Post #211 27 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Chennai (aka Madras, and before that Mylapore), the capital of Tamil Nadu State, 5 & 6 March 2020.

Everyone told us that north and south India were very different, and that's what we found too. The people here seem friendlier, more open - maybe because Chennai is on the coast and it's warmer, more relaxed??  They also seem more devout.

They say that Tamil Nadu State has more than 3,000 Hindu Temples.  Religion - Hinduism - is alive and well here.  That was certainly the feeling we got. We saw many wonderful temples, and they all seemed busy with worshippers and priests.

To outsiders Hinduism seems like a complex and confusing religion with its multitude of gods and belief in reincarnation.  Perhaps that's why it didn't spread to other countries - you have to grow up with it to understand its complexities?

In southern India, this part of our tour, we visited: in Tamil Nadu State: Chennai (Madras); Puducherry (Pondy); Tirucchirappalli (Trichy); Madurai; then in Kerala State: Thekkady; Alleppey; and Kochi (Cochin).

Map of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

We were met at Chennai Airport by our new guide for southern India, Eugine Gevarghese, a delightful character, 52 years old, single (but engaged) and Catholic. His home town was Kochi, Kerala. 

Our bus sor southern India was modern and comfortable. The driver was Murti, and the condutor Muthu. They were both from Tamil Nadu State.

City map of Chennai. The City follows the coast, the Bay of Bengal.

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel - very nice!!

I made good use of the lovely swimming pool at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The water was a very pleasant 28C (much warmer than northern India).

What a swish wedding car!

Vera & I admiring a Ganesh (elephant god) statue in the foyer of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Hinduism seemed more pervasive in southern India.

That night we had a drink in the bar and met the singer Mali, from Mizoram (bordering Myanmar). You could see the Chinese influence in her features.  Mali told us that she was 26 years old, she taught herself to sing, and she was supporting her family (farmers). 

We visited the Kapaleeswarar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva.  The original Temple was largely destroyed by the Portuguese in 1566, but then rebuilt 300 years ago.

The impressive gopuram (Gateway Tower) of the Temple.

Eugine arranged a local expert to show us around the Temple.

The Temple was busy with many worshippers (mostly women) and priests.

We passed this slum when driving around.  Haven't really seen this kind of urban poverty till now.

A colonial era building, now the City Hall.

San Thome Catholic Cathedral originally built be the Portuguese in 1503, and extensively renovated in 1893.

The beautiful interior of the Cathedral.

The basement of the Cathedral contains the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle (Doubting Thomas) who brought Christianity here in 59AD.

After the Cathedral we visited Marina Beach, which extends for 12km. An impressive stretch of sand even by Aussie standards - here it was about 80m wide.  But the beach was deserted except for a few people along the water's edge, Indians don't really swim and also avoid direct sun.  Apparently it is popular early morning, and late afternoon with families and kids playing sport. The 2004 tsunami killed over 200 persons here, mainly fishing folk.

A family was paddling in the shallows.  Few Indians can swim so they don't go in far. There is a fishing village nearby, and we returned in the morning for a look.

An advertisement in the local newspaper for study in Australia. They are promoting 4 years post-study work rights. Not sure how honest that is, as I thought the Australian Government had cracked down on post-study work, as many courses were seen as just a way to work in Australia???

Australia hit the news because of fighting over toilet paper.

The following morning we returned to Marina Beach to see the fishing village. 

A stall with last night's catch.

Customers buy the fresh fish on the right, and the fish are cleaned be ladies on the left.

The Govt is trying to phase out single-use plastic bags - polluting.

After seeing the fish market, we left for our next destination, Puducherry (aka Pondicherry or just Pondi).

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My next post will describe our drive to Pondi and our stay there.

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Coronavirus update

Covid-19 cases

Date 2020	Global		Australia
	Infections	Deaths	Infections	Deaths
23 March	335,972	14,642	1,353	7
24 March	381,499	16,557	1,823	8
25 March	423,543	18,876	2,317	8
26 March	466.353	20.942	2,677	11
27 March	525,614	23,706	2,810	13

Source: Thenewdaily.com.au

Bloomberg 26/3

In just a few months, a microscopic virus plunged the world economy into a recession and hammered global trade harder than the 2008-9 global financial crisis, the 2001 Sept. 11 attacks, or the 1973 oil embargo.

World War II couldn’t even muster the same kind of sudden knockout that has paralyzed supply chains and rendered the world’s most bustling cities into ghost towns.

Shipping has been hit hard. Container throughput in February 2020, compared to a year earlier, decreased by 20% in the Port of Shanghai, 20% in the Port of Savannah, and 23% in the Port of Los Angeles. And the figures for March won't be any better.

It's amazing how the world has changed in just 3 or 4 weeks.

Although India only has 650 infections, yesterday PM Modi announced a lock-down of the entire country for 21 days. Drastic, but he can see what happened in Italy and elsewhere.  It's a good thing we left India when we did.

Today 27/3 the USA (83,000 with 1,200 deaths) passed China (82,000 with 3,200 deaths) and Italy (80,000 with 6,800 deaths) as having the most infections - it has become the new epicenter of this virus!  A huge economic stimulus package worth close to US$2 trillion (roughly 10% of GDP) has passed the Senate and will now go the the House of Representatives for approval.

Australia has, at last, started testing new arrivals at airports; and all new arrivals will be placed in supervised 14 day isolation in the city where they enter.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Friday 27 March 2020
(now in Day 10 of our 14 day self-isolation)

Post #210 26 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Mumbai (aka Bombay).  We had two nights there, 3 & 4 March 2020.

Mumbai is the commercial center of India, a huge city of around 20 million. We were there only for one full day, just long enough to get a feel for this huge, vibrant city.  Most of us immediately felt "at home' in Mumbai - it had a more familiar feel to it than other Indian cities.

Our guide, Varisha, picked us up at 9.30am on 4 March. First stop was the Hanging Garden of Malabar (not much to see there); then the public laundry area at Dhobi Ghat; the Gandhi Museum; The Gateway to India Monument; lunch at Leopold's Cafe; finally we drove past City Hall and Victoria Terminus Railway Station. Our tour terminated at 3pm, as she had to get to a yoga class.

Vera and I then walked to the High Court and University of Mumbai campus, but both were closed to visitors (armed guards on the gates, following the terrorist attacks of 2008). From there we went to the Esplanade and people-watched, then ice cream at Rustom's and cake at Gaylord Restaurant.  It was a good, long, memorable day.

Our hotel was in Churchgate, about 100m from the esplanade along the Bay.

We stayed in the venerable old Ambassador Hotel. It had seen better days, but was in a great location.

The foyer of the Ambassador Hotel.

A photo of the Ambassador Hotel from across the street.  Unfortunately the revolving restaurant and bar at the top was no longer in operation.  It must have been quite a hotel in its heyday.

On our first night in Mumbai a group of us found the Stadium Restaurant just down the street from the Ambassador Hotel. Prices were very reasonable, this meal cost us Rs250 (A$5) each. Delicious and inexpensive - that's more like it, we all said.  Diwan always took us to up-market restaurants in northern India - the cheapest meal we had was Rs600 (A$12) per person - but in southern India, and even in Mumbai, most of our meals were less. 

The group enjoying the food and prices at the Stadium Restaurant, from left: Ros, me, Vera, Elaine, Jill, and Elizabeth. Our first impressions of Mumbai were favourable, and we looked forward to exploring the city tomorrow.

Our guide picked us up the following morning. Her name was Varisha, a knowledgeable elderly lady bent almost double from scoliosis. 

The huge open-air laundromat at Dhobi Ghat is a popular tourist attraction. There are more than 1,000 washing troughs. Traditionally, only men do the washing here.

Can you see some of the washing troughs?  It was an incredible sight.

The old and the new. Mumbai is a city of contrasts.

We visited the Gandhi Museum.  He often visited this city, and this is where he launched the "Leave India" campaign in 1942. Gandhi was a most remarkable man. 

Gandhi with his protege Nehru who became India's first Prime Minister after Independence on 15 August 1947.

Copy of a letter Gandhi wrote to Hitler in July 1939, imploring him to avoid war.

The Gateway to India monument, built to commemorate the 1911 visit to Mumbai by King George V.  It was completed in 1924, by which time his visit would surely have been long forgotten. Such was the might of the British Empire.  Ironically, the last British troops left from here in 1947. 

The iconic Taj Hotel was near the Gateway to India Monument.  Allegedly Mr J.N. Tata built it in 1903 after being refused entry into a European hotel.  It was one of 12 targets in Mumbai attacked by terrorists in November 2008.

The grand Victoria Terminus Railway Station. The Raj certainly left its mark on Mumbai.

The ornate City Hall.

The Mumbai High Court is housed in a 1848 neo-Gothic building, a bit reminiscent of a German castle.  Casual visitors have not been allowed entry since the terrorist attacks in 2008; there were armed police guarding the gates.  Similarly with the University of Mumbai which is next to the High Court.

The University of Mumbai's 80m Rajabai Clock Tower dominates the skyline.  Unfortunately the University has been closed to causal visitors since the 2008 terrorist attacks. There were literally dozens of cricket games going on in the park in front of the University and High Court. Actually, it was the same in Delhi: every park or vacant ground featured men and boys playing cricket.

We had lunch in Leopold's Cafe. It was started by a Persian in 1871. Has always been popular; featured as Lin's hang-out in Gregory Robert's marvellous 2003 book 'Shantaram'. In 2008 it was one of 12 targets by terrorists and 10 people lost their lives in that attack.

The waiter taking our lunch orders in Leopold Cafe.

Leopold Cafe had good vibes.

We finished the meal with Beetroot Cheese Cake - yummy!!!

A street stall. Sandals anyone? 

or leggings anyone?

The girl was getting "henna" a kind of brown hand tattoo (non-permanent) which is popular for celebrations - but personally I don't find it attractive.

The attractive Esplanade along the Bay - very popular in the evenings, for exercise or strolling or meeting friends. Note the many couples facing out to sea, often hugging (physical contact is rare in India, only seen in the large cities!).

The esplanade was a very pleasant spot - cool sea breeze and a nice sunset.

Some of the buildings along Marine Parade, across from the Esplanade.  They look a bit run-down, but it would be a great place to live (and worth millions!).

Newspaper report on 5 March - the corona virus was starting to cause concern with 29 infections in India (mainly tourists from Italy).  Today (26 March) just three weeks later it is so serious that PM Modi has announced a complete shut-down of the entire country for 3 weeks.  Drastic. 

The next morning we left the hotel at 6am for the airport and our flight to Chennai. The streets were deserted; the trip only took us 30 minutes.

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So ended our fleeting visit to India's economic powerhouse.

From Mumbai we flew to Chennai (aka Madras) in Tamil Nadu, the start of our 10 days around southern India. Chennai will be the subject of my next post.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Thursday, 26 March 2020