Chennai, India

The train ride was actually really relaxing ... got a bunch of reading in and Chris got a chance to sew his man purse. Chennai isn't that exciting, but we have mastered Indian buses ... unfortunately they pretty much lead to nowhere today because of the holiday Pongal (a Hindi harvest festival). The only thing we got to see of this holiday is the sand drawings that the province is known for. Other than that, we did get to see a TV show getting filmed at a studio...not quite PBS quality, but entertaining none the less.

We have been in Mama- llapuram for the past few days. We have been relaxing at our 1st beach town in India, but are ready to head on. This place is by far has the most tourists we've seen ...and not just foreigners. For the last day of Pongal, the beach exploded with Indian tourists. I mean crazy crowds! But things have settled down a bit in the last 2 days, which has been nice.

Chai. It is sold on every corner, on the train, at every restaurant ... everywhere you can think of. It is always served hot with milk and over abundance of sugar. Not how we ever drank tea in the States, but we've adjusted ...and loving it. Lily, it rivals your beloved Thai ice tea.