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Dec 18: This morning we made our way to delicious sandwich restaurant for breakfast to find that they were closed. We then searched for the temple elephant to find out that she was feeling under the weather so she wasnt at the temple. After these two let-downs we decided that it was time to get out of Puducherry. We had arranged a car last night and after waiting an hour he finally showed up! Waiting is a big part of Indian culture. As we were waiting, a black American man who was staying at our guesthouse struck up a conversation with us. He had an extremely negative view on Indians and Indian culture, and we later found out that he was in India getting dental work done cause its way cheaper than it is in the states. So its safe to say that hes a nut job! We really enjoyed our drive up the coast to Chennai. We drove through some small towns and through areas with lots of palm trees and greenery. We made it to our hotel and found out thatits basically Chennai's version of the Shangrila. Everything is marble and clean, we almost forgot that we were in India. Its very secure too, they had a luggage scanner outside and we went through a metal detector. We dropped off our bags and met the crew at the pool. We were reunited with Dan, Adam, and Danielle, we saw Kevin and Anj (the couple getting married), and met some of their friends from Calgary. We all enjoyed some conversation and then we left to get cleaned up. The entire group of us, 16 in total, had a very luxurious dinner at the rooftop restaurant. After that, we left Kevins parents and all hung out in someones room for a while.
Dec 19: This morning we took advantage of our inckuded buffet breakfast! Our mission today was to find outfits for the wedding. Our first tuk-tuk driver took us to a tourist trap shop, when we gave him specific directions as to where we actually wanted to go. We got a new driver and hoped for a better outcome. I was in the process of purchasing a Sari when the guy tried to gouge me for the tailoring cost of getting the little undershirt made. We had already agreed that this would be inckuded in the full price so I didnt like his attempt at wrangling us for more money. I refused to pay and eventually said Id take the fabric and get the shirt made somewhere else. The shop owner yelled at us to try to scare us into buying it. We stood our ground and told him to calm down. Then I noticed a big stain on the Sari (as i was carefully expecting it before handing over any money). This was the last straw, we left without the sari. We ended up finding a very nice shop on the same street. The workers were all very helpful and I purchased a very fancy punjabi suit which matched aarons outfit nicely. We hailed a tuk-tuk agreed to pay 50 rupees for the ride. He drove us straight to our hotel so we gave him 100 and told him to have a great day. It was nice to end the adventure on a positive note. The big cities are full of scammers; its the darker side of India. It is sad because a few bad experiences can make you be very skeptical about people. Its important to let things go and keep a positive attitude because for every scammer there are thousands of wonderful people. We got back to the hotel and hit the pool for an hour of sun. Then Aaron hung out with the boys and I left with all the women for a henna party at Anjis parents place. A lot of her family was there and they were all so nice and hospitable. We had samosas and tea and took turns getting our hands done with henna. Anji received some blessings from her family members which was really neat and special to watch. After this I met Aaron in the room and we had a small nap before meeting the vancouver crew for dinner. Our time in Chennai has been a very luxurious stay at this fancy hotel. Its nice to live lavishly for a few days.
Dec 20: Today is wedding day! We woke up at 7am and got suited up and enjoyed a breakfast with everyone before the ceremony started at 9am. (thankfully, I got to sleep in since I didnt need to have my Sari put on me... Score one for the Punjabi suit). On our way in, we were splashed with holy water and given a blessing with a marking on our forehead. The women were all given bindi dots if they didnt already have them. Many of Anjis family members came over to our table to introduce themselves. The ceremony was long. It usually spans 7 days but we got the condensed version. First Kevin was up doing blessings with the priests and his parents. Then Anji had her turn, and eventually they sat together and did the rest. Everyone in attendance had the opportunity to place a flower necklace around the bride and grooms necks as a blessing. We also threw rice and flowers at them. The ceremony was full of traditions and lasted until noon. We had an hour to kill before lunch, so our appetites were ready when the food was. Now, lunch is over and we have the afternoon free until the dinner and reception this evening at 6pm. We plan to meet at the rooftop bar at 4:30 for drinks. For now, its nap time!
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Darlene & Heinz Good Blog - Boy the wedding started early - it will be a long day by time it's over and probably starting over the next day. Sounds like a really neat experience. Say Hi to All.