Farenheit 117
1st June
Well we finally fought our way out of Chennai about 3pm yesterday. It was a case of waiting for the insurance papers to be bought around to us then finding a Shell Service Station to fill up with diesel. We had to ship the van with an empty tank. Being an advanced technology diesel motor we had to make sure the diesel used was near the standard available n Australia. It's all about the cetane number. AU is 52, in the larger cities of India they have the speed diesel which is similar. In the country a lower grade only is available. We were told before we left the hotel that Shell was one of 2 brands to try and get. Going to be interesting in Pakistan where the diesel has a rating of 48.
The gods smiled on us finding our way out of the city. The traffic is a shambles and signage is almost non-existent. At a very busy intersection I asked a well dressed gentleman for directions, he began to give them to me then said that he was about to hire an auto rickshaw to take him to his house on the road south, the one we were looking for. 20 minutes later I was able to drop him off at his doorway and we were well on the way south. My first experience in driving in a large city wasn't too bad. You have to have your wits about you and look out for a little dark hand poking out of a window of a bus or truck in front of you giving a slight movement of the hand signalling that he intends pulling over in front of you. Let him or you will be horribly jammed against the median bars.
We were aiming for Tiruvannamali a temple town some 160kms south east of Chennai. Most of the road was a good toll road but when we looked for the turn off were told there wasn't one. The best thing was to go to Pondicherry and head inland from there.
As it was nearing 5pm and I was getting a bit tired we decided to spend the night at Pondy instead. Pondicherry was a French enclave on the east coast and still retains a wonderful French atmosphere: street names, beautiful colonial buildings, wide streets and a strong French flare in the food. We happened upon Vila Helena, 'a superb colonial home' as the Lonely Planet says. We have got into the habit now, as long as our first choice is suitable and within our price range we take it. Spending hours comparing alternatives for a short stay is a waste of time.
That night we celebrated my birthday with a pre dinner drink overlooking the Bay of Bengal with a full moon rising. Followed by a French meal at Madame Santhe's washed down by a glass of very drinkable Indian white wine. Quite a memorable occasion.
Today we headed inland making to Tiruvannamali with a stop of at Gingee to visit a fort. It was aproaching 12 noon we we reached the fort, the temp was 41C and the 1330 steps up to the fort were not appealing. Even the ticket man advised against it.
Tiruvanamali has one of the largest temples in India dedicated to the god Shiva. We will visit it when it cools down.
With the heat so intense sleeping in the van is out of the question at the moment. When we climb into the western Ghats it might be different.. A/C rooms outside the tourist area are $15-30 a night.