Saturday was a big day for me...well, all of the first days here are and will be big, but this was HUGE!!!. I decided to explore the city a little bit on my own and to use public bus for the first time. Goal was clear: get to my workplace and find out how long it takes.
Public transport system is really good in Chennai with many buses going to all parts of the city.
However, travelling by bus can be tricky. First problem is to find the right bus stop and take the right bus. Basically, you have to go through these steps:
To make it shorter, thanks to IndiaMike.com, I was equipped with the number of bus I should take, names of departure and target stop as well as postition of the departure stop. After 30 min of walking I found the bus, after 15 min of waiting it came, fortunately it was not that crowded so I got in easily and after next 30 min when I was alternately staring out to get names of roads (and you already know that it's not easy at all) and into the map, I got to my target. I was so PROUD of myself!!! My first big victory over Chennai bus system.
I wandered a little bit around the area, I bought "fancy" flip-flops in Bata for Rs. 99 (divided by 2,5 = less than 40 CZK!) and I met Avinash and other AIESEC people to get a coffee with them. Then a new adventure started: one AIESEC guy proposed me to take me back home on his motorbike and I said yes what lately almost caused me several heart attacks. If the rickshaw ride was fast, this was fast and furious!!! The guy was tightly zigzaging among other motorbikes, rickshaws and cars, he drove terribly fast, braked at the very last moment and turned so sharply. Oh gosh, I was scared like never before! I almost wet my pants several times!!! And the guy was just not able to understand why I was so scared. I tried to explain him but he didn't get it and I'm sure he thought I was just stupid European ;o)
Fortunately, I have survived this crazy ride and to celebrate it I had a beer with my flatmates and we went to a nice local restaurant for dinner. Again, even the least spicy food was too spicy for me...well, I'll have to get used to it. And yeah, I'm a coward, I didn't eat with my right hand but used a fork ;o) But I'll definitely try it next time!!!
PS: I have a new roommate - rat. Well, I'm not sure if it comes back again after my impolite screeming welcome ;o)
Public transport system is really good in Chennai with many buses going to all parts of the city.
However, travelling by bus can be tricky. First problem is to find the right bus stop and take the right bus. Basically, you have to go through these steps:- You must find out to which bus stop you should go.
- If you succeed in this (usually with help of local people or more experienced expats), you must choose which bus you should take. Fortunately, names of bus stops and numbers of buses are usually written on the booth, so this is not the big issue.
- You must get in the bus somehow. Usually they're so overcrowded that people are even hanging out of them.
- And the very last little issue is to get off the bus on the right place. I don't think any of you would be so naive to think that there is something or somebody telling you names of bus stops. Moreover, you don't have much time to think about it and decide if you get off or not since the bus stops just for few seconds, people jump off and in, a guy selling the bills whistles and the bus goes on.
To make it shorter, thanks to IndiaMike.com, I was equipped with the number of bus I should take, names of departure and target stop as well as postition of the departure stop. After 30 min of walking I found the bus, after 15 min of waiting it came, fortunately it was not that crowded so I got in easily and after next 30 min when I was alternately staring out to get names of roads (and you already know that it's not easy at all) and into the map, I got to my target. I was so PROUD of myself!!! My first big victory over Chennai bus system.
I wandered a little bit around the area, I bought "fancy" flip-flops in Bata for Rs. 99 (divided by 2,5 = less than 40 CZK!) and I met Avinash and other AIESEC people to get a coffee with them. Then a new adventure started: one AIESEC guy proposed me to take me back home on his motorbike and I said yes what lately almost caused me several heart attacks. If the rickshaw ride was fast, this was fast and furious!!! The guy was tightly zigzaging among other motorbikes, rickshaws and cars, he drove terribly fast, braked at the very last moment and turned so sharply. Oh gosh, I was scared like never before! I almost wet my pants several times!!! And the guy was just not able to understand why I was so scared. I tried to explain him but he didn't get it and I'm sure he thought I was just stupid European ;o)
Fortunately, I have survived this crazy ride and to celebrate it I had a beer with my flatmates and we went to a nice local restaurant for dinner. Again, even the least spicy food was too spicy for me...well, I'll have to get used to it. And yeah, I'm a coward, I didn't eat with my right hand but used a fork ;o) But I'll definitely try it next time!!!
PS: I have a new roommate - rat. Well, I'm not sure if it comes back again after my impolite screeming welcome ;o)
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