The scattered buses on the long stretch of road was the final moments witnessed in Bangalore. It was almost midnight and I hauled 2 pieces of luggage into the sleeper bus to my next destination, Chennai, a city in Tamilnadu. It wasn’t a surprise that we don’t have enough room to fully stretch my legs in the “sleeping compartments” of the bus. That was the last thing I remembered before waking up a few hours later. Being able to sleep comfortably on a bumpy ride was a real surprise to me.
Day Six
We took an auto to the apartment that Vyaas was living in. The area he was living in was only reserved for the ‘Brahmin’ caste, so I became an illegal squatter for a few hours. After a short nap, I washed up & we ordered Appam for breakfast, accompanied by home made tea served in a mud cup. It had been over 2 years since I ate Appam, and I cherished every single bite while seated on the floor.
I took an Uber to the serviced apartment which wasn’t far from our location. The staff treated me with a great deal of kindness & made sure my needs were being met. The room was pretty decent & spacious, with plenty of space in the cabinet.
After getting some rest, I went to the nearest Subway to have lunch, as I wanted a short break from Indian food. I left the apartment in the middle of a heavy downpour. I had my umbrella which kept everything except my feet and ankles dry. There was flash floods on the side of the roads which were inevitable. I witnessed two middle-aged women in their sarees on the opposite side of the road, casually removing their footwear and lifting the bottom part of the skirt to walk into a large puddle of water. It was definitely a priceless moment.
The Black Panther movie was released a few days back, so I seized the opportunity to experience watching a cinema overseas. The 3 of us went to the cinema. I broke another rule by being on a scooter without a helmet on(Don’t tell ANYONE). Halfway through the movie, the screened went blank and the lights went on. I felt confused to see people leaving the hall. Both of them had a good laugh witnessing my disoriented look before telling me that it was customary to have an intermission(a short break in between movies)
As we headed back, I felt astounded when I saw a Malaysian restaurant franchise at the main road near the apartment. I still had another night there, so we made plans to have dinner over there tomorrow. It turns out that the Malaysian Embassy building was a few streets from the apartment.
Day Seven
Vyaas headed out the next morning to work after having a decent breakfast provided by the accommodation. Kannan came by to the apartment shortly afterwards. There was a museum which I was really looking forward to visit in Chennai. It was named after S Ramanujan, a famous mathematician from India who didn’t have formal training in mathematics. Being a math tutor, I am deeply intrigued by his abilities. As I took out my phone to check the opening hours of the museum, my hopes shattered after finding out that the museum was closed till further noticed. Life doesn’t according to plan, so we headed out to Marina Beach just before noon.
After a pleasant stroll at the beach, we came across a coconut stall. The lady selling the coconuts was pleasant & warm, unlike the coconut water she handed to us. I reflected on a few things.
- She showed up almost everyday to make a living selling coconuts.
- She has little, but gives others priceless joy.
- If she ever tasted Starbucks in her life.
We had lunch at Nair Mess, as recommended by my uncle who is a frequent visitor to Chennai. Meals were served on a banana leaf & it was really tasty. After I was done eating, I noticed something peculiar. There were more waiters than customers in the restaurant. Kannan brought me to a historical shrine afterwards. The walls were carved with the writings from one of the famous poets.
Vyaas invited one of his colleagues, Robin to join us for dinner. It didn’t take much for us to be comfortable with one another, & I will never forget him requesting me politely to sing a native song in Singapore. It took me a while to figure out a song that I know by heart. I sang the classic song called ‘Di Tanjong Katong’ but it was something I would never do again after seeing the reactions on their faces.
‘Nasi Kandar Pelita’ is the name of the Malaysian restaurant located less than a mile from us. When we entered it, I felt like I was back in Malaysia. The interior layout of the restaurant imitates the outlets back home closely. It was my turn to take on the responsibility of hosting my buddies. I explained to them the various dishes from the menu. Moments later, the waiter approached our table to provide assistance. I was amazed by his exceptional grasp of the Malay language. He mentioned that he picked up the language from the interactions of customers coming to the restaurant over the years. We had a wide array of delicacies which includes Satay, Fried rice & Milo Dinosaur. It was another wholesome moment to see the joy in everyone faces after the meal.
With our full stomachs, we embarked on an intellectual conversation. As a tutor, my earnings for a few hours is sufficient to cover 2 days at a 4 star accommodation. I was told by my buddies that it would take more than a week for a typical auto driver to spend a night at the apartment. It was a liberating moment & a reminder to be thankful for the circumstances that led me to where I am. I mentioned about the price of Starbucks & Robin was surprised as he had no idea that a cup of coffee could be that costly. To give a comparison, a cup of local coffee sold on the streets costs about 20 rupees. It cost 400 rupees in Starbucks, which is comparable to Starbucks outlet all over the globe. It is unimaginable to spend 20x more on a cup of coffee. However, In Singapore, a cup of coffee from Starbucks costs 5x more than local coffee.
Day Eight
The next morning, I was awakened by the doorbell. It was Vyaas & moments later, I was shocked to see a head popped beside him. It was Thanya. She took a midnight bus from Bangalore to join the party before my departure back home.
After some storytelling, we went down to breakfast for the last time. It was a quick meal as we had to make space for the other guests. We informed the staff to send coffee & tea to our room. It took 2 phonecalls to remind them about it. Since I was a tourist, Vyaas insisted them to send it immediately to avoid making me(the tourist) unhappy. A few moments later, it arrived. The man who looked slightly older than me, apologised profusely & bowed his head. I felt really bad and told him not to worry about it. Yet another indicator of tourist privilege here in India.
Kannan arrived shortly & handed me a stack of local newspapers. We failed to find them yesterday. I couldn’t thank him enough for going the extra mile to get it. We hanged out in the apartment for an hour before deciding on lunch.
Subsequently, we alighted from the taxi & entered an exquisite Kerala Restaurant. There was plenty of dishes in the menu. For the record, it was the biggest feast I had in the trip. We were the last group of customers for the afternoon & the restaurant will close its doors after we left.
There were a few more items to be bought, in other words, last minute shopping. I was filled to the brim & felt slightly queasy. We headed to Kannan’s apartment & he dashed out as fast as he could to throw up. Since I had a stomach upset due to overeating, I rested in the apartment with Kannan while the others went shopping on my behalf.
I took a nap & woke up 2 hours later. Feeling much better, we headed out to buy the last item on my list, the mud cups. Night was approaching fast. We went to a few shops but we couldn’t find any. We gave up the search and took an auto back to the hotel.
Life is full of surprises. Better still, receiving multiple surprises within an hour is unimaginable.
Surprise #1: As I opened the door, I witnessed a marvellous sight. My luggage bags were wide opened & both of them were busy packing. I joined in the adventure. Shortly afterwards, we successfully squeezed everything into the bags.
Surprise #2: I was told that Robin is meeting us at the train station to send me to the airport. He suggested that the train could get us to the airport quick, indeed it was. He even took my luggage and hauled it to the airport
Surprise # 3: While we were packing, Kannan headed out on the final mission to obtain the mud cups. He planned to meet us at the station directly. We were stuck in bad traffic on the Uber ride to the train station. I was seated at the front. Out of a sudden, he entered our vehicle & handed me 2 mud cups wrapped in newspaper. He spotted our vehicle thanks to my distinct facial features. That isn’t the end of the story. While he was on his mission, his scooter broke down & he ditched it on the side of a road before making a run to the shop.
It was peak hour, so the trains were slightly crowded. It didn’t take long for us to arrive at the airport. We had some time to spare, and we had 1 final cup of hot coffee before bidding them farewell.
Upon getting seated on the plane, I finally had the time to reflect on all the kind gestures from my buddies. A slight grin accompanied my face while I entered a state of tranquility. If my trip was an exam, they would have obtain a perfect score for their hospitality.
Dear buddies, if you’re reading this, I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude & till we meet again :’)
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