Sunday, February 24, 2008

2/20/08 Railways Day

On this day, one of the many things I did was to go to the railway station..... This station is called Chennai Central..... You can either buy your tickets online or stand behind the screen..... As you can see, Deepak is showing me where to go........ This railway station for traveling within the country of India. Across the street there was another station for the local Chennai trains....... ALL ABOARD!


If you left your water at home, there were these troughs to fill up your water bottles...... If I were you, don't leave your water bottles at home!

If you want you can get someone to help you with your bags..... This is a scene is out of a movie. Notice the old guy in the background, the guys in the foreground are carrying his bags..... 



This huge building holds 2 huge waiting areas. This is where you wait for your train to arrive. Some people actually sit on the floors while they wait.


This guy is saying good by to his wife through the window and I'm pretending to go for  a ride.....

I also had the opportunity to board the engine to see all controls and how the engineers work the train..... It's not the kind of job you'd want. I'd rather be a pilot!


All the trains are electric. 

Before your travels, you can buy your Indian Sweets. They even make fast food Indian if your in a hurry.....


Here's the basic magazine stand and if you brought a bomb with you, they also have a bomb dept. to detect them....... WOW!

And of course, they have scales to check your weight and to give out predictions....... Sorry I can't tell you my prediction!

Play this movie to see how close you can come to missing you train!
Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Weekend 2/15cont.-2/19

Continuing on the 15th, Deepak took us to a hospital to check it out...... Man, total chaos! You see, when one family member goes to the hospital, the whole family usually comes too....... Which means, there's 3-4 times as many people there..... Anyway, we took the tour and I only got lost twice from the group..... But, at least we now have an understanding of how the hospital system  works.


Also on Friday, Deepak took us to the local movie Theater..... I didn't get any pictures here as it looked like any other huge modern theater....... One thing interesting though, they have a desert place right next to it, which is owned by the theater chain...... When you walk into this place, it's like it could be a desert shop on Melrose Ave...... Young, hip, and wild looking deserts, but tasty too........


Then to cap the evening off, Deepak took Karen and I home to meet his parents and wife (Meeto).... It was so much fun. We learned how an actual Indian family lives and worships...... Later, we sat down for some Indian snacks...... This was truly a high-lite to our exhausting day..... Really down to earth people. 
By the way, I've been invited to his cousin's wedding at the end of the month...... More to come on this.....

Then on Saturday 2/16 - we were off..... Going from one furniture show room to another looking for cheap furniture for our new (hopefully) apt...... We put this couch on hold. It cost Rs. 56,900 on sale........ Which equates to approx. $1,425. 

Wait a minute, it's not that cheap!

For a late lunch, we went to this great little south Indian Restaurant..... The name escapes me for the moment. It's located at the Park Sheraton Hotel, which is right around the block from the Boat Club area...... Again, this is the area where I'm trying to get the apt....

If you think the roads weren't hectic enough, try the local mall "Spencer's". It was so packed we lasted about 15 min. there...... And for Karen and shopping, that's unheard of......  We did find a neat antique furniture store which I'll go back and pick up some end tables later this week......


Sunday, February 17, 2008

Week of 2/11 - 2/15

This is another vegi. Rest. called - "Cream Center" not only does it have Indian food, but Mexican and Greek as well...... But I have to tell you, the Quesadilla and Pita w/Humus tasted good, but with Indian spice......




This is the welcoming committee at the airport..... I was waiting for Karen to arrive. Can you pick me out in the frame?



This was my Tuesday....... Spent at the Bureau of Immigration.. You see, I have 14 days from the time I arrive in India to register for a work visa..... The only real treat was Deepak picked me up in one of those Auto Rickshaws..... Boy, was that a fun ride......


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Then we went to Bazaar on the streets and a Singapore Shopping Center..... They have a little of everything CHEAP......... I would have posted more pictures, but to upload a picture to my blog takes about 5 min. per pic. (that's if it works)


Then Karen and I spend the rest of the week looking at places to live....... This was a beautiful house w/4 bedrooms a study and a backyard....... It was sooo cheap.... But the big problem, it was way out in the country and about 35 min. to work (w/traffic)...... I will try to post more pics later. Also, we think we found an apt. we really liked and we're waiting to see if we get it...... It's more expensive but it's in town and close to work......