Tanjore, India

As we traveled to our next destination, Tanjore, there were fields and fields of rice and sugar cane.  Also, groves of bananas, coconut trees, eucalyptus, and other trees.  Ox drawn carts were common, as well as over-loaded trucks with sugar cane.  But most importantly, I glad I don't have to drive in Indian traffic.  Roman traffic is horrible, in Cairo they think the lines on the road are just suggestions, but in India they think those lines are decorations -- truly scary.  We stopped by a small dam to watch some fishermen cast their nets, fishing in the traditional way.


 
Also, on the road to Tanjore, two more temples.  Temples seem to be endless in southern India.  However, once in Tanjore, there is one temple that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site constructed in the 10th century.  It is called the Brihadeeswara Temple.  The main tower is 13 stories high, and has a bull weighing 27 tons carved from a single piece of stone. 

Pondicherry, India

From Chennai, we drove south to Pondicherry.  Pondicherry was a French colony until 1956 -- a full nine years after the British  left India and she gained her independence.  After the French left Pondicherry and three other areas it had occupied, they became part of India, as special districts rather than states.  The French influence is still strong in the area with many French citizens with Indian heritage, a French Quarter, French architecture, and some French food.  The French Quarter is very pretty and organized compared to the Tamil section of the city.  Generally speaking, India is very dirty with trash strewn all over.  Littering is common and most people never seem to notice the filth surrounding them. 


Our hotel in Pondicherry was previously a governor's mansion from the French period -- very unique and fun.  While in Pondicherry, we visited a temple dedicated to the god Ganesh, the god with an elephant's head and a human body.  We also went to the local market with all kinds of things for sale -- except meat.  Most Indians are vegetarians.  And we toured a spiritual community, called an ashram, established by Sri Aurobindo in 1926, including schools, paper manufacturing, guest houses, etc.  We even saw a couple of Catholic cathedrals (France is very Catholic).

In the evening we took a stroll on the Promenade along the sea shore.  There were a lot of people out enjoying the night air.  The temperature here is around 80 degrees in the daytime and the low 70s at night.  That's my kind of winter.  While walking on the Promenade, the people were very friendly, and when we were looking at a large statue of Mahatma Gandhi, some Indian young men asked if we knew who he was, and were quite surprised that we knew so much about him.  I think Sue and I were the only Americans out that night.  In fact, we have only met a few Americans this whole trip, and that was in the hotels.  I'd say we are off the beaten path as far as American tourism goes.  But, oh what fun!!!

For those of you who have seen The Life of Pi, many of the early scenes in the movie
were filmed in Pondicherry.

Chennai, India (Part II)

In northern India, the native language is Hindi.  However, in southern India, the native language is Tamil (as in the Tamil Tigers).  Those speaking Hindi cannot understand those speaking Tamil and visa versa.  Therefore, the universal language in India is English -- broken English.  It is often very hard to communicate with native Indians because they only begin learning English when they start school and most never become very fluent.

The day following our visit to Pathway, we traveled to Kanchipuram outside of Chennai, once famous for its 1,000 temples.  We visited four of the surviving temples.  The structure and form of the southern Indian temples is different from the northern temples.  These are Hindu temples.  They are usually dedicated to the gods Vishnu or Shiva.  Southern India is about 80% Hindu, 10% Muslim, and all other religions make up the final 10%.  The Indian people are a very devoted people and religion plays a very important role in their lives and takes up much of their time and treasure.

 

The Chennai area is also a silk center, and we visited a silk shop and saw how the silk fabric is hand woven, but were not convinced that they had anything we couldn't live without, although the work was very beautiful.

Chennai, India

We finally arrived in Chennai about 15 hours late on Monday, January 6th.  We were met at the airport by a representative from Smita's company who introduced us to our driver, Dhana Shekhar, who will be with us for the rest of our trip in India.

Our first stop that afternoon was to visit an orphanage called Pathway Centres for Children, owned and run by an Indian member of the LDS church, Dr. Prasad, and his wife Chandra.  (See, Pathway.org.in\).  They have taken in over 50 children at the present, all of whom have physical or mental disabilities.  We were privileged to be able to visit with the children.  They were all so loving and genuinely happy to see us -- it really touched our hearts.  I understand more why the Savior said "Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid then not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  The children are being taught to read and write as well as life skills they will need to survive.  They have their own bakery run by the older children for their own use, and they produce beautiful crafts that are sold to help support the program. We learned about Pathway from an interview done with Dr. Prasad on the Internet's Mormon Channel Faith In Action series.  In addition to the children that live in the Chennai facility, each evening they open up the facility to about 200 children living in the slums nearby to help them with their homework since their parents are likely illiterate and unable to help.  They also supply free medical and dental help not only to the children living there, but to the poor in the surrounding area.  In addition to the Chennai facility, they have a farm in Agili, outside of Chennai, where a number of other children live and raise food used on the farm and in the facility in Chennai.  Over the years, Dr. Prasad and his wife have helped over 22,000 children through Pathway.  Truly, these people exemplify the Savior's love.

Delhi, India

We arrived in Delhi, India on January 3rd, after leaving Salt Lake City on New Year's Day.  We were met at the airport by our friend, Smita Bhargava, who owns a travel agency in Delhi (Diverse Destination Travel), and her husband, Amit.  Smita was the one who set up this tour of southern India for us.  We stayed in a very beautiful 5 star hotel, the Gurgaon Trident (tall picture).  We're becoming very spoiled.

Smita and her husband acted as our hosts and took us to see places in Delhi that we really didn't see on our first trip here.  Among the things we saw were the Bahai Lotus Temple (see picture).  We also visited a number of very elaborate mausoleums for Mughal emperors.  We also saw the India Gate, the parliament building, the major government offices known as the North Block and South Block, and the Prime Minister's residence, which is the largest home for a head of state in the world.

Smita and Amit went out of their way to make us feel welcome and to take care of us.  And when things fell apart at the airport (see previous post), Smita went way beyond the call of duty to help us get things straitened out and arranged an extra night at the hotel until we could fly out the following day.  Thank you Smita and Amit!!

The O N L Y Way to Fly

When we booked our air travel, we used Delta miles for the flight from Salt Lake City to Paris, and then from Paris to New Delhi.  Because we booked to fly out on January 1st, our reservation was upgraded to business class the whole way there.  (Coming back from Paris, we will be in the cheap seats.)

We have done 15 hour flights in the cheap seats a couple of times before, and frankly, it's no fun.  Business class is another matter.  Seats that fully recline, great service, nice meals with real silverware and white linen napkins, blankets, pillows, entertainment -- what more could you wish for?  How about entrance to the Delta Sky Club and in Paris, the Air France VIP Lounge?  Food, drink and reading material all at no cost and comfortable chairs to relax in while you wait.  As nice as the Delta Sky Miles Club was, it didn't even hold a candle to the Air France Lounge.  We have been thoroughly spoiled.

However, on our next flight from Delhi to Chennai, India, we were brought, figuratively, back to the ground. Our flight was scheduled for about 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night.  After sitting around in the airport (NOT in the VIP lounge) for about 2 1/2 hours, the entire airport was being closed to to dense fog.  That affected between about 2 to 3 thousand people.  There was no general announcement over the intercom, just a girl that didn't seem to know exactly what was going on saying the flight had been cancelled, with no additional information or instructions.

Eventually we were ushered down a single set of stairs to have our boarding passes stamped "Cancelled". After major confusion, we eventually figured out that we needed to collect our checked baggage.  After even further confusion we learned we had to exit the airport, go to the departure area outside and line up for the opportunity to go into the airline ticket office and re-book.  There were only three agents to handle the thousands that needed help.  We were there trying to re-book until 1:30 a.m. and the line stretched about a block long waiting for service when we left.

To get out the next day, we had to cancel our tickets and buy tickets on another airline and a steeply increased rate.  When we got to the airport the next day, our next surprise was a hefty charge for excess baggage that we wouldn't have had to pay if we could have stayed on the original airline.

So, if you ask me, business class wins!!

Getting There

Our trip began with a flight from Salt Lake City to Paris, and after an overnight on to New Delhi -- arriving on Friday, January 3rd after 11:00 p.m. local time.

The Charles De Gaulle International Airport is not among the best designed or run airports in the world.
L O N G walks from the gates to immigration and then again to baggage claim.  Customs consisted of funneling everyone through one exit where there were a couple of inspectors who would occasionally stop someone to examine their bags.  There was not even a customs declaration form to file.

We booked a hotel near the airport called B&B Hotel.  Apparently there are a lot of these hotels throughout France and beginning to expand into surrounding areas.  They are different than any hotel I have ever stayed in.  They are all new and in good condition, but I've see postage stamps larger than the rooms.  They are not Bed and Breakfasts as we have in the U.S.  The accommodations are spartan at best.  No extra pillows are even available, no soap or shampoo in the bathrooms, and only two thin towels.  You can get a razor or other personal items if you need them -- from a vending machine in the hall.  The hotel is apparently designed only for quick overnight stays and maybe just one step up from a rural hostel.  There are a lot of other guests, so they appear to be popular.  If all you want is a clean bed and a good shower, this is the place.

After a short afternoon nap, we went out on foot to explore (and try to find something for dinner).  Except for hotel restaurants, none of the restaurants are even open until after 6 p.m., some not opening until after 7 p.m.  The French eat dinner late.  We ended up buying a baguette, some cheese and clementines at the local tiny grocery for our meal.

The hotel is located in a "village" called Roissy-en-France.  The village is very quaint and very old. There is a church dating to 1570.  This is something we were not expecting -- especially this close to the airport and to Paris.  We did not go into Paris itself -- that we are saving for the end of this trip.