We decided to stay in Chennai this weekend instead of traveling. We were thinking about going to Kochi, Kerala that has beautiful beaches and back waters but since it is monsoon season it is raining there. We decided it wasn’t worth going to be in the rain all weekend and the train tickets were hard to arrange for. So a relaxing weekend here in Chennai was a great alternative!
Friday June 21, 2013
We went to lab in the morning at the normal time and worked in the morning. Caroline and I were able to get our test proceeds finalized and typed up. I wasn’t really hungry when it was lunchtime so I stayed in the lab while Caroline and Tim went to lunch. I had an orange and crackers in my bag that I ate.
Around 4:30pm we decided to call it a day and headed home. We had plans to head to dinner and grab drinks around 7:30. We grabbed a rickshaw and headed to Besant Negar to do some shopping before dinner. I have wanted some linen crazy colorful pants since I have been here but we have not been very successful at finding any. Caroline found a cute dress though so it was not a wasted trip. Upon arriving back at the Ginger we showered real quick and met up with the boys.
We ate at the restaurant in the hotel because it is convenient and cheap and has decent food. After dinner we found a cab outside to take us the Q-Bar at the Hilton Hotel. He said he knew where it was and we agreed on a price so we were on our way. About ten minutes out he asked for the address again and looked confused. We then stopped and ask three different people if they knew where the Hilton Hotel was. Our driver did not know where he was going at all. We eventually arrived at the Hilton.
The Q-Bar is a roof top bar at the Hilton. The view of the city at night was beautiful from the bar. It was ladies night at the bar so Caroline and I not only got free drinks but we got to make our own drinks behind the bar! They had glasses, ice, vodka and a variety of juices and pop. Turns out I am not a very good bartender but it was still fun that we got to go behind the bar. We hung out and met a lot of different people. Towards the end of the night two girls came and introduced themselves to me. They were from Tennessee and Texas. It was nice to talk to other girls and hear about their travels here in India.
The girls then began asking where I was staying that night and if I knew of anywhere they could stay. It was just after midnight and their friend that they were supposed to stay with completely bailed on them and they had nowhere to go. I was not very helpful because there are not any cheep hostels near us that I know of. I jokingly was like ‘all I can offer is the floor of my room haha!’ They took me seriously! After calling their last option they were left with nothing but staying at the bar until close then the bus station until the first bus in the morning. After consulting Caroline (my roommate), we decided we would let them stay in our room. After waiting for a cab ride home we headed home after a fun night!
Saturday June 22, 2013
After our friends left at 7am for an early bus, Caroline and I decided to sleep in and set no alarm. It was so great! We debated getting up at ten to grab breakfast before it was over at 10:30 but sleep was better than food for us! When we finally got moving around 1pm, I wanted to go out and explore! Bob and I went to the Guindy National Park. We did not really know what we would find but knew the entrance was 100m from the main gate of IIT. So we grabbed a campus bus to the main gate and headed to the entrance. After mistaking a cancer institute as the entrance, we found the place. We went to the children’s park first which was actually a zoo. There were lots of different animals and exhibits. None of the animals were active or moving around so kind of boring just lying there. It was still fun to explore. There was a small castle tower with a slide in the middle. We relaxed there for a rest and it had some shade, which was a relief from the India sun. We then explored the Snake exhibit. There were lots of snakes but I really liked the turtles!
After our day of exploring we went to the movie on campus at the open-air theater. We grabbed dinner at Tiffany’s on campus before the movie. They of course only had my third choice of food. The moon was full and beautiful which was really pretty to see during the movie. It rained a little during the movie but the show must go on and the movie just kept playing and we just got a little wet.
Sunday June 23, 2013
Today we got up early and grabbed a bus to Mahabalipuram which is a city just south of Chennai. There were a handful of temples to see and other points of interest. I will just post some photos from the day!
Sculptures inside a temple. The man next to me is holding everything up for those around him. IF you touch his hand it is good luck, I will hopefully have good luck!
Another temple, this one had three entrances. One for the Generator, Operator, Destroyer.
We grabbed lunch at Moonrackers and I got Nutella Pancakes which turned out to be more of a crepe but still very good!
We then went to the other side of town. There were large sculptures of animals.
Just chilling with a temple in India.
Our last stop was the shore temple that was on the beach. We were able to go inside this one a little.
Friday June 21, 2013
We went to lab in the morning at the normal time and worked in the morning. Caroline and I were able to get our test proceeds finalized and typed up. I wasn’t really hungry when it was lunchtime so I stayed in the lab while Caroline and Tim went to lunch. I had an orange and crackers in my bag that I ate.
Around 4:30pm we decided to call it a day and headed home. We had plans to head to dinner and grab drinks around 7:30. We grabbed a rickshaw and headed to Besant Negar to do some shopping before dinner. I have wanted some linen crazy colorful pants since I have been here but we have not been very successful at finding any. Caroline found a cute dress though so it was not a wasted trip. Upon arriving back at the Ginger we showered real quick and met up with the boys.
We ate at the restaurant in the hotel because it is convenient and cheap and has decent food. After dinner we found a cab outside to take us the Q-Bar at the Hilton Hotel. He said he knew where it was and we agreed on a price so we were on our way. About ten minutes out he asked for the address again and looked confused. We then stopped and ask three different people if they knew where the Hilton Hotel was. Our driver did not know where he was going at all. We eventually arrived at the Hilton.
The Q-Bar is a roof top bar at the Hilton. The view of the city at night was beautiful from the bar. It was ladies night at the bar so Caroline and I not only got free drinks but we got to make our own drinks behind the bar! They had glasses, ice, vodka and a variety of juices and pop. Turns out I am not a very good bartender but it was still fun that we got to go behind the bar. We hung out and met a lot of different people. Towards the end of the night two girls came and introduced themselves to me. They were from Tennessee and Texas. It was nice to talk to other girls and hear about their travels here in India.
The girls then began asking where I was staying that night and if I knew of anywhere they could stay. It was just after midnight and their friend that they were supposed to stay with completely bailed on them and they had nowhere to go. I was not very helpful because there are not any cheep hostels near us that I know of. I jokingly was like ‘all I can offer is the floor of my room haha!’ They took me seriously! After calling their last option they were left with nothing but staying at the bar until close then the bus station until the first bus in the morning. After consulting Caroline (my roommate), we decided we would let them stay in our room. After waiting for a cab ride home we headed home after a fun night!
Saturday June 22, 2013
After our friends left at 7am for an early bus, Caroline and I decided to sleep in and set no alarm. It was so great! We debated getting up at ten to grab breakfast before it was over at 10:30 but sleep was better than food for us! When we finally got moving around 1pm, I wanted to go out and explore! Bob and I went to the Guindy National Park. We did not really know what we would find but knew the entrance was 100m from the main gate of IIT. So we grabbed a campus bus to the main gate and headed to the entrance. After mistaking a cancer institute as the entrance, we found the place. We went to the children’s park first which was actually a zoo. There were lots of different animals and exhibits. None of the animals were active or moving around so kind of boring just lying there. It was still fun to explore. There was a small castle tower with a slide in the middle. We relaxed there for a rest and it had some shade, which was a relief from the India sun. We then explored the Snake exhibit. There were lots of snakes but I really liked the turtles!
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| Guindy National Park |
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| At the top of the castle |
Sunday June 23, 2013
Today we got up early and grabbed a bus to Mahabalipuram which is a city just south of Chennai. There were a handful of temples to see and other points of interest. I will just post some photos from the day!
Sculptures inside a temple. The man next to me is holding everything up for those around him. IF you touch his hand it is good luck, I will hopefully have good luck!
It was a fun day of exploring. I have a small sunburn on my neck and a blister but all worth it. It was really fun because four guys from the lab went with us. So we were able to actually talk with them and hear about their lives in India and answer their questions about the US.Tomorrow I have training for the Instron machine, once we are trained we will be able to start our tests! I hope that you have had a good weekend where ever you spent it.
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