chennai and points south

goldenyogi

greetings IMers!! I am thrilled to announce that I have arrived in Chennai and I am so excited to be staying in one place for a change. Settled into the Appu Guest House for the month. The staff are SUPER friendly and helpful so far (it's only been 12 hours, but they've gone above and beyond to accomodate me) I'll write a review later...

question about tipping. Since I'm staying in one place for almost the entire month, what's an appropriate way to tip the boys that bring me tea, hot water, drinking water, towels, sheets, etc, etc, etc?? it seems easier to me to give them one generous lump sum NOW especially because it's hard to keep change around... but what's an appropriate amount per person?? as you know there are always a bunch a helpers running around. HELP!

so, i'm on my own for 2 weeks, so anyone that wants to meet up, just let me know. i'm free as a bird.

goldenyogi

oops... forgot to continue on about touring points south of chennai. I wanted to share my experiences of the last 8 days since i've found other people's experiences soooo very helpful when i was in the planning stages of my tour.

I travelled with my father who's 60. And despite the fact that he's indian and grew up in india, he's been in the US for his entire adult life and doesn't like to travel "indian style". he certainly doesn't like to suffer, so our standard of touring was quite high, relatively speaking.

We rented through the TTDC a government Tata SUV with a driver for 8 days. 1600 rupees per day, 200 km per day. Over 1600 km, 5 rupees per km.
Our driver semi spoke english, was courteous, punctual, pleasant, and helpful. His name's Venu if you want to make a special request for him.

SAT: Drove Chennai to Mamallapuram (2 hours)
Ideal Beach Resort was booked, so we stayed next door at the Golden Sun Resort. 2150 rupees, tax included for AC Delux Double with Balcony. Their beach hut is better than Ideal's, though I suspect Ideal's rooms and restaurant are a bit nicer. hot shower.

SUN: Drove Mamallapuram to Pondicherry (2 hours)
ate lunch at Renaisance. greet grilled Calamari, overcooked prawn, great atmosphere.

Drove Pondicherry to Thanjavur (6 hours - flood infested horrible roads)
Stayed at Hotel Tamil Nadu. 700?? double AC room. good beds, very large room, friendly staff, loud birds in the early AM, but set back from the road so not too loud all other times. hot water, but no hot shower

Dinner and breakfast at Oriental Hotel. good.

MON: Drove Thanjavur to Ramaswarum (8 hours - flood infested horrible roads)
Stayed at Hotel Tamil Nadu. This is the only decent place to stay in this tiny dirty town. Guest houses on the sea. not terribly clean, but not dirty. no hot water. restaurant is decent. 350 double, no AC. the room was very small. no sheets were provided.

TUES: Drove Ramaswarum to Dhanushkodi (quick 1 hour, great road) this is the beach at the end of the penisula. the most beautiful stretch of beach I've ever been on. if you like deserted beach and picking up shells, you must go here.

Drove Dhanushkodi to Madurai (3 hours, good roads)
Stayed at Hotel Supreme. 1400 rupees for AC double. evenutally we got running hot water, but had to fuss with the staff and run the water a good 10 minutes before it was hot. nice roof top veg restaurant.... but the Royal Court non-veg restaurant was better, in fact is was a wonderful dining experience with very professional staff.

WED: Drove Madurai to Trichy (3 hours, good roads) stayed at Jennie's Residence. 1600 for AC double. GREAT place to stay. The Wild West Bar was hopping. Breakfast was complimentary and excellent.

THURS: Drove Trichy to Pondi (5 hours) Stayed at Park Guest House, aurobindo Ashram. Amazing sea facing rooms. 800 rupees AC double. Staff is not so helpful, couldn't secure advanced booking for next week. location can't be beat, canteen is convenient, garden is paradise. yogurt and fruit breakfast amazing.

SAT: Drove Pondi to Chennai (less than 3 hours, great road)

all and all, this tour was about 1800 kms, though we got majorly diverted a couple times because of road closures due to the flooding, so it's probably closer to 1500km.

Still processing my impressions of the temples... more on that later maybe. for now, hope this is helpful info. happy touring.

Nick-H

Thanks! It' really useful to have the drive durations

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Nick-H

Hello and Welcome

Glad it is working out good there, as I know some staff have changed.

If I were you I would give the guys 10 rupees almost every time they do something for you, but don't let them start chasing after you to do stuff all the time!

Give me a shout if you like: PM me for my number and we could meet up. There's also a little matter of my wedding in 2 weeks!

Sama

namaste, goldenyogi! keep me updated on your classes at KYM! I will be there again for the 2 week intensive in March. say hello to Geetha for me! tell me if you get to meet Desikachar.....

also remember I have the cell number of the rickshaw driver I used for my stay in Chennai -- he's a good man, so PM me if you need it. and before you leave Chennai, go to the Eco Cafe on Chamiers Rd. -- that was my ocean of peace on occasion in the middle of Chennai!

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sama: Pali/Sanskrit: that state of consciousness which reflects neither attachment nor aversion

Sama

goldenyogi, I will most likely PM you regarding Madurai and Rameswaram. those are included in my plans for March.....

citybell

I suppose you can pick up 2-3 boys who serve you regularly and pay them 10 rupees once in 3-4 days.Seeing that more boys would show up to serve you in which case depending on their service you can tip them if you wish.Or you can ask those chosen boys to service you.

Ofcourse it would be a pleasure to meet you and pls let me know your contact No.

Have a nice stay in Chennai.

goldenyogi

thanks for the advice on tips and all the other suggestions so far. i feel very welcome here. getting around ok by walking, best way to get to know the neighborhood. it's more spread out than i anticipated, but i'm used to Paris, which is quite compact by any standards. took an auto to get through some flooded streets... i've got your driver's number linda and will probably use it tomorrow to get around. thanks so much.

meditating at the Ramakrishna mission will probably be one of the keys to my sanity. it's a really lovely spot, and the fruit markets on the way make a nice outing for a taste of sweetness. i'm definitely going to the eco cafe this week.

i've got my first consultation at KYM tomorrow which I'm really looking forward to. i've never had a "private" yoga session just for me before. also found an ayuvedic spa, and i might just have to splurge and get a couple treatments. isn't vacation lovely!?!?

need to find some good shopping spots. haven't done any shopping in the 3 weeks i've been here, so it's time to get started. wish me luck!

dhans

Hi,

Thanks for the post, very informative. We will arrive next week in Chennai for a four week holiday. Given the age of our kids (5 and 3)we have booked a car and driver for the whole period and the first couple of nights in Mahabalipuram.

We want to cover at least Madurai, Cochi, Backwaters, Mysore and a hill station where the kids can ride and wash elephants. We have nothing else prebooked because we want to adapt the travel shedule and speed to the needs and possibilities of the kids.

If I look at the report about the roadconditions it seems to me that we should maby first travel in the direction of Bangalore. How long would it take from mahabalipuram to Bangalore. Does anybody have info on the roadconditions and would it be advisable to break up the journey (in vellore or somewhere else?)

Hans (off to India in 5 days time )

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Sama

goldenyogi, you are making me "homesick" for chennai already! go to the store Anokhi that the Eco Cafe is attached to. Beautiful clothes for reasonable prices (I thought) -- I bought a fabulous handblocked printed robe, sky blue color handblocked with lotuses, for the US equiv. of $20. In chicago it would cost $100.

yes, I meditated at the ramakrishna mission, and there's a "supermarket" on that street also if you need soymilk or something. if it's the ayurvedic spa I am thinking of (or which one did you find?), get the foot massage -- heaven!

Nick-H

Yes, walking is good. Get yourself a copy of the Eicher City Map for a mere Rs200 from Fountainhead bookshop (I think Yogagal will agree...) and you will be free. You will know what direction to walk, and comparative distances for auto fares too.