Chennai, India

I arrived in Chennai this morning and after haggling desperatly with autorickshaw drivers to agree on a fair price, I made my way to Broadland's Hotel, 'a backpacker favorite since 1951.' The crumbling walls of the French colonial era building give it plenty of old world charm and the multitude of courtyards filled with trees and a constant ocean breeze, enjoyed by cats and journal-writing travelers, makes it the perfect place to wait out the thick, sweaty afternoon heat. I spent the morning and early part of the afternoon walking around Chennai, which turned out to be another big, crazy, dirty, Indian city. This one however is right on the ocean, so at least it has location going for it. Hundreds if not thousands of people were down on the beach. Kids playing in the waves, teenagers flirting with eachother, and everyone trying to shake my hand. I so desperatly wanted to jump in the water and ride the waves on a piece of styrofoam like a few of the local kids, but figured that my passport, camera, and credit cards were worth more to me than a few minutes in the waves.

Tomorrow I'm heading south for Pondicherry and staying with Sebastian, a French guy who I met on couchsurfing. He's invited me to a BBQ with his friends tomorrow night and then to go diving on Sunday! I've never been diving before, so I may just stick to snorkeling or hanging out on the boat unless I can get a crash course in diving before hand. Either way, it sounds like fun!