jumpy jumpy vitamins « India day #19

India day #19

One day left…

Tuesday, 13 February 2001

Up at 06:30 as we approached Chennai Central. Sat watching until we arrived at 07:30. Anto T*’s driver met me and we left in the autorickshaw. This time, though, I was a tad bored by the ride, thinking about how I’d get the rest of the gifts I’d need instead of my eternal destiny.

Arrived at the ’stead about 08:00 — dropped my stuff in Sanju’s room and took a nice shower. Water ran out partway, so I wound up sorta going Indian-style for the rest of it — filled the jug from the sink tap and rinsed off the soap. Breakfast — “Chocos”, a Western-style cold cereal (”with BeBig Shakti” and a “slurpy new taste”) with hot milk, eggs, rice-flour cakes, and a wonderfully spicy sauce. Wrote and checked mail and watched TV (Airplane! was on — Sanju thought it hilarious) on and off until lunch (rice, chicken, vegetables). Noticed a small split in the skin on my right index finger, which wound up hurting when the hot stuff got in there. Made plans to get the last of the India stuff at 17:00. Wrote; now FINALLY caught up.

<01:24 14/02/2001 Chennai Airport>
Wrote and watched TV until 18:30, when we took off for Spencer Plaza. I got:

carved wooden elephant (Bob)

carved wooden Buddha (Ed)

carved sandalwood elephant and howdah

cast bronze Shiva head (my desk)

T-shirt (Dan)

cardamom and turmeric ($CO-WORKER)

curry powder and saffron (Dad)

top-grade Darjeeling (self)

nice shirt, long sleeve, plaid (duh, me)

From there, to a gift/bookshop — Sanju had to get something for his GF for Valentine’s. I wound up getting another book like this (for the $LOCAL_CLUB) and the Seamus Heaney translation of Beowulf (to read at airports). All told, I spent about 3000 rupees; not bad… Back at the house, where I “persuaded” all the crap into the big green oppressor and puttered around until 21:30. Sanju, Thomas (his Kairali cousin), and I went to a decent veg A/C place for dinner (masala dosa and a weird onion pancake, with coffee). Back at the house as I finished packing, changed shirts, put on deodorant, and gave a few last goes in the lavvy. (Not a coprophiliac, I am not a coprophiliac…) By this time, it was 23:30. We loaded up the car and took off in classic Formula One fashion. hehe. 110 km/h through crowded Chennai streets… it’s something to be experienced. (Though it could have used a much better soundtrack — Sanju, you’re a great guy, but your taste in music leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. Please, repeat after me: Bryan Adams is not a god, Bryan Adams is not a god…) Arrived, parked. I demonstrated just how strapping I had become by donning my 25kg pack and leaping effortlessly from kerb to kerb. (dear God, they’re affecting my spelling.) Final goodbyes and e-mail addy exchange before I ventured into the semiknown world of Chennai International Departures.

That’s a pretty good stopping point; since I didn’t go to sleep that night, the diary just keeps. on. going. until it stops at O’Hare.

After dinner that night we stopped for lassi; as we were there getting it, though, there was a power outage. The lassi shop had a generator and only had a moment of darkness, but the rest of the neighborhood was pitch black.
I almost made the secondary title up there “with BeBig Shakti”. The FDA won out, though.
Dan, if you’re reading this: T-shirts are not always easy to find in foreign countries.
That curry powder was goooood stuff.
The saffron was extra-cheap, something like fifty cents an ounce.

Tomorrow: jeem considers good places to sleep at Heathrow and O’Hare as he makes his way home.