Nothing new happened during the last days so I didn't write anything, but to keep blog alive, here is the summary of what we have been up to. We are trying to get to Kolkata, but trains are full (this is normal in India, all tickets should be bought at least week prior to planned departure), so in two days we drove from Kochi (left side of India) to Chennai (right side). Last bus ride took us 11 hours, but luckily was during the night.
Today we managed to get train ticket from Chennai to Brahmapur, which is approximately 1000km (18 hours) for 600 INR each. Hopefully in 4 days we will reach West Bengal state and finally will be able to start exploring northern states, starting with Darjeeling and Assam. This was our plan all along but as these things tend to do - plans change.
Today our morning in Chennai started with arrival of the bus at 06:00 in the morning. Sleepy and tired from overnight drive, we were greeted by a bunch of rickshaw wallahs, who desperately wanted to sell us their services. Needless to say, we are already immune to their tactics and took a local bus instead. But before that was obligatory photo shoot with everyone around.
For some reason, almost all lodges rejected tourists, so we took help of very persistent and helpful ricksha driver. We promised to take his tour later that day. [Quick info: if you are looking for a place to stay, otherwise known as "hotel", look for "lodges". In India, all hotels are restaurants. You will encounter many "Best vegetarian hotel in City".]
We visited some churches and stuff, one of which was St. Thomas basilica, which had sign that read:
Only three Churches in the whole world are build over the tomb of an Apostle of Jesus Christ
These three are:
- Santiago de Compostela (tomb of St. James - Spain)
- National Shrine of St. Thomas basilica (tomb of St. Thomas - India)
- St. Peter's basilica (Rome)
Now I have visited 2 of them. Should remember this fact if I'm ever in Rome.
Next one was beach. Truly vast, and not so many people as one would expect. Maybe because of strong waves.
Even though our driver was very kind and helpful, at the very end we got into big argument about price. Hands were thrown in the air, voices were raised and emotions spilled over. Both parties we at fault for not understanding/hearing everything properly at the beginning. Nevertheless, day in general was a success.
After the dinner, for the first time ever we tried Paan, which is betel nut wrapped in edible paan leaf alongside with mixture of spices and other "stuff". There are 2 types - sweet and with tobacco. Paan wallah (person who makes them), on question "is this sweet?" answered - "yes, see - tutti-frutti" and added some candy-like thingies. Watching whole making process was like a theater - so many ingredients and in the end - cherry on top. Cost - 15 rupees each. This was the sweetest thing I've ever tasted - like a sugar explosion in my mouth. You are supposed to chew it for quite a time. Too sweet. But I will definitely try it again.
Nākošais būs Romas apgūšana .