Trip to Chennai!

[raj_5004]

For those who have read my FSAE thread, they may know that i recently visited chennai for the event. though i dint get time to click enough pics, i would like to share my view on the city.

First of all, flight from mumbai to chennai airport takes 1.5 hours. the chennai airport is pretty decent but sorry to say, the bathrooms at the airport are dirty & unhygienic.

i took a airport taxi to T Nagar where i was supposed to stay. the taxi was a prepaid one & was an ambassador. infact all taxis at the airport were ambys. it was a decently maintained one. i dint see much traffic jams in chennai.

contrary to what i have heard, i found chennai to be much cleaner than mumbai. one of the reasons for this could be that the places where i stayed & roamed was considered as one of the biggest town in chennai.

our event was taking place in anna university which is like around 15 mins in bus. bus service in chennai is good & they have varieties of buses plying on the roads from simple ones to ones with pneumatic closing doors to volvos. the ticket rate varies of course.

anna university was just fabulous. the campus was huge & clean but unlike I.I.T. mumbai, they dint have a bus service inside the campus. we had to walk throughout the day which would tire us.

the worst part about chennai is their autorickshaws. they do have meters but they do not run. you have to bargain about the fare before you enter the rick which is irritating. however ricks were in good condition & clean.

food in chennai is not something i liked. you dont get good north indian dishes anywhere. yes, their traditional preparations were awesome & coffee is something i loved drinking there.

language was not much of a problem there. again contrary to what i have heard, people in chennai do not hate hindi that much. infact when i used to talk in my half malayalam-half tamil accent, they used to go clueless! but they used to reply in hindi! conversations would be in hindi after that!

weather in chennai was great this time. it was very pleasant & it even rained on the last day.

attaching some pics-

you will find many temples in south india-


traffic sense is just about okay. auto drivers will drive at 30 kmph in the right lane only-


buses in chennai-


rickshaws-


there are some articulated buses too-


some roads are good & wide-


meters never work-


a tank placed near an entrance, i could not see what it was-

 

[cooldhaya]

Great to know that you have visited Chennai!! Met any TAI members here??

First of all, flight from mumbai to chennai airport takes 1.5 hours. the chennai airport is pretty decent but sorry to say, the bathrooms at the airport are dirty & unhygienic.

Yeah accepted bro , I recently visited Mumbai and the airport there you have is much better!!

i took a airport taxi to T Nagar where i was supposed to stay. the taxi was a prepaid one & was an ambassador. infact all taxis at the airport were ambys. it was a decently maintained one. i dint see much traffic jams in chennai.

Yeah most of the call-taxi around the airports are only Amby's!! If you take a call-taxi then you will get an Indica or an Omni only!! No logan's here!!

contrary to what i have heard, i found chennai to be much cleaner than mumbai. one of the reasons for this could be that the places where i stayed & roamed was considered as one of the biggest town in chennai.

Yeah even i felt the same after reaching Mumbai!! Chennai seems to be cleaner than Mumbai!! But believe me there are worse places in Chennai also!!! And yeah T-Nagar is one of the biggest and the most commercial town in Chennai , and the most crowded too!! I think you would have not got caught in the peak traffic of T-nagar after 6 in the eve!!

our event was taking place in anna university which is like around 15 mins in bus. bus service in chennai is good & they have varieties of buses plying on the roads from simple ones to ones with pneumatic closing doors to volvos. the ticket rate varies of course.

Yeah the Buses are maintained in good condition here and the frequency of the of the buses is also high here!!

anna university was just fabulous. the campus was huge & clean but unlike I.I.T. mumbai, they dint have a bus service inside the campus. we had to walk throughout the day which would tire us.

Yeah there is no bus service in Anna-University and we have to walk all along the 64 acres!! But we do have bus service in I.I.T-Madras!!

the worst part about chennai is their autorickshaws. they do have meters but they do not run. you have to bargain about the fare before you enter the rick which is irritating. however ricks were in good condition & clean.

100% true!! when i visited Mumbai the all auto-rickshaws used meters!! Here nobody uses it!! And even if they use the Meter they take you to the place in the longest possible way and grab extra money for us!! Auto-Rickshaws can be a nightmare in Chennai for tourists like you!! A strict NO for Tourists to use Auto-Rickshaws in Chennai , use call-taxi's instead!!

food in chennai is not something i liked. you dont get good north indian dishes anywhere. yes, their traditional preparations were awesome & coffee is something i loved drinking there.

You do get north indian dishes but not at all places!! Give me a call next time you come here will take you to places where North Indian dishes are served best!! And Raj don you feel food here in Chennai is cheaper than Mumbai??

language was not much of a problem there. again contrary to what i have heard, people in chennai do not hate hindi that much. infact when i used to talk in my half malayalam-half tamil accent, they used to go clueless! but they used to reply in hindi! conversations would be in hindi after that!

Who said people here hate hindi speaking people?? Nothing like that!! People here are polite enough and there is no ego between people speaking different languages!!

weather in chennai was great this time. it was very pleasant & it even rained on the last day.

Your luck Bro weather has been great for the past few days here in chennai!! Rain because cyclone has been formed in Bay of Bengal!!

1st pic was clicked in madhya kailash near I.I.T madras on the way to Anna university right?? We have many temples here!!

2nd Pic: yeah auto-drivers lack driving sense here!! They will always drive in the right lane only and not follow most of the traffic rules!!

The last Pic is the Army Training Academy in Chennai!!

 

[Neil.Bhujbal]

Cool. So you even enjoyed the city

Its really fun to interact when the people don't know the language.

Hey and how was the car taken ?

 

[RSM]

Yes chennai some places are very clean, but there are some bad areas.

food in chennai is not something i liked. you dont get good north indian dishes anywhere. yes, their traditional preparations were awesome & coffee is something i loved drinking there.

You should have tried road side parota shops. If they are hot, its nice to eat.

 

[raj_5004]

Great to know that you have visited Chennai!! Met any TAI members here??

no buddy, dint meet anyone this time.

You do get north indian dishes but not at all places!! Give me a call next time you come here will take you to places where North Indian dishes are served best!! And Raj don you feel food here in Chennai is cheaper than Mumbai??

if you are talking about rotis & dishes in a small hotel, chennai is much more expensive than mumbai.
for example, a roti costs 28 Rs. (!!!) whereas in mumbai it will cost Rs. 6 in similar hotel. also, in mumbai, we get tandoori rotis whereas in chennai, we get chapatis (which resembles papad!) in the name of rotis!
similarly, paneer masala costs 65 Rs. & in mumbai it will cost around Rs. 35 in a similar hotel.

i think "meals" (veg. thali) served in the afternoon in hotels in cheap but they serve only rice & no rotis.

Who said people here hate hindi speaking people?? Nothing like that!! People here are polite enough and there is no ego between people speaking different languages!!

i heard from many but found it to be untrue.

Cool. So you even enjoyed the city

Its really fun to interact when the people don't know the language.

Hey and how was the car taken ?

yes, the city is nice.

the car was taken in a truck.

Yes chennai some places are very clean, but there are some bad areas.

You should have tried road side parota shops. If they are hot, its nice to eat.

i had thought of having parotas in a road side shop but then the next day i had to attend the event & i could not take the risk of falling ill!

@ cooldhaya & zinam: sorry buddies, i could not meet you this time.

 

[Crazy cat]

Its good to hear that you liked Chennai.

The variety of buses you find in Chennai is an indirect way to increase the bus fares. Slowly they removed most of the ordinary buses, that had ordinary fares. That's why you saw variety of buses in different colors.

And auto rickshaws in Chennai are daylight robbery. Meters don't work, so should not hesitate to negotiate with a fare that is much less than what the driver is asking.

Its good you didn't take any food at road side shops, they are unhealthy. I never saw a place like Chennai in Tamilnadu in this. But i should admit, they taste good.

 

[cooldhaya]

No problem buddy , we will meet sometime for sure!! My dad travels to Mumbai sometimes for some meetings maybe we can meet that time!! Not only you but all other Mumbai Indians also!!

 

[Zinam]

Come On Raj!

I just go via Anna Univ Everyday!

Some way or the other you should have given me a buzz :(

Great to hear that you loved chennai!

OF course we all love too :)