Crocodile Tears and Mamallapuram Jeers
Trip Start
Feb 02, 2011
1
4
23
Trip End
Feb 24, 2011
Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India
Saturday, February 5, 2011
We awoke at 7am and Suresh had arranged for his father’s driver (everyone who is wealthy here has one while everyone else can't even afford shoes) to pick us up at 8am and drive us around until 8pm. Twelve hours for R2100.00 ($43.00). Our main destination was a 40-minute drive down to the temples of Mamallapuram, which allowed us to spectate all of the craziness in all the towns along the way (with my favorite being a dentist who did his work in a chair along the highway, his sign displaying a large molar with hung prominently above the brave and willing victims).
About 20 minutes into the trip the driver pulled into a small building which resembled a museum, and we assumed he was being nice by seeing if we were interested. Luckily it was closed until 10am so we told him we would hit it on the way back, even though we had no interest.
We continued a few more miles before stopping off at the Crocodile Park, which was a few acres of land that held all different types of crocodiles, birds, snakes, and when I say "held" I use the word loosely, for the rickety walls, fences and gates were merely a suggestion for people to stay out and hopefully vice-versa. I was a bit concerned about the amount of mosquitoes around but there was a nice breeze to calm me down. I swear, this paranoia of being bit is going to kill me quicker that the bite itself.
There were a lot of school groups out today, and most of them were amazed by our white skin. Little boys would come up smiling with their polite “hellos” anticipating our response. Little girls would come up and pinch Kasia’s arm and this strange gesture continued throughout the day.
When we arrived in Mamallapuram our driver pulled over to pick up a gentleman who told us he would be our tour guide, and he seemed to know the driver so we asked if it was necessary. He said it was indeed necessary and when we asked about the price he said “If I do a good job you pay me what you wish!” Fast forward an hour and a half of assistance (which was helpful, but only if you really care about historical facts. These are the first things about a trip that I forget) and suddenly “pay what you wish” became “$20.00 American dollars each.” We laughed and explained he would not be getting that amount (“You would have to be amazing for that amount, and you weren’t that amazing”) and after giving him about $20.00 in rupees (which was still too much) he asked us to give him a pen, which he angrily walked away with as collateral. Kasia and I joked about the fact that India is the only place in the world where we could sell a pen for twenty American dollars. =)
On the way back to Chennai we stopped for lunch at a resort called Taj Fisherman’s Cove (at Pavan’s suggestion) and it was exactly what we needed. Tucked away from the dirty grime that clung to everything we had experienced, we found ourselves sipping cocktails amidst the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean.
Nothing could have been more comforting and more perfect. It was the first time I realized that this trip could be very pleasant and rewarding without planning or trying so hard. I just have to get back into the groove of letting the chips fall where they may and having the faith that things will happen upon us as they feel the need to.
Case in point: After lunch we returned to the museum (after silently protesting the idea) and to my dismay, it would become the highlight of the trip thus far. Turns out it wasn’t a museum at all. It’s a non-profit community service project called Dakshina Chitra which promotes and preserves the cultures of certain regions of India. Some of the highlights included watching a shadow puppet show (5 rupees per person), basket weaving, pottery, and watching children try their luck at a game which resembled piņata, only the piņata was a small clay pot filled with water. I could have spent the entire day watching it.
Afterwards we head back to Chennai where our driver was kind enough to bring us to a fabric shop where we purchased some saris, and then we were off to check out the mall. When I say it resembles the roads surrounding it, I mean it in the most chaotic way possible. Thin, congested aisles with a never-ending sea of shoppers. What makes it worse is that we’re used to walking to the left of people in the same way we would drive, but here they do exactly the opposite, which takes a while of getting used to.
Kasia purchased a beautiful Indian outfit for R1200.00 ($25.00) and I found the funniest t-shirt for R150.00 ($3.00). We thought about getting some Subway sandwiches but reminded ourselves that everything is washed with tap water so we played it safe and ordered veggie burgers from room service at the hotel. (Side note: All of the hotels here have mandatory car searches and metal detectors due to hotel bombings in previous years.)
Also, Suresh was kind enough to give up an old cell phone for the rest of our trip, as it will be very useful to contact our drivers and vice-versa. Also also, we finally got Kasia’s backpack from the airline and the bug spray had leaked over everything in the entire bag. We had to throw out the toothbrushes, Q-tips, eye drops, and anything else to be used orally. Plus, we are still waiting for the R4,000.00 ($45.00) promised to us for the inconvenience.
The only reason we’re holding our breath is because of the choking pollution.
(Update: As you might have guessed, we never did receive that money.)
