Memorial Day Weekend in India
I've now experienced my first weekend in Chennai and have had the chance to even do some sight-seeing. The first stop was Mahabalipuram, which had some very beautiful stone temples. In the picture I've uploaded, the temple you see there was carved out of a single stone. It was very impressive. There were several temples like that; they were very interesting to see and well worth the price. However, as you can see from the entrance sign I managed to take a shot of, some of us had to pay more than "others". I have a feeling that would not fly in the U.S.
The second destination was Auroville, which is essentially
a place for hippies to smoke pot find themselves. It was interesting to look at, and there was an enormous gold ball at the end, though it was probably not worth the walk, which left me disgustingly sweaty (see right).
Finally we found ourselves in Puducherry, about two and a half hours away
from Chennai. The city was originally inhabited by the French so the architecture of the buildings was a bit different. I've been told that the biggest difference, however, is that alcohol is extremely cheap there. In fact our car was searched twice by Puducherry P.D. on our way out of town. Apparently they would require "a kind of fine" if they found alcohol on us. There was a summer festival going on while we were there and I took a video clip of the nightlife as we passed out of town that you can see here. It's nothing ground-breakingly strange but it's interesting to see the differences between our cities and theirs.
In addition to seeing the differences between the culture here and the culture at home, it's also interesting to see the similarities. See, we got the same stuff here as they got there,
but it's the little differences. Example? They have light switches, but they flip the opposite direction. They have oncoming traffic, but they drive into it. Oh yes, and they have silverware, but they don't use it. Thus the picture of me eating with my hands. As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. It is every 6 year old's. You wouldn't understand why they call it a "wash room" until you've sat down to a meal with them.
This about covers my exciting Memorial Day weekend, I hope yours has been as eventful. I took some other interesting photos and videos, including a tour of our new office, so I'll post those in the next few days.
Comments
It's not the different prices on the entrance sign that disturb me so much as the phrase "fee entrance for all persons blow"...
FYI-In Mexico the water is labeled, Agua Purificada. I think we know why.
Jodie
Yeah that sort of goes along with my coffee, which is labeled "Fresh & Honest".
Looking over your lunch picture in detail, I find it interesting bottled water is marketed in dramatically different ways.
In the USA, bottled water is "refreshing," and "thirst quenching." In India, the label clearly announces the water is "Hygienic" -- we're just not in Kansas anymore, Toto.