling soda and water, others selling sea shells, and still others selling all sorts of trinkets and souvenirs.
Making it back to the car we continued to drive north on the coast road, but the beach area soon ended, so I told the driver to take me back to my room. I changed clothes, and we then headed to Spencer's Mall, the largest mall in town. When we arrived we agreed to meet at the same spot at 3:30, which gave me just over 2 hours. The mall extends thru 3 sections and 3 or 4 floors, and is quite confusing. There is no easy path to follow. Instead there are lots of small aisles that take you past lots of small shops. However, there are lots of shops and the variety and selection seemed pretty good. By first task was lunch, and so I found the food court and ended up getting a veggie burger, fries, and lemonade. My next task was to find the ATM. There were three, but only one took my card. After getting some cash I wandered thru the mall. I spent some time in Landmark, which is mostly a bookstore and store for CDs, DVDs, etc., where I got some guide books for London and Barcelona. I also stopped and had a café latte at a small coffee shop (20RP). It was good!
The two hours went quickly, and I went out and met the driver. Soon we were back at A and Y apartment, where I paid the driver his fee for 5 hours (375RP fee, I gave him 400RP). I then worked on this journal, and also checked my email on their computer.
In the evening we all went to Fry's Restaurant, which specializes in the cuisine of Kerala, a state located in west India. We had a wonderful dinner of fish cooked two different ways: fish curry, and fish masala. Both were delicious. We also had an egg dish, and appam, a thin bread/pancake which I really liked. Fry's is a new restaurant, and A had seen their ad in the paper and wanted to try it. It was a great idea! The food was good, the service was good, and the place was clean and bright. And, the bill for the 3 of us was only 186RP! With my tip it came to 210RP, less than $5.00US. Amazing! I'm really going to miss Asian food prices!
After dinner we went to a Indian sweet shop for dessert. The shop was a very popular place, and had a large selection of Indian sweets. I had a mango flavored sweet, and also a cashew and chocolate roll. Both were very good, and very sweet.
It was then time to head back. After spending a few minutes at their apartment, I said goodnight to A and Y and walked back to my room. We agreed that they would phone me in the morning at 5:15, and that the taxi would come to get me at 5:45. Ouch! When I got back to the room and packed my stuff, and hit the sack.
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