The scenery, endless rice paddies, and the tranquility. Only broken by the JCB directly across from where we were moored, dredging the canal. It's dulcet bass tones upsetting the watermouse that gracefully scurried across the port railing above heathers sleeping head. That's right, a watermouse, because that's what I decided on heathers behalf and so it shall remain.
Lunch was exceptional except for a repeat of the local fish stew, fins and all, which neither of us could look at. We decided to risk the chicken for dinner as it was only and hours flight to Chennai (formerly Madras) the next morning. Possibly an unwise move as it was also an hour to the airport beforehand and it's facilities. But we escaped unscathed, or the facilities did anyway. After a few beers and peach vodka with lemonades and, a bizarre massage experience, we went to bed.
Chennai! (formerly Madras!) what a merry old town. Except it's not that merry, only bits of it are old and it's not a town. Other than that it's great. Went to a cooking class the evening we arrived and I wasn't tired or grumpy at all. The class cheered me up though and I learned a lot about Indian cooking, chennai and the local culture. It was Jacobs' idea and dare I say a good one.
We were to meet our guide and soon to be new friend, Chandan, downstairs for a tour by locals of Chennai. Unfortunately he wasn't late but had picked up a couple of Austrians who answered yes to 'are you heather?' and was showing them around a bit before they fessed up and he came back for us. Which was quite funny :)
Chandan then proceeded to put Chennai (formerly Madras) into an historical perspective for us. It was originally a fort town built by the british after they were granted the land by the then rulers and also after the portugese made it difficult for them on the original land they'd been granted 5km's south. There is a story that the Brit who petitioned for the land so earnestly to the British had a local girlfriend on the site. Unfortunately this will remain a romantic rumour only, but a nice one. So the Brits started trading, enlisted a local militia and generally did what they'd always historically done which is succeed in a strategic hearts and minds campaign and gradually took over everything. It's important to note that they were'n't the brutich and harsh warmongers they are generally portrayed as and the inclusion of locals in the militia was a very important step in the hearts and minds campaign. They only resorted to war as a last resort and of course were very devastating at it. None of the other colonist countries enilisted locals by the way. They then built huge buildings and were nice to people. Really not that hard to impress people with that strategy. The rest of course as well as this, is history. The buildings they built hundreds of years ago are still in use today. Average age of a colonist was about 45-50, pretty harsh times. Though if you made it back you were rewarded quite hansomely i.e. there are a few british families still using the riches they'd gleaned from originally being here. So a shitload of money even by russian drug/arms dealer standards.
Onwards to the museum, the name of which I don't remember, where we saw priceless bronzes from 9th to 14th centuries that were beyond description and off limits to photography unfortunately. At a time when the rest of the world was barely out of a Monty Python's Holy Grail type age where the main employment opportunities were piling shit on top of other piles of shit and dying early, India was producing this stuff. It was then that I realised my complete and utter ignorance of Indian history, it's part in world history, and history as a whole. So I have some reading to do when I get home.
Then, we visited an orphanage, which was for me a major highlight of this whole trip. It's kind of hard to express what I felt but I got teary. I hid it quite well, though even writing this I am again. There was a lot of love in the room. Basically this guy and his family have brought in about 20 children of dead or dying HIV parents and is raising them, as his own. Sounds simple doesn't it. Often the simplest ideas or solutions are the most amazing. Not one child wants for anything but a family and he has provided it with more love and warmth than I've ever experienced. The kids were the most well adjusted I've seen, and they've all adopted each other really as one family unit. You know, he didn't even ask for money, not a cent. We did notice that they had a lack of books so we matched Chandan in donations to buy more for their library. It was frankly a beautiful experience. We'll be keeping in touch with them.
So what do you do after such an experience? What do you write as a follow up?
We then went and had Italian with a friend of Heathers who had recently fallen in love and returned to India. Such is the contrast that has been our trip :) Let me preface this story with my lack of short term memory, hence the lack of names in all my posts. Maddi had met her partner many years ago when they were younger and had said yes to marriage, she then ran away, as we all do when faced with such a commitment at a young age. Maddi then travelled and got married then divorced, her partner the same though he was also stationed up north on the border in the military. In short, their time wasn't right until now many years later, and they are a wonderful couple. I've glossed over the details but this is the essence of their love story :) We also met two of Maddies friends, mother an daughter, who had come over in the 70's at the founding of the big golden globe thing I'd been rather unkind about on facebook and the ashram of a lady called 'The Mother'. Both very serene, dignified and nice people ready for a laugh. It was about that time I'm sure that Maddi realised I was barely hanging on and called it a night, it had been a big day and she's nice like that :).
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