Right - where did I leave off? After Puri, there was Vizag - one of the most modern Indian cities we've been to thus far. There were very few cows, not that many dogs and our hotel had a balcony overlooking the sewers (read: public toilets - I think I'm becoming a bit OCD about bathrooms now), still it was a pretty cool place. As usual, we were descended upon like vultures, but managed to get to the cheap hotel we wanted after numerous arguing and sending about two rickshaw wallahs into a sulk. Had to wait in reception and had the most basic of rooms - but hey, after hours of travelling - who's complaining? At least we had hot water!
It was all we could do to scramble out of bed in the morning after our nightmare journey - but forced ourselves up as we wanted to book a trip to Aruku Valley. After a long-winded argument with a rickshaw wallah we managed to get ourselves some breakfast and a ride to the train station. We paid Rs430 for transport to Aruku Valley, including breakfast, lunch, mineral water and a midday snack. We'll be visiting Padmapsram Gardens (utter rubbish - paid Rs10 to get a toy train round. We were given 15 minutes to see the whole grounds, which was good, as that's precisely how long the train took), Tribal Museum (30 minutes - powerwalk so no pop quizs please), a break for lunch (great) and a Tribal Dance (done by about 20 thirty-year olds who constantly forgot their steps, but really wanted me to join in, so we gave them Rs100 for their trouble (read: so they left me alone)), Ananthagiri Coffee Plantation (was really looking forward to a taste test - but turn out in India "TOUR" actually means "we'll drive past it on the bus and stop for two minutes so I can identify the green beans for you"), Gali Konda Viewpoint (just what it says on the tin - the top of a hill with lots of telegraph poles obscuring the view). And last, but certainly not least - Borra Caves - which was worth every single rupee we paid. Pictures coming soon.
My favourite memory must be the train ride to Aruku Valley - our tour guide was a lovely bobby Indian man who insisted on writing down everything for us. We were about halfway there when he told us there was a really COOL waterfall coming up. Lydia and I love our waterfalls, and everyone scrambled to the other end of the carriage to see it/take pictures. Camera at the ready, we blinked and missed it. It was about one foot in width and nowhere near as grandiose at the one we saw in McLeod Ganj. Lydia made a point of telling the guide that and showing him a photo. I thought he was going to cry...
Good to leave Vizag, liking the modernisation - but the big cities are not us. Headed to Chennai via Bhubaneswar, all in all our travels took the best part of two days, and I smell. I smell like I've slept on an Indian train. And it's not a nice smell.
Left Vizag at 10am, and arrived at Chennai at the unearthly hour of 3.20am. Walked to the beach with Lydia to watch the sunrise, which was cool and a great wakeup call after many grumpy hours on a train. Nothing like a cold paddle and a sunrise to kick start your day. Although coffee is also good. I lost my temper several times on the train - not once, TWICE I was woken up - once by the chef asking for money for the meal (I'd asked him for the bill HOURS ago!), and the second time by the ticket man telling me he would wake me up at 3am when the train arrived in Chennai. (It was 11pm. And he didn't.).
Eight hours in Chennai was enough for us - after feeding the poor and homeless we headed back to the train station to make the long trip to Mamallapuram. After hearing we had to head 10km to the bus station, and then a two hour journey down the road out of hell we decided to take a taxi for the bargain price of Rs800 (carving 2 hours off our journey time if you take into account the waiting time at the bus station).
Several hours later I'm happily full up and several hundred rupees lighter after a mega shopping spree (presents) and a dinner of calamari and chips, followed by the worlds best chocolate cake. I may have lost a lot of rupees, but I've gained a lot of pounds! No need to worry about us coming home a shadow of our former selves anymore. Oh, did I mention our hotel has a swimming pool??
Alcohol in India is largely frowned upon, although it is legal to sell it. Many restaurants don't have liquor licences, but will happily send a wallah out to buy you a couple of bottles to drink with dinner. However, if caught by the police they may have their restaurant closed down, so what they do is serve the beer in teapots. Such a fantastic experience, you haven't lived until you've had a teapot of beer (sans mik and sugar).
Mamallapuram is wonderful - we were worried we wouldn't find anywhere like McLeod Ganj or Puri again. But we have. Met a lovely Frenchwoman called Krystel and an Italian lady called Samanthe. We've also met a fantastic English women called Karen who knows BSL - bumped into her in a cafe in Mamallapuram - she knows some of our friends, such a small world! She does voluntary work helping the gypsies who were affected by the Tsunami www.poonjeri.com - hoping to check it out before we head off. Apparently it's not worth visiting the orphanages here - they just try to rip you off - so if you want to donate to a worthy cause - donate here!
Not sure what the plan is for the next few days - so I'll leave you wondering. Love to each and everyone of you.
Caroline xx
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