Day 87 - Chennai

Last day in India (not that I'm counting down or anything). Chennai is a bit of a grubby, grasping city, but despite that I've enjoyed myself here. This is mainly because of the SA Hostel - the management are great and beds are dorm style, so it's a good opportunity to meet new & interesting people. Yesterday evening I got chatting to the other people in my dorm - a French couple and a Japanese girl. The French couple had been travelling for 6 months. Now, I thought I was being adventurous, but my travels are nothing compared to theirs. They had hitchhiked from France to Slovakia, and if that wasn't enough they then bought bicycles and cycled all the way through Hungry, Romania, Bulgaria and into Turkey. They stopped in Turkey (because it was freezing cold) and got a flight to India. I listened to their story in amazement, with more than a little jealousy - maybe if I can find a willing cycle buddy, a cycle across Europe could be my next trip. The Japanese girl was nice too - we compared henna designs and ashram info, and then she told me the trip she'd done (also v. adventurous). She caught a ferry from Japan to China, then travelled across China, through Tibet and Nepal and into India - all by herself! Next she plans to travel around India, then through Pakistan and Kashmir (if these places aren't scary enough - she plans to do it in midwinter - bonkers) then back across China and home. So many good ideas for future trips...

Anyway, I got up early this morning because I had to check out of my hostel at 9am (horrors). I had a shouting match with a rickshaw driver, who dropped me off at the museum area, where I waded around the flooded streets in the pissing rain, looking for something to do. It seemed everywhere was closed, partly because it was raining, but partly because they just don't bother opening things before 10 here. I finally shlopped into a 5* hotel - the only thing in a 1-mile radius I could find that was open - and had a mini splurge on an all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast. I ate faar to much, and strung it out for as long as possible, then went to the shopping centre to wait for somewhere to open. I waited half an hour before giving up, and I had a pleasant chat with an old guy who advised me to go to Mount Rd for shopping, and argued with the rickshaw driver for me so I wasn't ripped off. Mount Rd (or Anna Salai Rd - why does everything need 2 names?) is the main shopping street with lots of government emporiums selling statues, furniture and other kitschy export stuff. I almost danced with joy in the street when I found a Phillips shop; my earphones for my MP3 have not been working properly for about a month - and could I find somewhere that sells them in any of the places I visited so far? Not on your nelly. I almost kissed the grizzled shop manager when he handed me a shiny new pair.

So, now I am in a cheap-as-chips Internet cafe in some random back alley (got bored of the naff emporiums), killing time until Giggles bookshop opens... "the manager, he will come at 11.30, and then he will sweep and clean - you come at 12". Raaah - IT'S A SATURDAY!