Chennai

I seemed stuck on the never ending train journey from hell. I was tired after not much sleep the night before on the train and having to get up at 6am. After an hour my back was sore, the back of the seats seemed too far away, so you had to slump back or sit straight up with nothing to lean against.

It was a busy train, from staff shouting out chai coffee coffee chai, people selling cold drinks dosas and samosas, young boys crawling along dusting the carriageway for money, beggars with withered, twisted, atrophied limbs shoved in your face, young girls with younger babies, hirijas clapping demanding money, a blind man with one hand shuffling along the carriageway selling stuff announcing his life story in Tamil and of course the obligatory screaming kid which appears wherever you want peace & quiet. Constant glancing at the watch and no time has passed...

Eventually however I did arrive in Chennai and proceeded out the station blankly ignoring at least five autorickshaw drivers, sometimes you get fed up just saying NO all the time.

I had a Punjabi Thali consisting of palak paneer (cottage cheese & spinach), chana masala (spiced chickpeas), dal fry, another wet dish with cauliflower, onion, pickle, curd, veg pulao (rice with veg), kulcha (indian flatbread), papad and sweet (sponge in sugar sryup) washed down with fresh grape juice. It cost 60rps (75p).