I intended to visit Chennai for many years, but somehow it would never materialize. The reason why I have wanted to - was to visit Nana Dulcie who lives there. She is 86 years old and is my paternal grandmother. For the past few years, due to her health conditions she has not been able to travel and hence we were also not able to meet up with her. This year, somehow, we managed a trip, having bought the train tickets to visit Chennai well in advance.
We left Cochin for Chennai on the night of 15th Dec 2011 by the Shalimar Express and reached Chennai the next morning. The traffic, as expected, was suffocating and congested. No, I will never be able to survive in such a place. Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is an old city in India, totally unplanned and unorganized, and heavily populated. It is one of the metro cities in India. The climate is by nature hot and dry and the vegetation is not so green and rich as in many other parts of the country. Thankfully it rained for a few days prior to our trip and so it was pleasantly cool during our five-day stay there. Summers are unthinkable for those who are not used to living in hot conditions without air conditioning.
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| View from the train prior to entering Chennai station. |
I was not interested in visiting any tourist attractions in Chennai and limited my visits to just two malls, staying at my aunt's place and having dinner out one night with my sister (and her family) and my cousins. Although my aunt's place is not far from where Nana stays, the traffic made it seem much longer than it is.
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| Skywalk Mall - Chennai |
My sister and family turned up in Chennai on the 18th and we had a fun reunion, after a year. They stayed in Chennai for almost two days.
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| My kids with their great-grandmother Dulcie |
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| Me and Olivia, my sis - reunion in Chennai |
Before we knew it, we were back on the train to Cochin. But not until we had some fun moments.
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| My kids with their cousin |
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| Fun time with baby Maegan |
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| Ruth fascinated by a hand pump |
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| Dinner out with my cousins |
This trip was totally fun and we caught up on some long-due family moments. I met my cousins' kids for the first time and have to say they are real cute kids. More importantly, my own kids got a chance to meet their great-grandma, two great aunts and a great uncle there. They had a happy time in Chennai and so did I.
....You did mention that it was a family visit....Chennai is very much your description...there's something about Chennai that makes me want to go back as often as possible....the Marina Beach....Mahabalipuram...keep calling......
ReplyDeleteLove the family photos, Mandy. Your smile says it all. :-)
ReplyDeleteYes it does...v all enjoyed it s well, after so many yrs it was gud to c all u guys out here..Baby Maegan had the best of her time wid her all her cousin's around..
ReplyDeleteHope to c url again in future..
Bunty - I don't really care for the tourist spots only because of the crowds. Incidentally, Marina Beach is where the Tsunami hit with one of the fiercest impacts on the Indian coastline in Dec 2004. As for Mahabalipuram, I'm not one who appreciates ancient architecture the way one should. I prefer to skip that as it doesn't really get my attention.
ReplyDeleteDiane - Thanks for your support yet again. :) I had a swell time and enjoyed every bit of my trip.
Crecentia - I'm guessing its you who posted that last comment. I had fun with both Maegan and Shawn, except Shawn wouldn't stay still for a pic when I've wanted one. Instead he wanted to test out his new found walking skills. :) Was awesome catching up with all of you and especially meeting Kumar too. Was totally worth the trip.