First day in Chennai. 30/11/2008

Sunday quietness, walked to Anna Samadhi for beach & markets, “where you going” rocket throws of cricket balls the next India team, picture happy girl outside ‘paradise’.

Easy walking, Mumbai horrific terrorist news. Chennai monsoon floods. Pick up from airport in ambassador driving manic, friendly & helpful shops, looking for sim bb.

Backpacker?! Pah, not as I remember it, I’m older, wiser, lazier, better at delegation and a totally different attitude to getting where I want. Asia is a trial of getting the lowest price for the expenditure of the most energy, or at least that’s how I remember the first trip (and only other trip) to India; 30 minutes negotiation with the taxi driver, who will tell you the state of his & and his family’s financial affairs, price of fuel, health of his cattle, falling value of the country’s currency. 30 minutes to save 50p, a small amount but in the backpackers club, paying too much means those to follow in your path will pay extra because you did not stick at it for another hour plus you will be ridiculed by the ‘proper backpackers’ for paying so much when they got the £1.30 trip for 20p so even the extra hour would not have got you in the top 10 of negotiators!

But a whole new world has evolved since I first travelled around India in 1990, back then we used ‘post restrante’ leaving family & friends with a list of places with approximate dates that I would be visiting, building huge excitement in myself as to what would be waiting, now I use email, even a blackberry!

Phones? I had arranged that once a month I would phone, reverse charge, Mum & Dad, assuring them of my good health, sensible travelling and brief details of where & what I had seen. Now I text or even call from my Blackberry or ‘reserve’ basic Nokia; yes I even have a reserve phone ‘just in case!?’

So backpacking, Steve Jones 2008 style- Email guesthouses to book room, arrange taxi to collect from airport, spend 2 days trying to get a connection sorted for my Blackberry. Transport and accommodation used to be the hardest, not now, taxi, classic Indian Ambassador Car with very ‘raj’ looking driver. Room reserved & ready for my occupation on arrival, shown 2 standards, I went for the larger, brighter option, pricier too. Getting a sim card no issue, getting a ‘Blackberry@ connection equalled all the previous frustrations, having me trek all around Chennai, following possible contracts with advise from all the main suppliers agents, all wrong, foreigners can not have a contract in their own name.

Oh well same frustrations for different reasons.

Day 1 Sunday

Taxi airport- Paradise Guesthouse, Triplicane. 560inr

Paradise Guesthouse. 500Inr per night

Sim connection with data – 575Inr

Rickshaw travel in pursuit of the Blackberry grail – 650Inr

Seen much of Chennai in pursuit of the grail, also to buy a new LP India as left the one I had planned & dotted with notes of what & where I will be doing & going and had been carrying around with me for the last 3 months, left it on my bed in Sri Lanka! Should have told me it was the little things that were going to cause the hassles but of course, they are all of my own making, hey know a lot about Indian views on Blackberry’s (Govt no like them?) Indian communication, Indian auto rickshaw drivers, driving habits, & saw Chennai.