Photo Post Two: Chennai

Inside the Mumbai airport.

I love the layers of clouds. This was just after the best ones.
I wasn't really supposed to take photos yet,
but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to photograph it.

Chennai from the air

This was the street we had to cross to get to the car.
Mind you, the cars were all moving...

Our driver. Notice what side of the car he's sitting on.

Chennai traffic. And this isn't the worst I've seen, either.
We were all moving forward at a pretty good pace.

I've seen this shirt a couple times around town. Bharat is the Indian name for India.
 I assume this means that India uplifts its people.

We have arrived in Velachery

Here I am with Aunty's blessing on my forehead.
Everyone thinks my wound looks like a second bindi. LOL

I love the bedspread in my room. I also like this picture.

The fabric in the package, and the bracelets are my birthday gift from Aunty.
The swastikas on the bag are an ancient Indian good luck symbol.
Unfortunately, swastikas, like many other ancient symbols, were stolen by the Nazis,
who turned them backwards and twisted them into symbols of hate.

The view from my bedroom window. There is so much to see...

Clothes hanging out to dry in the sun...
you don't see that too much in the U.S. anymore.

This grass hut is situated on top of a roof!

Look at all the palm trees. They are so green and beautiful.

The bed in my room. Note that Herboth has been joined by his twin brother.
That blue thing above the bed is mosquito netting. People hang it over their beds
when the bugs are fierce, to keep from getting bitten. Remember, mosquitoes carry
diseases here. Thank heavens I've been taking my anti-malaria pills!

This photo shows me in one of the Indian nightgowns Anni bought me.
It is basically a long sleeveless dress worn over a longer, coordinated skirt.
The skirt is embroidered. It seems like a lot to wear to bed, but it's actually quite cool
 and comfortable. Also, if the AC is on all night, it gets a little chilly by morning.

These are the switches for the lights, the water heater, the fan, and all other kinds of things.
It's confusing to maneuver, especially as other switches also control the same things,
and all have to be in the proper positions in order to make things work correctly.
Also, as we found out, if you switch things around too randomly,
you can blow a fuse, and then you have no lights at all.

Here's a close up of a power outlet. As you can see, it's different from the ones we have in the U.S.
You need an adaptor  to plug in your electronics. Also the power works on a different voltage,
so even if you could plug in your stuff, it would probably blow up.

The water closet, or bathroom. Here you can see the water tank above the toilet, and the shower.
Below is the bucket we use to bathe Indian style.

The view from the plaza, directly outside Uncle and Aunty's door.

The pile of discrded coconuts next to the tender coconut stall.

Me with my tender coconut, in one of my lovely churidar suits that Anni bought me.
 I really like this color of pink. It reminds me of roses and the perfumed soap my Great Aunt
 used to have in her bathroom. In fact, I bought some rose scented powder and body
spray at the boutique we went to after the coconut experience.

The coconut lady, chopping up the coconut. I wish I culd have gotten a photo of her machete,
 but she was lighting-fast.  Raja actually jumped out of the path of flying coconut a few times.

The shop on the lower floor is the nuts and spices shop.
The slogan is  actually, "Driving you Nuts." And it does, because there
are so many yummy things in there!

A common sight in Chennai. They guys is wearing a helmet, which is rare.
If you look closely, you can see that the woman is holding her baby.

Moooo. Note that vehicles actually stop for the cow. I told Raja that we should have crossed
with the cow,  as she would have insured our safety. Instead we braved traffic on our own.
At least it gave him an excuse to hold my hand. He even held it a little longer while we walked on the street:
 an outright rebellious act. Here, that's pretty much equal to making out in public.

I have more pictures coming, of course, but I really have to get moving if If I want to shop and play. I'm glad to be mostly caught up now. I hope you are enjoying my trip vicariously. I'll write more soon.

Until then, be good.