OMG India Chennai is grey. The subcontinent appeared briefly through the clouds as we approached, muddy spots and trees, finally grey concrete blocks filled the horizon.

The signs said Welcome to India which meant confusion, queues, go to the other queues, fill out the form that no one mentioned, polite chat with the mostly Indian expats suffering the same fate, and then on to the nice man minding the last 4 bags from the flight – two of which were ours.

Too  tired to handle the train into town we settled on prepaid/taxi. Outside in the grey we were off – that frantic/traffic and toot toot like a carnival ride into town. The driver wanted a better destination and grumped at us but delivered outside the hotel door, across from the train station.  Didn’t get the COTD photo but did spot a heifer grazing the middle barrier in a 6 lane highway.

How much do you tip the guy who is awkwardly taking you to your room? So many new questions as we head into the dark street outside. Is the filtered water at all safe? Can we get some smaller money? Are those batter fried chiles?

First meal in Chennai is a trio of fried street snacks with white onion sauce, and a free extra baked sweet after a quick chat. God the accents make people hard to understand. Back out to the hotel restaurant for dosa and a fairly successful eating with hand attempt, then off to bed. Didn’t see a single white person since leaving the airport. 12 hours sleep for F.