Travel Day 902 – Chennai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA
After some back and forth yesterday we decided to stay one more day in Chennai, but the decision was mainly due to our laziness…
Sri Ramakrishna Math in Chennai, India
The problem was that the guesthouse told us we would have to check out at the same time as we checked in, meaning 6am, or pay for another full day. Since we wanted to sleep-in at least once before getting up early again, we reckoned that staying one more day in Chennai would be ok, especially because we would be able to see the remaining sights, do some errands and enjoy some more delicious South-Indian food… : )
So that was exactly what we did and when we were ready to get up and start another hot day in Chennai, we did so with an amazing free-refill breakfast of Coconut Appam with daal, channa masala and coconut chutney. This was by far the best breakfast that we had in India and the Appam, a sort of coconut pancake reminded me of a dish that I used to love eating in Indonesia…
Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Chennai, India
Anyway, some errands later and were finally in southern Chennai at the Sri Ramakrishna Math. Even if this temple was not very old and pretty much the same as the one we had visited in Kolkata, here this place seemed at least much more enjoyable and quiet. This was manly due to the lack of local tourists, who in Kolkata flooded the entire area of the temple and the surrounding gardens with their home-made pick-nicks…
The big Kapaleeshwarar Temple in Mylapore, dedicated to Shiva, was next on the agenda and luckily it was in easy walking distance, as was a Portuguese Santhome Cathedral. Even here in Chennai, the Portuguese had been the first Europeans to arrive and settle, before they got kicked out by the Dutch, the French and the British. But at least the big cathedral was still in place and in active use. It was actually in perfectly maintained shape and we happened to be lucky enough to join a local Christian wedding…
Portuguese Santhome Cathedral in Chennai
For me personally most notably were the red wedding dress, the entering of bride and groom together and the seemingly much too happy music which was plaid from tape rather than from an organ. But it was overall very interesting to see and once we carried on towards the local beach, we definitely didn’t regret staying in Chennai for another day…
That clearly didn’t mean we would necessarily recommend to anyone to come to Chennai, as it wasn’t much of a destination, but it was at least possible to fill two days here, especially while enjoying the great South Indian food in some of the many local restaurants… : )
Leave a Reply