"CHENNAI, India" a Chennai (Madras) Travel Page by ViajesdelMundo

When I first started travelling in the '70's, I only got to the northern areas of Bombay, Delhi, Agra and Calcutta. I always wished I had gotten south and toured the beautiful areas and beaches and experienced the foods of the south. I'm not sure I missed anything at all...........Chennai is another very large city with horrible air pollution, much due to the diesel exhaust of the voluminous number of vehicles.

Granted, the beach is special, being so wide and long, and so I have now added another body of water that my feet at least, have been immersed into. But the number of very aggressive, persistent beggars made the short time I had there quite difficult, even though I was with local friends. There were 2 young girls with a monkey who were not about to be told no to their pleas of "money", and the filthy monkey was difficult to keep from climbing onto us.

My time in the center of the city was limited, but it was much more comfortable than the suburb I was staying in, as the streets were all clean of garbage! I cannot fathom how the people in the suburbs contend with the depth and stench of the garbage.............