Sunrise to Sunset

Good Morning Chennai!

If you are Bangalorean, you  probably get the “pack your bags lets go scene”, to simplify, it is one of those last minute travel plans and the only ones that actually seem to work. One of these travel plans happened to be a weekend for me and a bunch. Destination – Chennai, and we set a sail. Being Bangalorean as we are, boastful and egoistic, we continued to taunt the idea as we headed towards it. However, there is always a charm about a mid night drive for us today. The many smoke stops and chai shop visits, has its own charm to it. The drive to Chennai is perfect for the chai and smoke type. The superb highway and the 24/7 tea stalls, is a travelers paradise.

We made it in one piece, despite the usual passing highway calamities. Chennai will shock every lazy Bangalore dweller. At six in the morning when you have a loan some paper boy cycling down the misty Bangalore road, Chennai has half the city losing calories on the beach! The sight that greeted us was gorgeous and we arrived right in time for sunrise.

We scanned the city the next day, for “Bangalore” things to do, as our body ceases to function without a mug of beer in hand. The only word we heard from everyone was ECR road! So much so, that is almost got annoying and much to the contrary, we didn’t quite make it to this eagerly talked of road. We manged to finally narrow down on Ten Downing, sounding familiar and safe, as other Indian cities seem to have one too. Reaching there however, we realized much to our disappointment, all the beer drinking cool people in Chennai pick Ten Downing. Hence meaning that you can’t visit the pace unless you book a table or are willing to wait for an hour or two.

Satisfied with the external view of the place we scouted further and landed in Bikes and Barrels. The place is decent and has fascinating interiors resounding with the name. It might seem to disappoint the photo loving youth of today, as photography is prohibited. The serve good beer and the chicken wings are a must try, hence making the place a must visit.

With our constant complaining of the inconvenience to find a decent pub to “chill at”, we manged to have a good time anyway. Chennai was good to us and the weekend was ticked memorable. You might need to go prepared to deal with the weather. When you look for that weekend to do nothing and jump into a new city, with sea breeze maybe, Chennai is your pick. The Elliot’s beach stretch is gorgeous. The Costa Coffee there, even if of poor service, has an invincible view. You can sit there and dream of the many imaginary shacks you would like to set up if the beach were yours.

Charmed by the city we drove out, as our weekend breathed its last. As if to say good bye, the sun set too, painting the city are a beautiful crimson.

The Crimson city