On a February visit to Bangalore, I had the opportunity to attend a wedding in Chennai, and I was very excited to do so. A friend and I boarded a sleeper bus late in the evening, that would take us the 7 hours to Chennai. The sleeper bus was amazing! We totally need those in the U.S. It was super comfy (each spot is a bed - mostly flat with one end a bit higher to serve as a pillow), and I slept for the whole journey. Upon arrival in Chennai we checked into a hotel, where we took showers and changed our clothes, and then it was on to the wedding.
We arrived at the wedding at about 7:30 a.m., just in time for breakfast. The wedding ceremony is quite long, and there are only certain parts that the audience partakes in, so while the ceremony was going on, the audience went and had breakfast in another room. We made it back in time to see the end of the ceremony and to throw rice at the newly married couple. This was a southern Indian wedding so it wasn't as grand as the northern weddings we see in the movies.
Following the wedding it was back to the hotel to change into more casual clothes, and then off for some sightseeing before it got too hot. First stop was Marina Beach. This is a large, famous beach, often seen in movies. This beach is very deep, meaning there is tons of sand, and a long walk down to the water. It was fun to play and cool off in the water along side the locals.
Next we visited the Guindy Children's Park. It is a zoo, with lots of animals in cages.
It was fun to see the animals, including some I had never seen before. The plan was to attend the Snake Park, which is right next to the Children's Park next, but it was about 1:00 when we finished our tour of the Children's Park, and very hot outside. Thus, we decided a little time in some air conditioning would be better and went back to the hotel. This was February and it was in the 90s. If you visit Chennai, be prepared for heat!
In the evening we walked around the hotel, did a little bit of shopping, and got dinner (dosa - yumm!). After dinner it was a quick trip back to the hotel to grab our stuff, and then to the bus stop we went. We took a sleeper bus back to Bangalore, and once again I slept the whole way!
We arrived at the wedding at about 7:30 a.m., just in time for breakfast. The wedding ceremony is quite long, and there are only certain parts that the audience partakes in, so while the ceremony was going on, the audience went and had breakfast in another room. We made it back in time to see the end of the ceremony and to throw rice at the newly married couple. This was a southern Indian wedding so it wasn't as grand as the northern weddings we see in the movies.
Following the wedding it was back to the hotel to change into more casual clothes, and then off for some sightseeing before it got too hot. First stop was Marina Beach. This is a large, famous beach, often seen in movies. This beach is very deep, meaning there is tons of sand, and a long walk down to the water. It was fun to play and cool off in the water along side the locals.
Next we visited the Guindy Children's Park. It is a zoo, with lots of animals in cages.
It was fun to see the animals, including some I had never seen before. The plan was to attend the Snake Park, which is right next to the Children's Park next, but it was about 1:00 when we finished our tour of the Children's Park, and very hot outside. Thus, we decided a little time in some air conditioning would be better and went back to the hotel. This was February and it was in the 90s. If you visit Chennai, be prepared for heat!
In the evening we walked around the hotel, did a little bit of shopping, and got dinner (dosa - yumm!). After dinner it was a quick trip back to the hotel to grab our stuff, and then to the bus stop we went. We took a sleeper bus back to Bangalore, and once again I slept the whole way!
