Today was a lazy day for me. I left the guest house at about 3.30pm and went to T. Nagar. It’s now “considered the largest shopping district in India by revenue”. There are many shops selling saris and jewellery.
To get away from the heat, I decided to check out another shopping area, VR Chennai, a new shopping mall.
Instead of taking an auto, I took a bus since the bus stop was nearby. It was quite a journey. The bus was hot, humid, crowded, and stuck in one traffic jam after another! The bus conductor, unlike every other one I’d met so far, was quite cantankerous. He seemed to get annoyed that I, having got on at the front, didn’t make my way towards him at the back of the bus. For every other bus I’ve taken, the conductor always goes to the passenger. He was also narked that I was paying by UPI. I don’t know if it was the fare (Rs10) or the extra effort required on his part that annoyed him.
VR Chennai turned out to be a fairly generic shopping mall by western standards. I did find something to eat in the food court (unlike my visit to Lulu Mall). The dosa, sambar, chutneys and chapatis were good. The chapatis were an add-on after I’d ordered. The person asked if I wanted to order something for the chapati. As it happens, I just like eating chapatis raw! However, I said maybe they could add a bit more sambar. There was a woman standing next to me who could speak English. She translated. The order came in two batches. When the chapatis came, there was a very generous dollap of sambar provided for free.
To avoid the traffic, I took an auto to the nearest metro station. Then I took the metro back to the hotel.
The next day, I took an auto first to an eco-park then another park. Both were closed.
Even though this was my last day in Chennai, there wasn’t anything I wanted to do. I therefore went to a restaurant and had a late lunch, read my book, and used my laptop.
I had an early night because the morning train to Puducherry was at 7.15am.
