Last Sunday I decided to head back to Thiruvalangadu, but this time to see my friends Shanthi and Devi.
I left about 9am to head to Chennai Central train station to catch the train to Thiruvallur. I love riding the trains here in India; it feels pleasant to stand by the big open doors and hang out to catch the breeze and get some great views of the rural areas and towns against the backdrop of natural scenery. And when I tire of standing, I can just sit and dangle my legs; as long as the trains are not crammed full of people - which often they are! It can be quite dangerous to hang out too far though, as your head may get swiftly removed by an oncoming post or other obstacle - it makes quite the game of chicken sometimes!
So after about an hour and half train journey, I arrive in Thiruvallur to be swamped by auto drivers. I swear these guys can smell a foreigner from a mile off. Of course I took one as I didn't want to miss the bus and, of course, I got overcharged. Oh how they must rub their hands with glee when a foreigner jumps in their vehicle.
I did not have to wait at the bus stand too long before the 105c bus came. And let me tell you now: Buses are a nightmare here compared to England; they arrive and depart at whatever time, so sometimes you may only have to wait 5 minutes and other times you could be waiting over an hour. Oh, and they're often crammed too so one needs to push and shove to get a seat a lot of the times. So next time your bus is a few minutes late, consider the poor folks here in India and be grateful.
Fortunately, the 105c was not initially packed so I got a seat. I always enjoyed the 40 minute (only 11 rupees too!) bus journey to Thiruvalangadu when I worked at the YRC there last year and it felt nostalgic to take the same route again. It was good to see that the roads have improved a lot now too! Although it hasn't deterred drivers from driving erratically; the traffic is still as chaotic as ever and probably always will be unless they finally bother to enforce the road laws - although I am unsure whether there are any!
Anyway, once I arrived at Thiruvalangadu, I headed to the new location of the YRC (A lot more space and better than the old one. It's on the roof of where the ICS volunteers now live.) where Shanthi and Devi waited for me. One of my national volunteers (who was only with us for a week), Dani, was there too. It was great to see him and the girls! Dani left after a short time and I hung out with the girls for the duration of the day. We chatted, played my ukulele, had some Biriyani and took photos. It was a pleasant day and I was glad to see and spend time with them again.
There was market going on there too, so once we said our goodbyes I decided to check it out before heading to the train station.
I got a lift on a tuk tuk which already had about 10 people in it (Technically only enough for for 4 people to seat) so I had a comfortable journey to the station, practiclly clinging on to the damn vehicle! All part of the Indian experience! Once I got to Thiruvalangadu station, I got invited in to the railway police station and had some coffee with the officers and played them a song on my uke. The miserable bastards in England wouldn't do that! You'll be lucky to even get a smile from them.
That was my day pretty much. So now I just want to mention stray dogs as they're fucking everywhere in India. For the most part, they don't seem to be bothered by my appearence. In the city anyway. During the day. But in rural villages, late at night and early morning, they get all aggro on me. They're not bothered by the Indian people, but when they get a whiff of 'ol whitey here, they go fucking mental. They don't go for me but they all soon bark, growl and sometimes follow me. They're blatantly racist.
I left about 9am to head to Chennai Central train station to catch the train to Thiruvallur. I love riding the trains here in India; it feels pleasant to stand by the big open doors and hang out to catch the breeze and get some great views of the rural areas and towns against the backdrop of natural scenery. And when I tire of standing, I can just sit and dangle my legs; as long as the trains are not crammed full of people - which often they are! It can be quite dangerous to hang out too far though, as your head may get swiftly removed by an oncoming post or other obstacle - it makes quite the game of chicken sometimes!
So after about an hour and half train journey, I arrive in Thiruvallur to be swamped by auto drivers. I swear these guys can smell a foreigner from a mile off. Of course I took one as I didn't want to miss the bus and, of course, I got overcharged. Oh how they must rub their hands with glee when a foreigner jumps in their vehicle.
I did not have to wait at the bus stand too long before the 105c bus came. And let me tell you now: Buses are a nightmare here compared to England; they arrive and depart at whatever time, so sometimes you may only have to wait 5 minutes and other times you could be waiting over an hour. Oh, and they're often crammed too so one needs to push and shove to get a seat a lot of the times. So next time your bus is a few minutes late, consider the poor folks here in India and be grateful.
Fortunately, the 105c was not initially packed so I got a seat. I always enjoyed the 40 minute (only 11 rupees too!) bus journey to Thiruvalangadu when I worked at the YRC there last year and it felt nostalgic to take the same route again. It was good to see that the roads have improved a lot now too! Although it hasn't deterred drivers from driving erratically; the traffic is still as chaotic as ever and probably always will be unless they finally bother to enforce the road laws - although I am unsure whether there are any!
Anyway, once I arrived at Thiruvalangadu, I headed to the new location of the YRC (A lot more space and better than the old one. It's on the roof of where the ICS volunteers now live.) where Shanthi and Devi waited for me. One of my national volunteers (who was only with us for a week), Dani, was there too. It was great to see him and the girls! Dani left after a short time and I hung out with the girls for the duration of the day. We chatted, played my ukulele, had some Biriyani and took photos. It was a pleasant day and I was glad to see and spend time with them again.
There was market going on there too, so once we said our goodbyes I decided to check it out before heading to the train station.
I got a lift on a tuk tuk which already had about 10 people in it (Technically only enough for for 4 people to seat) so I had a comfortable journey to the station, practiclly clinging on to the damn vehicle! All part of the Indian experience! Once I got to Thiruvalangadu station, I got invited in to the railway police station and had some coffee with the officers and played them a song on my uke. The miserable bastards in England wouldn't do that! You'll be lucky to even get a smile from them.
That was my day pretty much. So now I just want to mention stray dogs as they're fucking everywhere in India. For the most part, they don't seem to be bothered by my appearence. In the city anyway. During the day. But in rural villages, late at night and early morning, they get all aggro on me. They're not bothered by the Indian people, but when they get a whiff of 'ol whitey here, they go fucking mental. They don't go for me but they all soon bark, growl and sometimes follow me. They're blatantly racist.
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