Help!! Arriving Chennai en route for --- ???

claressa

Hi. My friend and I will be arriving in Chennai at 11pm during the night hence we are worried about being hoarded by taxi drivers/ etc and not finding a place to stay. Any suggestion for places to stay? And how to get to the place safely? should we book in advance?

We are also planning to travel around chennai for the day or maybe 2 days then take the train to the next town. Any itinery to suggest?

dhans

Not much need to stay in Chennai or even spend two days there. Book a hotel in mahabalipuram and have them pick you up.

Hans

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Nick-H

First: welcome to the site!

Second: Watch out for those thread titles. 'Help!!!' might mean you've fallen down a hole (luckily it is a wifi-enabled hole) and you need someone to rescue you. Or, it might mean anything!

Next, on to the business!

Almost every visitor I've met recently has liked Chennai more than they expected, and wished they had spent longer here. Do give it a couple of days --- at least!

I'm not brilliant on hotels (you don't need them when you live in a place!) but between us we can probably answer the rest of your questions. However, not before you tell us When you are coming, and what is your Budget!

Generally however, I'd be relaxed about arriving at 11.00pm, or even 2.00am. But I'd rather have a place to stay booked.

Then your choice is to get that place to send a car for you, which is nil-stress, or to use a pre-paid taxi booth, which is low-stress, or to use public transport, which would be challenging.

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claressa

1) For a place to stay just for the night, my friend and I would like budget. I have heard YWCA is not too bad. Any other recommendations? Or if its a hotel, any good but not so ex ones?( bcause by using a hotel I can save on the taxi fare from the airport and have nil stress smile)
For the transport I was thinking of taking the metro which I heard is relatively near the airport. But since its late at night, dont think its a good idea right. And I dont know any hindi so I guess its also gonna be a problem?

2) Any ideas about the itinery. Where should I travel next after Chennai and how ? what should my routes be? Saw some towns like Pondicherry etc - is it worth going? or should I just sit a train to Bangladash?

Nick-H

Oh, sorry... when I edited the thread title, Mahabalipuram must have been my assumption. I'll try again! .

We don't have a metro, as such. The nearest station to the airport is not that easy to get to, a car would be nicer, though more expensive. Auto-rickshaws will be (illegally) touting for business there, but they even overcharge locals, so...

Mahabalipuram is only an hour's drive from Chennai (depending on where you start) and, although a small place, has a lot to see. It is very touristy. Pondicherry is interesting for its French flavour, and its ashram, if you are an Ashram person. It is three hours drive away.

The language people speak here is Tamil.

You can get heaps of info here, but as you don't seem to have too much basic information about the area you're arriving in, I'd suggest a few evenings with one of the guide books.

Bangladesh? Seriously? Are you really arriving in Southern India to travel thousands of miles to the North?

Unless you meant Bangalore? I know some funny things can happen between my brain and my keyboard!

claressa

Ah yes .. Bangalore. haha
Because I have around 10 days ( 28TH April - 8th/9th May) , how do you think my itinery should be then? I dont really like touristy places but if its good I really dont mind. For the few hr drive away frm chennai places like pondicherry etc, do we get there via a bus? if yes, how and where to buy the tics?

ps: Is YWCA in Chennai far away from the station. If yes, any other suggestion?

camelgirl

What exactly are you hoping to see in 10 days in India? Temple towns? Beach towns? Do you have any particular interests?

Mahabalipuram is close to Chennai, as Nick said, and has many interesting things. You could spend a couple of days there http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia...it/Mahaba.html

Cities like Bangalore? You can do a trip from Chennai to Bangalore, spend a day or 2 there then take a taxi to two very, very interesting temple towns called Belur and Halabid which you can see in one day http://www.cyberfocusindia.com/Halabid.html You can easily spend 10 days in a route that begins and ends in Chennai (I assume that's where you will leave from).

With 10 days I'd pick 3 or 4 places. Get a guidebook and look at some maps (on the internet or buy one for the South).

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claressa

Hi
Sorry to add: I will be traveling from chennai towards Mumbai. I have to be in Mumbai by 8/9th May. So I hope to travel in that direction.

My original itinery was
Chennai -> Mahabalipuram -> Bangalore ->Kanichipuram->Chittoor-> Kolar->Hyderabad -> Vijaywada->Guntur ->Nellore ->Pune->Solapur->Mumbai

Is it a bit rush for 10 days? What do you suggest?

ps: I am still wondeing about YWCA Hostel. The website is down. Anyone has any idea of its convience and its cost?

capt_mahajan

13 places in 10 days between - and including- Chennai and Mumbai is not rushed.

It is close to impossible.

PS: I second camelgirl. I think you need to decide what you want to see or where you want to be.

Normamx

I arrived at midnight in Chennai and pre-arranged for the hotel to send a driver to pick me up. (searched hotels via google). The airport is quite orderly and it was reassuring to see the driver there with my name on a card especially after a long flight. Chennai has interesting sights for a day - but I agree that moving on to Mamallapuram on the coast is a good next step. Maybe a day trip to Kanchipuram (if you are in to temples) and on to Pondicherry (with a very French feeling).

zoltan

A reasonable (but by no means spectacular) place is the Hotel Broadlands in Triplicane. A big room will set you back around rp300.

Do stay in Chennai for the day - it's interesting, but not brilliant. From there, head down to Mamallapuram (for at least 1 day. The stone carving is magnificent.

From there, it's going to depend on what interest you have & what you would like to see.

To help you work out distances & locations, have a look at this on-line map - I've used it frequently to work out where to on various journeys: www.mapmyindia.com


Cheers
Zoltan

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claressa

Hello
I am so glad for all your help

My interest lies in the culture of India. Not really into temples but more of walking around just looking at people, markets(flea markets)and maybe some sight seeing.

So where do you all suggest?
So if I plan my itinery again
Chennai -> Mahabalipuram -> Bangalore ->Goa ->Hyderabad -> Pune ->Mumbai

Is this better?
How do I get to Bangalore from Mahabalipuram?
Any other places to suggest? or any I should go instead of the mentioned above?

camelgirl

You can't see the culture of India without seeing it's ancient temples and architecture. They are everywhere and are from 2000 years old to modern. The temples are the center of life for the country--you will find yourself surrounded by local people in any temple, old or new. As far as people watching...with a billion people you will not have to go very far to see them!

Also, markets are everywhere, street vendors to pavement book sellers to old chaotic markets to new shopping centers.

You can just wander around in every town you chose but you would find it more interesting to pick a few sights in each place to visit. This is what local Indian travelers do. Indians are great tourists within their own country.

SueJ

I'm not sure I'd go to Goa as well as Mahabs in such a short trip. Two separate beaches on opposite sides of the continent....

The beauty of Mahabs is that you can combine culture and beach so easily - you can see the ancient temples in and around Mahabs, and then if you have time/inclination head to some temples or to Pondy.

If you are keen on just observing life, then I think a day or so Bangalore is fun. The fact that there is almost nothing touristy there means no pressure to rush from site to site. I enjoy visiting the botanic gardens, especially at the weekend, to people-watch. Walking the central market and Chickpet (the fabric district) gives you lots of insight into how life is here.

It sounds as if this is your first trip, so my advice would be to cut down the number of places you visit (quality vs quantity), and allow more time than you think you need to travel between places. We've been visiting India for years and still always seem to underestimate the time to go by train/bus/car to our next destination.

merains

hey claressa,
i wud suggest chennai-mahabalipuram-madurai-munnar-cochin-bangalore-goa-mumbai for you.coz india trip is not considered done without kerala-"God's own country".hope u hav nice and enjoyable time in india,
cheers,merains




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Hi merains. It would be really helpful if you could use full words instead of text language. We have an international audience that can sometime find text language hard to read. I also removed the full quote to make you reply easier to read. Thanks for your help with this.