My last day in India

Now that I look back, one of the things I should have done more frequently while in India is swim in the ocean. A group of us decided that we would head to a beach resort about 1.5 hours drive from the hotel. We were told that this was a fantastic place, with a great beach, exclusivity and more. We jumped into a hotel provided SUV and a second group jumped into another, and we headed off. Since Louis and I were leaving at 1h00 the following day, we had packed our bags the night before in anticipation of our last day.

The drive to the resort was quite long, and at some points, almost harrowing, but we eventually arrived at a small gate, crossed and arrived at the resort. Without any neighbours, the resort is a collection of several small units, with multiple floors, balconies and more. I should have rented one of these for a weekend while I was here, but there is use crying over spilled milk. After paying our beach access fee (a cash grab if I've ever seen one!), we headed over to find ourselves a spot.

The resort had several palm-roofed shelters on the beach to provide some much needed shade in the hot India sun. About ten seconds later, several of us were already running across the burning hot sand to get to the water! The Bay of Bengal has fairly rough water, so we had a fantastic time playing in the surf, dodging the waves and more. After playing for a few hours, it was time for some refreshments, and the resort had an excellent beach bar and grill, which we all ordered from gladly. During that time, a goat herder walked her goats across the beach, much to our enjoyment. After lunch, we decided to hit the water again, as we all knew that we would have to leave quite in the late afternoon.

As with every time you have fun, the end of the afternoon arrived much too quickly, and it was time for us to head back to the hotel. Of course, later afternoon traffic made our return trip about 45 minutes longer than the original drive. Once back at the hotel, Louis and I headed to our rooms to make sure that all of our packing was done, and that we had distributed the things we would not be bringing back with us, including toiletries and more. Then we headed down to the hotel restaurant for a last supper with the various people that had stayed at the hotel with us.

After dinner, Louis and I said our goodbyes to the different people we wanted to see, settled our final bill at the hotel and loaded up one of the hotel's taxis with our luggage. Since it was about midnight at this point, the city was quiet and our drive to the airport was quick and uneventful. We checked our luggage, and headed to the business lounge to wait for our flight. At this point, I think that both Louis and I were looking forward to returning home, and we were both in very jovial spirits.

We finally boarded our flight (with only 30 minutes delay) and took off to Frankfurt, Germany. We had a two hour stopover there, but a much longer four hour stopover in Toronto. Personally, I thought that it was the hardest part of the return trip, as we were practically home, but not quite. On top of that, my checked luggage never made it to Toronto, so I had to fill out some paperwork with Air Canada in order to claim my luggage when it would arrive. The trip to Ottawa was also uneventful, and since we were sitting near the front of the airplane, we disembarked first. Since I had no luggage to pick up, I went with Louis to luggage claim to help him find his suitcases. As soon as we walked into the passenger pickup area, Nathalie was there waiting for me, and within seconds, Louis's parents arrived to greet him.

After a 24 hour return trip, I was finally home.

Our first visit to Velachery...

We had the incredible opportunity to visit the main office in Velachery, and let me tell you, I was really impressed... I think that the picture below says it all:



It was really a most impressive experience, and really demonstrated the commitment from our new friends... I had the very pleasurable experience of eating some Indian sweets when we were there, and I got this picture, thinking that it might bring a smile to a few people:


For your information, chats are Indian sweets!!!

Of course, we spend the majority of our time in Perungudi, so I thought that I would include a picture of Renaud, Martin and Alex, hard at work, of course:


We have made several friends, and they were really happy to pose in a few pictures with us:


I will add a little more when I get a chance later on!

Shopping at Spencer's

As we have discovered, Chennai is one of the textile hotbeds of India, and as such, clothing is available in every shape, style and price you can imagine. On our first guided visit, we were brought to a custom tailor, and both Louis and Renaud had some suits made. On the other hand, I only selected a handful of shirts and a pair of pants, as I actually enjoy the shopping process and wanted to see what was available before I made a decision on having a suit made. For some odd reason, I got the definite impression that our guide was getting a kickback from the store we were brought to, and the obvious nature of it made me feel like a bit of a sucker.

Right next to our hotel is a local shopping mall known as Spencer's. It is spread out over 4 floors of shops, with the larger, more known brands located in all of the choice areas on the first and second floor, while every other conceivable space is taken over by small stores all the way down to portable stalls. Brands such as Nike, Reebok, Gap, Guess and more are sold everywhere, and although it is possible to get the real deal, it is also possible to purchase counterfeits of almost any item you might think of. Pirated music and movies is available in several very open stores, and home made food and remedies are available in several others. And did I mention that the mall is just a little bit crowded; there is no way to walk down the halls without literally rubbing shoulders with a thousand strangers.

Fantastic shopping experience to say the least. The prices are beyond believable for practically every item on sale. Only some specific name brands are still unattainably priced, but otherwise, it's a shopping bonanza. Dress shirts for five dollars, pants for ten, belts for three, watches for twenty and the list goes on. There are also several jewellers who sell merchandise of every conceivable type. Over the course of several shopping trips, I purchased several stones to have made into jewellery once I am back home. Although it took quite a sharp eye, and some decent negotiation skills, I have been satisfied with my experience so far.

Some updates on our friends, Wave 1C...

The temperature has been getting a little cooler in Chennai in the last few days, and I think that everyone has really appreciated it. Instead of the usual 40C and 80% humidity, we have been experiencing some high 20s in the morning. It's a nice change...

Our friends in Wave 1C have been doing well, and I thought I would post of a few more pictures of them, hard at work:




They really are a great group of people and I'm really happy to have had the experience to work with them... I will post more a little later!

A typical training day

Well, we've been here for a few weeks, and Initial Training has started in earnest. Since we are a small team of three, and are still waiting for our floor walkers, we decided to split up our classes according to our specialities, as it reduces the amount of preparation we have to do on a daily basis. A typical training day in Chennai goes a little bit like this:

- Wake up around 8h00-8h30
- Head for a morning swim in the hotel pool for about 30 minutes
- Get some breakfast at the hotel restaurant
- Review course material for the day
- Change for work
- Meet in the lobby of the hotel around 14h45
- Meet our driver, load up our bags and head to the Training Centre at 15h00
- Drive to the Training Centre for about 45 minutes
- Preparation time 15 minutes
- Beginning of class at 16h00
- Break at 17h30
- Lunch at 19h00
- Break at 22h30
- End of training day at 00h00
- Meet our driver, load up our bags and head to the hotel
- Drive to the hote for about 45 minutes
- Arrive at the hotel at about 0h50
- Drop off our bags, change and meet at the hotel restaurant 1h15
- Sleep 2h00-2h30

Although we are working what is essentially a night shift, I have had some difficulties adjusting to it, and still wake up in the morning, rather than sleeping in, which would be the smart thing to do. Anyhow, this is the routine for the week, and while we are free on weekends, there is enough preparation to keep us working both of those days in anticipation of the next training week.

A little more on the Taj Connemara...

And of course, I got the chance to take a few more pictures of the hotel this morning (there seems to be a lot of interest in this really great place); the Taj Connemara is a very old hotel, and has been around for over 100 years. Here is a picture of the very beautiful lobby:


Due to the excellent daily maintenance of the hotel, I am certain that it will continue for another century. Here is a picture of the small sitting area, near the interior garden:


And finally, another beautiful floating flower arrangement:


These floating flower "pizzas", as we have come to refer to them, are arranged in several places throughout the hotel. Finally, as we leave every day, we are greeted by this beautiful representation of Shiva:


After doing a little research (Indian mythology is somewhat more complicated than the more familiar Greek mythology), I learned that Shiva (sometimes knows as Shiva the Destroyer) is considered the oldest and the youngest; the eternal youth as well as the infant. He is the source of fertility in all living beings. He has gentle as well as fierce forms. Shiva destroys evil and protects good. He bestows prosperity on worshipers although he is austere. He is omnipresent and resides in everyone as pure consciousness.

I am continuing my study of this truly fascinating mythology, and I will add more information as I learn it...

Our friends from Chennai...

A lot of people have indicated their desire to see some of our friends from Chennai, and I thought that I should most definitely share some pictures. This is my group of friends, also affectionately known as Wave 1C:


The following picture is of Louis's group of friends, known as Wave 1B:


Sadly, I have not yet taken a picture of Renaud's group of friends (yes, you've guessed right, Wave 1A...). I will some more pictures tomorrow evening and post them when I get back to the hotel.

Until tomorrow...

Some new friends have arrived in Chennai

I would like to extend a warm welcome to our two friends, Alex and Martin, that have arrived in Chennai very early this morning. After a long trip, they have arrived with no terrible incidents (except the loss of some luggage). We are of course hopeful that this luggage will eventually be found, but as many already know, lost luggage in airports is very similar to lost socks in a dryer!!!

Once again, a warm welcome to some good friends!

A cooler day in Chennai...

After an evening of temperatures hovering around 38C, it was nice to wake up and note that today's high should be only 33C, a nice change. I took a few moments to take a some pictures for your enjoyment:
The picture above is of the hotel's main entrance:


And the following are of the pretty light traffic just outside of the hotel:


Here is one of the really nice atrium in the hotel, right next to the interior garden:


And as we leave the hotel every day, we are greeted by the statue of Ganesha:


In Hinduism, Ga' symbolizes Buddhi (intellect) and 'Na' symbolizes Vijnana (wisdom). So Ganesha is considered the master of intellect and wisdom. Ganesha is also known as the Lord of Good Fortune, so every morning, flowers are arranged on the statue in thanks.

I have to go, but I will add more a little later!

Apologies for the lack of recent updates...

I just wanted to take a few moments to apologize for my lack of updates in the last few days, as I have been fighting off a small bout of bronchitis. With the considerable air pollution in Chennai, and my penchant for American cigarettes, I have really not helped myself. As I am currently feeling much better, I will be in a position to continue to provide some daily updates to this travel blog.

Until later today!