Chennai, India, 2019

Trip

My first trip to Chennai took place in December, 2019. I flew Qatar Airways via Doha. There was hardly any time between the two flights so this time I did not have the chance to enjoy the facilities of the airport. The flight time to Doha was about four and a half hours and the one from Doha to Chennai was around 4 hours.

Chennai airport (MAA) welcomed me with its extreme security measures which should have hinted what I was to expect in India. Luggage reclaim took over an hour and a half and then passport control - another hour. On the way out of the airport all of the luggage you carry must be scanned. Scanning was so common throughout my stay that I very soon became conscious about the levels of radiation I took.

It is worth mentioning that on my way back I found out the hard way that once you enter the international departures terminal you will not be allowed to go out, due to security policies. Also, you must scan you luggage before proceeding to check in, and unfortunately the lines are quite huge and take a lot of time. Security is very, and I mean indeed very strict there. Laptop needs to be in a separate basket, and you also need to take out of your hand luggage things like wallet, phone, keys, belt etc. and place them in a different basket as well. Lighters are forbidden and subject to confiscation.

And, by the way, women go through a dedicated security line, separate from men.

The taxi to Mahindra city, some 50 kilometers away, took about 40 minutes. Traffic is hectic and the use of the horn is a must - whenever you are approaching another vehicle or pedestrian, whenever you are going through an intersection, whenever you are overtaking or being overtaken. This applies to all kinds of vehicles, including the famous motor rikshaws.

A very similar rule applies to the use of main beam. Typically drivers will be using it and only occasionally dip the lights for reasons that I never became aware of. Yet, this would only be a problem during the night.

Is it safe?

I honestly could not answer this question. For almost my entire stay I was confined to a gated campus, which was absolutely safe, despite some signs in the street advising not to loiter there at dark.

The only day that I spent around the Chennai area I was accompanied by several local colleagues and experienced no threat whatsoever, including when using the public transport.

Accommodation

I was staying at the Infosys campus in Mahindra city, an integrated business city some 50 kilometers from Chennai. Mahindra city hosts the campuses of some large companies, amongst which is Renault Nissan.

Infosys campus is a gated one, situated on a very large area. It is really an astonishing place with all proper conditions for work provided there. Accommodation is in spacious apartments which are clean and all modern facilities are available for an undisturbed working process. It offers a swimming pool, fitness, 3 food courts which seat thousands of people, a cricket field, convenience stores, a medical centre, libraries, book stores, banks, ATMs, bowling alleys, clothes shops etc. Thousands of bicycles are available and free for use to shorten the distances travelled. Umbrellas stands are available everywhere and you can pick one if it suddenly starts raining.

There is strict "No smoking, no alcohol" policy in place.

The food courts are up to the challenge of feeding thousands of people in the campus. They offer a wide choice of Indian food, the only exception was Dominos pizza. For those of you visiting India and unable to eat spicy food, please note that everything in India will be spicy when served. In Mexico, the other extremely "hot" destination, you typically do not get the food already spiced up, but add spicy sauces if you want to. In India you do not get to choose whether you want it spicy or not. You simply can not get something which is not spicy, even Dominos pizzas were very, very hot.

The prices of dishes were unexpectedly cheap - virtually any dish would cost less then 1 euro, even much less. Prices outside the campus, in the City of Chennai proved to be no different.

Once again, security is very strict. All luggage is scanned upon entry to the campus, external laptops are declared and listed. Upon reaching the residential block, luggage is scanned again. When you enter or exit the campus, there is body scan as well. For those who smoke, it means a lot of additional rays, as smoking is allowed only outside the campus.

Is water drinkable?

No. It is definitely not recommended to drink tap water. Bottled water is being sold everywhere and is not expensive at all.

Water dispensers were available at the campus as well. What I found strange was the lack of disposable cups. Metal cups were available instead, placed on top of the dispenser, and everyone was using those.

Weather

My visit was during the winter (December, January, February) and the temperatures were around 30 degrees Celsius during the day and dropped to no less than 25 at night. There were occasional rains, some of them quite heavy but not lasting long. Humidity is also very high.

The less clothing you have on you, the better. Those who do not need to consider any dressing codes will most probably walk barefoot.

Vaccines?

The following vaccines are recommended:

Hepatitis A, hepatitis B, typhoid, cholera, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, meningitis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis), chickenpox, shingles, pneumonia and influenza.

Cash or CC?

Credit card payments are widely accepted, yet there will be those places where you can only pay cash. Prices are indeed very cheap so you will not need much. ATMs are available in many places.

General Impressions

A country of extremes.

I appreciate the fact that my visit was a short one, that I was confined to a campus most of the time, and that I only saw a small part of the country, yet even the 12 hours spent outside the campus were enough to impress me so much.

The city of Chennai is the fourth largest city in India. The last available population count is from 2011 - over 7 million people. Situated on the East border of India, at the Bay of Bengal. The video below is from Graveside Beach.

The conditions in the whole Mahindra city were really good - everything was very well thought of, clean, tidy, all you need for a comfortable stay, even if it is for a long period of time. 

In contrast, many of the places I visited outside the campus, were extremely poor, and on occassions - drowning in trash. It is not uncommon to see cows and goats roaming in waste.

On the other hand there are the people and the cultural heritage. People are open and friendly, willing to show you the country. 

My colleagues, who inevitably became my friends, organized a trip for me to show me around. A guy asked his father to take us with his large car from the train station - he drove all day to make sure we made the most out of this day, which is an attitude that deserves admiration.

The trip by train from the campus took about an hour. We took it from Paranur and the price of the ticket was roughly 15 eurocents.

These famous Indian trains... It really was an experience! I noticed that buses and trains do not typically have doors (or they are stuck open), and people were hanging from the doors of the trains even if it was not crowded inside. The ceilings are packed with large fans, which are constantly in operation to provide ventilation, despite of the lack of doors and all windows being open.

We then went to a local restaurant for short breakfast to prepare us for the long day. It was a nice place, serving local food which, according to my local friends was great. I was able to taste the famous Idly, something like a rice pancake, which is probably the only dish that may come not spiced up.

We then headed to our final destination, the Mamallapuram group of monuments, and on the way we stopped at a beach to see the Bay of Bengal, part of the Indian Ocean. The weather did not permit swimming, though I was reassured sharks only preferred deep water.

Highways, by the way, still get cows and goats, so you need to be extra careful when driving.

Mamallapuram is an ancient city and the famous group of monuments carved out of rock there date back to the 7th - 8th century. I was told that, as the name suggested ([mamalei] - Big mountain) the whole area was a big mountain which was used to carve monuments and temples directly in the stones. Many of those monuments are single rock ones.

Trying to stick to the idea of this blog - no sightseeing suggestions, strictly business trips advice, and lacking the knowledge of the local Indian history, I will not go into very much details about the monuments there. Yet, this is difficult to hide how deeply impressed I was at the time I saw them - nothing short than amazing and unbelievable!

There was the price differentiation for locals and foreigners. My Indian friends were charged 40 INR for their tickets and I was charged 600 INR as a foreigner (which is still very cheap - around 7.5 EUR and it is for all monuments).

In this last picture above, apart from the great view to the bay, you can see a giant rock with some rectangles cut into it. I noticed the same technique being used across many unfinished pieces of artwork there - for me, it was how the craftsmen used to divide an area that needs to be dug into the rock into smaller pieces, easier to just smash out later.

Electrical plugs

Type D:

This type of socket is loosely compatible with the European Type C, yet there is a slight difference in the distance between the plugs and you need to be extra careful.

I hope the information in this article is useful to you and wish you a safe trip!