Phew, I've finally arrived on the other side of the world. More than 32 hours passed between the time I closed the door of my home and the time I opened the door to my room in India. It makes me very funny to write that... India.
credit: newindianexpress.com
Transit in Dubai
For some, Dubai is impressive. Luxury hotels, avant-garde architecture, trendy boutiques, meh... I prefer natural wonders and local people. Dubai is not without it, except that an 8-hour transit doesn't really allow you to discover a city, especially when you know that you have to be at the airport at least 3 hours before the next flight. So, I lazed around, ate, took a shower and waited for the next flight.
credit: Shutterstock
So, after two transits and three planes in economy class, you know... where you feel like a sardine, and where some people smell like sardines,... I finally arrived.
credit: Shutterstock
On this first morning, India is the noise, the multitude of cars, tuk-tuks, and motorcycles honking their horns. It is also the multitude of visual information that assail us at every step. Everything is new, everything is different.
But above all, it's people who want to help us when they see us, phone in hand, looking for our way. Our first lunch, composed of delicious round bread with butter and chai, this delicious spiced tea. The welcome at the little local restaurant, this desire to get to know us, the smiles...
Tomorrow I have to meet a contact, Arjun. After I cast a line in the water, asking for help, this man very kindly offered to assist me with the purchase of my motorcycle.
Chennai in a few lines:
Located in southern India
4th largest city in India
population of 12 million
29,000 inhabitants per km2
recognized for its culture
Tamil is spoken there, one of the 22 official languages of India. A language whose writing, full of convolutions, is very pretty.
safest city in India
attracts 45 percent of health tourists visiting India
3rd largest expat population in India
the 2nd longest urban beach in the world, Marina beach is 13 km long
bathed by the Bay of Bengal.
was called Madras until 1996.
founded in 1639 by the British East India Company
welcomed the apostle Thomas, the one who needed to see to believe. He came to India, after the death of Christ, to evangelize, and died in Chennai
the third most visited city in India after Delhi and Mumbai
the site of Mahabalipuram, classified as a UNESCO world heritage site
driving on the left... I can't wait, or not, to see what it will be like when I get on my motorcycle.