Pop pop VII&VIII: Cyclone Adventures

VII
Happy New Year! Chiara expressed a desire to stay up till midnight
but we told her that we will celebrate New Year's arrival with all our
family in the U. S., that is at 10:30 tomorrow morning. But we
decided we will go with the Japanese who are three and a half hours
ahead. So we said Happy New Year to one another at 8:30 p.m. here.
We went to the Brihadeeswara Temple this morning and the Palace in
the afternoon. It was a very nice day and we enjoyed those places.
Then our driver took us to a place where there are men who actually
make the bronze statues. It was very good. They showed us the step
by step process of making a bronze statue. I saw a small statue of
Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman, which I really liked. I decided to
buy it ($30).
The weather is quite nice here, especially after Kerala (which was
hot). Last night, after dinner, Chandran, Chiara and I went for a
walk. A walk here is like walking through a mine field, dodging all
kinds of vehicles. We did the same thing tonight after dinner, this
time all six of us. This place is active beyond belief, especially
because it is New Year's eve.
Tomorrow we are off to Mahabalipuram. The road near Pondicherry is
closed because of the cyclone. So, we have to figure out an
alternative route. I had hoped that we can pass through Palamarneri
(Echi's village) but it may not happen.

VIII
Happy New Year once again!
We left Thanjavur around 9:30 this morning. It took 45 minutes
to check out of the hotel, because their computer system was
malfunctioning and the clerk kept trying to get it fixed. We could
not go directly from Thanjavur to Mahabalipuram because the road near
Pondicherry was blocked due to the cyclone. We have decided it is all
Chandrans's fault. Of the four times he has come to India, three of
them have been accompanied by catastrophic events: a cycle in 1972, a
Tsunami in 2004 and a cyclone in 2011. We think that the Government
of India should pay him money not to come to India. So we went from
Thanjavur to Trichy and then took the National Highway toward Chennai.
Four lane divided highway and zooming along at 50 mph!
When we got to the point where we had to take a highway east
toward M'puram, the driver decided to take a short cut, which was fine
until we came across a stream of water just sloshing across the road.
It was probably a distance of 100 feet and we did cross it with some
worry. Then we approach M'puram and, guess what, this is New Year's
Day and a Sunday and half the population of Tamil Nadu have decided to
visit M'puram: simply thousands of people. So the town
administration blocked off all the roads to cars and buses. They
would not let our van take the road leading to our hotel. When I
explained to the guard at the blockade that we are tourists with
reservations at the hotel, he suggested that we walk to the hotel
because it was not too far away (just 1 km). I ask what about our
luggage and he says the blockade will be removed at 6 p.m. (it was 4
p.m. then) and the driver can bring the van to our hotel after that.
So we walked: a mass of people and vehicles that were let in by the
guard. Our hotel is right in the center of town and it was not a bad
walk. As we are walking to the hotel reception area, I hear the sound
of a familiar honking and, sure enough, it was our van! The driver
said he bribed the guard 100 rupees and was let in.
This is a nice hotel. Lots of open areas with trees and
gardens. The rooms are arranged like town houses. Our building has
three rooms. Think of the luxurious Temple Bay with lot less pizzazz
and costing one-third the price. Sara and the kids had a nice time at
the pool. The mosquitoes are horrendous; so, I left Chandran to
finish his beer by himself while I drained my whiskey and came back to
the room.
My next report will be tomorrow.