Bren's-Journey

Hello from Chennai,
Havin a mad time, I'll start from the start!

One hour delayed take off from Heathrow and three screamin babies around me, but I didn't care, put on my headphones and blasted some prodigy, was great for the take off, "Smack my b#tch up'', great track!. An Indian man with the exotic name of 'Stephen' was sitting beside me with his family. Sound chap, about 55. Anyway, after about ten minutes, he asked me would I like to join his family on a three day tour of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, starting tomorrow! Didn't know what to say, but made it to be a polite 'no thanks'!

Landed in Chennai at 2 a.m., the view of the weather from the window looked Irish! Foggy and very dark. Although when I got off the plane I noticed it was a typically non Irish 22 C! Not bad for 2 in the morn!

Immigration dude got one of his colleagues to look at my face, he wasn't certain that it was my photo on my passport (it's 8 years old, I look about 12), so they were both comparin my eyes and ears to the photo, they eventually let me through.

Soldiers, guns and a major smell of curry and spices in the airport. Got my bag and went to loo to put on my 'hidden money belt' thing. Got my first sight of a typical Indian loo, barf inducing stuff! But I'm used to them already. Have been asked numerous times if I'm from America, eh no! "I'm Oirish!"

Got to hotel where i had reserved a room a week ago, "sorry sir, all rooms gone, you can stay in business suite'. Too tired to argue, thought it sounded good anyway. Bizarrelly, the cheeky... had just put a bed in to their computer room, so that's where I slept! Demanded a reduction today, got a whopping 15% off, wow! In a new room today, very nice, and not a computer to be seen anywhere!

Had a typical Indian brekkie this morn, there was ten pots on a table, self service job. Started with scrambled eggs and toast, all very normal there, but the other 9 pots all had different types of curry in them! Tried them all, very nice! Also had 3 kinds of food similar to naan, but quite different if ya know what I mean! Never seen them before!

Got a 'rickshaw' to the beach or 'marina', total lunatic drivers, the travel programmes don't exagerate, they never stop, totally mad, speeding along, and surprisngly, looking totally chilled!

Beach was very nice, obeyed the 'stricly no swimming' sign. Got another rickshaw to Guindy national park, but it was closed, then travelled another 40km to their zoo, also closed, or as they say 'holiday', of course they'b be closed, it is tueday after all. Didn't mind too much...the drive was like somethin outta funderland, (Irish carnival)the roads were at times like the old roads in cavan, you wouldn't believe how dangerous the drivin was, but I'm confident there'll be no crashes, they obviously know what there doin! Will go back to the national park and zoo tomorrow. Goodbye for now, Bren

P.S. the dude beside me (in internet cafe) just let a ripper of a fart with no hiding or emabarrasement, go India!