Chennai

The group left Chennai at 8:30pm and flew almost 4 hours to Chennai, India, arriving at around 10:30pm local time. This time there was no bomb scare or anything else to delay our flight.

Chennai is a city of approximately 7 million people. That was very evident at the airport. Even though it was relatively late when we arrived, there were many people waiting outside to meet those arriving from various destinations. Also, the traffic at that hour reminded me of San Antonio at rush hour. I am told the traffic gets MUCH worse during the day.

Driving to the Asiana Hotel provided a glimpe into life in Chennai. As a driver, you drive on the left side of the road. Opposite traffic is on the right. But to quote "Pirates of the Carribbean", this is "only a guideline". There were a few times when drivers going in the opposite direction were on our side of the road because it was easier to get around traffic on their side of the road.

There is constant honking of horns. What I realized is that the honking is not done because you are annoyed with the other driver; rather you honk to let the other driver know you are next to him or very close to him. There are painted dashed lines on the road to delineate lanes similar to what you would find in the United States. However, staying in your lane is "only a guideline" at best. Cars, buses, motorcycles, and bicycles all share the road and are constantly going around each other. At stop lights, motorcycles and bicycles go in between cars to get as close as possible to the front of the traffic.

Riding motorcycles is very interesting also. Motorcycles are one of the primary means of transportation in Chennai...and they are everywhere. It is not unusual to see more than one person on a motorcycle. In fact, I saw several motorcycles with up to four persons on them. Ladies tend to sit side-saddle because they are usually wearing their long flowing silk saris. How those saris don't get caught in the spinning wheels is a mystery to me. Some of the motorcycles did not have rear lights so it was not uncommon for the driver of my vehicle to see a motorcycle at the last minute, honk his horn several times, and quickly maneuver to speed around the motorcycle.

Besides the vehicles on the roads, there are also many pedestrians. There are few sidewalks so people walk in the lane closest to the side of the road. As a car approaches, the driver will honk because he wants to get by, and the pedestrians usually move out of the way.

I did see a few cows and ox in the road. They do not move no matter how much the driver honks. So the driver must honk to let those drivers close to or beside him know that he is going into their lane to get around the animals. Needless to say, the traffic in Chennai does not always move very fast.

These are some of my observations as I rode to the hotel at night. I look forward to what I can see in the daytime.