Our first trip out of Delhi was to Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is in the south east, and closest to Sri Lanka. We flew into Chennai (Madras), which is the capital and the largest city in the state.
Due to fog, our flight was delayed by several hours. The kids were good sports though, and spent most of the time reading.
Isabelle, Kieran and Milan
We flew IndiGo, an airline that capitalizes on the nostalgic notion of being part of the jetset, complete with flight attendants that look identical to each other with matching outfits and black bob wigs. Their most recent commercial is fun and captures the image they are going for.
.
We had good visibility coming into Chennai, so I experimented with the "airplane" setting on my new camera.
Colorful buildings in Chennai
After locating our driver at the airport, we drove south to Mamallapuram, where we spent a night at the Mamalla Beach Resort. The term "resort" in India seems to mean a hotel that has a restaurant and a pool.
An exhausted Isabelle waiting for us to check in
Flower petals floating in water are a common welcome
We headed straight to the beach before the sun sank, and enjoyed some spicy chick peas and beer.
Isabelle, Kieran, Lakhdeep, Henrietta & Alexis
Henrietta and Annie
Spicy chickpeas... delicious in moderation.
We drove in to Mamallapuram in search of the Bob Marley Cafe, but couldn't find it, so we ate at Santana instead. (I know! Who chose these names??) We picked a fish and some giant prawns from a table and were served a family-style meal. Mamallapuram proper is not very different in feel to many Central American beach towns. The place was crawling with traveling trustafarians! Souvenir shops were sprinkled in between restaurants with rooftop views of the Bay of Bengal, and you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a yoga studio. The one thing that anchored this town as its own place was the numerous stone carving studios.
We chose the big one in the foreground, along with prawns.
Still jet-lagged, we went to bed early and woke up in time to watch the sunrise. We had a traditional southern Indian breakfast of dosas, fruit, ada (cabbage pancakes) and masala omelets.
I can't close this post without sharing a photo of the sight of Isabelle's inaugural "ladle shower". She thought I was joking when I instructed her on how to bathe in this bathroom, and she did her best at trying to convince me a shower wasn't necessary after all.
This morning, I talked Alexis into getting his hair cut in India. I thought his hair looked fine, but I had ulterior motives. You see, I really wanted to get some photos of an Indian barber shop. It is not uncommon to see makeshift barber shops on the side of the road. The barber will attach a mirror to a brick wall or fence, bring in a chair and voila!, he's ready for business.
We found such a place very close to our friends' house in Delhi. These barbers still use straight edge razors to give their clients a shave. He was set up in between a florist stand and some old plastic tarps. During the haircut, a man pulled up on a bicycle cart to put some slabs of ice under the tarps.
The barber simply asked Alexis, "Medium?" to which Alexis answered, "Sure." No other instruction was given, so we watched on with anticipation (and mild amusement) to see what he would end up with.
After several minutes of furious chopping with what looked like old sewing scissors, the barber took out a straight-edge and shaved Alexis' neck and around his ears.
Talc was added after the shave.
Once the haircut was complete, it was time for the head massage. The barber started slapping and punching Alexis in the head! He said it actually felt really good, and we all enjoyed watching.
Alexis trying to contain his laughter while being punched and slapped by the barber.
For 50 Rupees ($1.00), I think it is one of the best haircuts he's ever had. What do you think?
While in Pondicherry, we came across a temple with an elephant out front. There was a vendor near by who sold grass to feed it. One could also make a monetary offering to the elephant, and it would thank you with a blessing. Here is Isabelle receiving her first ever elephant blessing!
One could wax poetic about the intricacies of driving in India... but the truth is, it's too complicated to explain and I doubt I could do it justice. Below is a video of driving down the coastal road between Chennai and Mamallapuram. Thankfully, we had Ganesha (the remover of obstacles) on the dashboard, and thus, we survived. Fasten your seat belts, please.
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. We are celebrating Christmas Eve with a fondue made of cheese we smuggled in from the States. Champagne has been opened, fire works have been lit. Santa is sure to find this house!
We arrived in Delhi at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, after a relatively uneventful, but extremely long trip. I've slept a total of seven hours since Thursday night, so I am looking forward to firing off this quick update and crawling into bed.
I had my first experience of Delhi in the day time this morning, when Henrietta and I bicycled to a local bakery to pick up treats for breakfast. We had a relaxing breakfast on the front patio as Isabelle continued sleeping.
We then piled in our friends' van and toured around the city. We stopped off at Rashtrapati Bhvan (the president's extensive house and offices). The grounds and buildings were extensive, and included bushes trimmed into the shape of lifesize elephants.
We drove by India Gate, which is a memorial to the fallen soldiers from WWI. The picture below really shows how much smog there is in Delhi this time of year. The air smells like you're sitting at a campfire... all day long.
We also toured Modern School, the boarding school Lakhdeep attended as a boy. After more sightseeing (Begali Market, Connaught Place and the Central Cottage Industry Emporium), we went somewhere we rarely go to in the US... the mall! Christmas was in full swing there, from decorations to a band singing Christmas carols. So, our first meal out in India was in a mall food court... Chole bhature, dosa, Tandoori chicken and paneer tikka.
A advertisement at the mall... are these in the States??
We've had a full but exhausting day and I'm looking forward to waking up tomorrow and being able to think straight. We fly to Chennai in the morning for a few days in the south east!
Isabelle seems excited about the upcoming travels. She has been planning (and is enthusiastic) for the 30 hours of transit. She is expecting there to be tons and tons of people, many of whom will be poor and/or sick. She is ready to dive into a new culture and new cuisine... but she is terrified at the prospect of going for three weeks without beef.
Cue soft, sappy instrumental music....
You see, we try to do what is right for the planet. We use public transport and bikes/feet when possible. We recycle. We cook food from scratch. We compost. We try to live as simply as possible... but we love our beef.
There. I said it, We're ... omnivores!
Isabelle understands that there is meat to be eaten in India. She knows there will be chicken. We've introduced her to goat, which she found quite tasty, but still she worries and wonders about life without beef.
I promised her a "last supper" of sorts, which we enjoyed last night. New York strip on the grill, with roasted potatoes, my dad's red wine reduction, and a hearty salad.
I'm taking wagers on how long she will hold out before longing for a steak... my guess is three days.
