Tuesday 19th January.
The visa process has been a long ever changing process for
Princess who had to make changes at the whim of the officials who embarked in
Phuket. We all needed to do a face to face with the officials and Princess
staff had to make us shore passes which included a photo. It was a long job for
them and having completed that the Indians then decided we needed to list our
cameras, phones and video equipment that
we were planning on taking ashore and get them to authorise us to do so.
Strange i do think Princess will try to keep India off their itineraries in the
future.
Today we joined a CC group. 22 of us travelled in 2 small
air-conditioned buses on a tour of Chennai. The Tour Company was Magic Tours of
India.
We were very lucky that our buses were allowed to come onto
the dock and we were the first passengers to disembark. The day started with a drive
past a beach area that was no more than a vast expanse of dirty sand. The
coastal waters are not safe to swim in, so the people just come on spend time
near the water. We also saw a section of this beach area that consisted of old
fishing villages. The fish were being cleaned as we drove past in the bus. We made
a pact not to eat fish that day as they were covered in flies.
Our first stop was a market street. The locals were selling their
fruit amongst other goods. We walked this street to get to a Temple. Shoes off
and in we went to this temple area, our lovely guide told us some stories of
the gods, which were interesting, but there was little to see as there were
repairs taking place.
Money changer was our next stop to get $Aus changed to pay
for the tour and then off to a Sari shop for a quick look. I did buy a Sari.
Next stop Lunch at a Vegetarian local restaurant. We and our
table mates only had fried bread and black tea, not being game to eat what may
upset our bellies.
St Thomas ‘ Church
was next, were it is said that the remains of Apostle Thomas is buried.
Onward to the Historic St. George Fort, the first fortress
of British power in India. The Military still use part of it. Inside the fort are
the oldest surviving British Church, St Mary’s, and also a Museum displaying
uniform, weaponry, paintings etc.
Having covered the tourist spots of Chennai we headed back to the ship for Food and sleep before Dinner.
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| The Beach Area |
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| Fishing Nets |
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Fish being cleaned
|
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| Typical Street. |
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| Fruit Stalls |
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| St Thomas' Church |
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Our group walking the streets.
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| Selling "Plates" |
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Tuk Tuk Taxi.
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