First stop Chennai

Reunited with the tandem at Chennai airport 😍

 

Having spent weeks in the garage fine tuning the tandem Max then spent hours carefully packaging it up to minimise the risk of damage during the journey. 

Mindful of how challenging check-in was last year, we arrived at Heathrow airport bright and early with plenty of time to spare. Initially it was quite straightforward but soon Max was asked to accompany the officials for a more detailed security check on the bike. This involved undoing all of his meticulous packaging and, to his immense frustration, they refused to let him re-package it himself afterwards. This was going to come back and haunt us later on 😬

After a decent flight we arrived at Chennai airport in the early hours of the next morning. Anxious to know if the bike had survived the transfer at Dubai we quickly realised we hadn't packed my old iPhone which has the security tag needed to track the bike. So instead we had to wait patiently and simply hope for the best. Some time later while we were waiting at the lost luggage desk (where a fairly large "queue" had ominously formed) Max suddenly spotted a guy pushing the first bike box across the concourse. The second box quickly followed and we made our way through customs and  spotted our taxi driver almost immediately. Our first main task accomplished - we had all arrived safely and were on our way to the hotel feeling very pleased with ourselves 😄. I did fleetingly note that at 2am the outside tempersture was still 26 degrees 😳😳

We're not generally very good at adjusting to local time zones - a lack of discipline to fight the tiredness meant it took us a few days to recover. We spent the first couple of days exploring Chennai and enjoying the local cuisine. Early signs are that we're going to love the food here - the options are endless and our biggest challenge will be reigning in our appetites 🤣. We're feeling our way a little but so far we've eaten well - albeit we're finding there are rules about which food is available at what time and the menu isn't always correct either! It's all been absolutely delicious though - dosas, dhal and curries alike 😋 

We took a sightseeing tour with a guide named Kavin. He took us round the beautiful Hindu temple (Kapalesswar) and then the contrasting but equally stunning Saint Thomas Roman Catholic church (built over the tomb of Thomas the Apostle) which serves as a prominent reminder of Chennai's colonial heritage. The contrasting architecture of these two buildings was equally impressive and not something I had expected to see.

We walked along the beach, mainly occupied by the fisherman, and wandered round the adjacent market where the fresh catches of the day are sold. Everything certainly looked very fresh and tasty 😋 . As dusk approached we ended the tour with a visit to the lighthouse. We climbed to the top and were rewarded with the panoramic views of Marina beach and the entire city. Our tour guide announced that he had an exam the next day and it was his birthday too. We wished him luck and said we'd spare a thought as we navigated our way out of Chennai the next morning on the first leg of our trip 😀 

We'd originally planned to stay in Chennai for a few days - to acclimatise and explore. However the weather forecast wasn't looking good in the days ahead - there were warnings of a cyclone that could hit the coast - from Chennai down to Pondicherry - and predictions of up to 40cm of rain. The thought of cycling in that was enough to spur Max into action and he hatched a Plan B which meant adjusting our accomodation bookings for the next few days and setting off a couple of days ahead of schedule. We were sorry to cut short our stay in Chennai but sadly the weather forecast left us no choice 🥲

A culture clash between old and new 🤩

Another culture clash 😄

The Kapalesswar Temple 

Santhome Cathedral Basilica 

Such vivid colours everywhere 😍 

The fish market adjacent to Marina Beach 

What a delicious feast - the first of many 😋 

Really tasty dosas 

Exploring the vibrant streets of Chennai 

Deep in conversation with Kavin 🤣

A farewell photo with Kavin 

The panoramic view from Chennai lighthouse