(this blog details my summer experience of of 2009. if you want to read it for some reason, i recommend that you do so chronologically, starting with the oldest post.)

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Last moments in Chennai

After two months in Chennai I'll be in route to the airport in less than twelve hours... it's hard to believe.

A few nights ago I got into a conversation with a Chennai woman at a bar, a conversation that I've had with several natives; she asked what I thought of Chennai. This was a brave question for her to ask as Chennai isn't the most glamorous city in the world - to be perfectly frank, it's hot, humid, dirty, and there's no city planning to speak of. So, when I told her that I loved it, which is the truth, a smile flashed across her face and she knowingly said, "so you got used to it!"

That's the way this city works... it's rough around the edges but after you've been here for a while, you get a feel for the city and in fall in love with it's pulse, it's character, and the unflinching drive that pushes it forward, the citizens working hard to improve their families, their communities, their world. I love this city. I'm going to truly miss it and all of the remarkable people that I have come to know.

Oh... I should say something about the food. Before I coming to India I was completely ignorant to Indian cuisine, I thought that I was going to be eating curry day in and day out. Upon arriving, it was clear that I had died and gone to vegetarian heaven! South Indians have veggie cuisine down to a science and I've never had such a wide variety of positively delicious foods, way too many to remember all of the names. The following picture depicts the best meal of the trip. To..... die..... for!



And so, tomorrow, I'm off to Switzerland. I'll be in Europe for just under two weeks and will be hitting up Austria and Italy after my Swiss fix. I know that I'll have a blast but part of me wishes that I were coming back home. Of course, I had similar thoughts before going to Thailand, thinking that I just wanted to get to India and get into my routine. If my time in Europe is anything close to Thailand, I might not want to come home!

And with that, we're entering Phase III of my summer blog.... Euro travel. But before that, here's a bunch of random pictures that didn't fit into earlier posts.











































Wish me luck!

2 comments:

  1. Enjoy your return to the "west"! I love you.

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  2. Last photo is wet and brutal, goodness!

    And those tusks look fake! Tell me they don't shave down the ivory??

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