We spent our first night in our new hotel, Mamalla Hotel Inn. The room was bigger, had a tv, and hot water! Yeah! It was on the 3rd floor but without a great view, there was also a balcony which faced south, so it was very hot out there and in the evening, full of skeeters!
We awoke around 8:30 or so and after about 45 minutes headed down to the included brekkies. Which consisted of traditional Indian foods; idli, vada, fruit, juice, sambar and a coconut curry sauce. Coffee was remade with milk and was screaming hot, found out the hard way. A newspaper was also pushed under our door!
We wandered the streets again, taking in the sights and smells. Around 2 we tried Babu’s Cafe again, and it was again closed after lunch. We ended up at Santana’s and I had a Alu Gobi with rice and Bill had the special noodles. Santana’s is on the third floor of a hotel/guest house. The dining patio is roofed, but open on 3 sides. From there you have a wonderful view of the beach. We saw fishing boast pull in and disgorge their catch. People came running down the beach to get theirs. They carried either woven bags or deep metal bowls to pile their fish into. One couple spread a political poster of the type that is all along the roadside here out on the sand with printed side down, white side up. They they proceeded to expertly spread the fish out onto the tarp to dry. The couple took turn gently sprinkling the fish so that they were evenly spread and not overlapping. The woman had an exceptionally deft touch. She let the fish fall from her fingers and they fell precisely where they should. The man sort of just flung them and then would bend down to separate the globs of fish.
The fishermen had an alternate way to make money, they would give tourists a ride in their fishing boats. One would pull up on the beach, and then head out again. It was only on its return that I realized that scampering off the boat were tourists, Indian tourists! Life on the beach was very vivid. Dogs barking and and fighting over a bitch in heat, a family group, (tribe?) of trinket sellers, an Anglo who seemed to be involved with a young woman selling scarves/saris on the beach just off the sidewalk. The Anglo seemed obsessed with keeping his little tiny patch of beach clean. He carried a stick and would use it to fling trash away from his domain. Again, the colors, and sights were amazingly bright. The boats and painted in intense blues and greens with dabs of red or vivid pink added for effect or protection. It is easy to become mesmerized and fall into a trance while observing life here. It moves at a slower pace with little visible anxiety about forward planning. It becomes clear how people end up staying for longer than they thought they would. After we sipped our beers and ate our lunch, I needed a lie down and we headed back to the hotel.
We awoke around 8:30 or so and after about 45 minutes headed down to the included brekkies. Which consisted of traditional Indian foods; idli, vada, fruit, juice, sambar and a coconut curry sauce. Coffee was remade with milk and was screaming hot, found out the hard way. A newspaper was also pushed under our door!
We wandered the streets again, taking in the sights and smells. Around 2 we tried Babu’s Cafe again, and it was again closed after lunch. We ended up at Santana’s and I had a Alu Gobi with rice and Bill had the special noodles. Santana’s is on the third floor of a hotel/guest house. The dining patio is roofed, but open on 3 sides. From there you have a wonderful view of the beach. We saw fishing boast pull in and disgorge their catch. People came running down the beach to get theirs. They carried either woven bags or deep metal bowls to pile their fish into. One couple spread a political poster of the type that is all along the roadside here out on the sand with printed side down, white side up. They they proceeded to expertly spread the fish out onto the tarp to dry. The couple took turn gently sprinkling the fish so that they were evenly spread and not overlapping. The woman had an exceptionally deft touch. She let the fish fall from her fingers and they fell precisely where they should. The man sort of just flung them and then would bend down to separate the globs of fish.
The fishermen had an alternate way to make money, they would give tourists a ride in their fishing boats. One would pull up on the beach, and then head out again. It was only on its return that I realized that scampering off the boat were tourists, Indian tourists! Life on the beach was very vivid. Dogs barking and and fighting over a bitch in heat, a family group, (tribe?) of trinket sellers, an Anglo who seemed to be involved with a young woman selling scarves/saris on the beach just off the sidewalk. The Anglo seemed obsessed with keeping his little tiny patch of beach clean. He carried a stick and would use it to fling trash away from his domain. Again, the colors, and sights were amazingly bright. The boats and painted in intense blues and greens with dabs of red or vivid pink added for effect or protection. It is easy to become mesmerized and fall into a trance while observing life here. It moves at a slower pace with little visible anxiety about forward planning. It becomes clear how people end up staying for longer than they thought they would. After we sipped our beers and ate our lunch, I needed a lie down and we headed back to the hotel.
We flipped on the TV and watched some cricket, try as I might, I still can not make heads nor tails of the game. Flicking through the channels, we came upon a football game and settled in for the match. The match was between Chennai City and the Indian Arrows. They are both in the I-Hero League. The play was quite rough....one player had his forehead split open after a collision during a header. He was treated on the field and carted off in an ambulance. Another player rolled over his ankle after a tackle. With the roughness on the field, the level of quite low. We saw only half before heading out to meet up with Ben and John again for dinner.
We had agreed to meet up at Santana’s for beers and would decide from there where to go for dinner. We ended up staying there for dinner as well. Bill, Ben and myself all had the tuna steaks and John had the fish curry. After many beers, we parted. Ben and John heading to the airport to go in different directions, Ben to Goa, and John to Kerala. They would meet up again in Goa in about 10 days. They had a 5:45 pick up to get to the Chennai airport!
Bill and I toddled back to Mamalla and sleep before an 11 am pick up to go to Pondy. It was a very retired day! We never made it to the big Shrine....oh, how we had to admit that! But we are very lazy travelers!
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