Vanakkam (Ba-nah-koom) or hello from Chennai! Check out the map to see exactly where in India sits its fourth-largest, yet most humble city. Chennai is home to nearly 8,000,000 Indian citizens and is in the great state of Tamil Nadu (TAM-mull nah-DOO). Although not as big as Bollywood or as eccentric as Hollywood, Tamil Nadu does boast its own film industry and produces consistent blockbusters in their own regional language - Tamil. Chennai holds its heavy-weight as the industrial powerhouse of India hosting an abundance of booming IT companies and auto industries. This city is known for being friendly, laid-back and deeply conservative. I personally have nothing to compare Chennai - I’m a first-timer- but word on the street attests to these quick and dirty facts I’ve learned about Chennai within my first twenty four hours….After spending nearly 24 hours aboard an aircraft, I safely landed in this sprawling, metropolis (70 sq. km.) around midnight. I cleared customs and my year-long, multiple-entry visa was legit…phew! Somehow I managed to navigate to a YWCA to get some much needed shut eye, but not before enjoying the first of many cold bucket showers.
Saturday morning I woke up in the early afternoon and set out on a trip around Chennai to familiarize myself with the surroundings. India is such a different world! I was able to visit the shopping mall named Spencer’s Plaza and pick up some small items and a cell phone – my direct phone number is 98.404.29.487. Don’t forget to first dial the international access code 00, country code 91 and then the city code 44 - the exact sequence should look a little something like this 00.91.44.98.404.29.487. If you plan to call I would check online for calling cards as a direct dial - while it may be easy - will be costly.
Chennai doesn’t boast many tourist attractions, however Spencer’s Plaza seems to be the pride and joy of the city and Chennaikers minds’ are at ease once they’ve been assured you have seen the mall. After Spencer’s Plaza I went shopping for my first few pieces of Indian garb – the shawal kameez. I found a trendy boutique aptly named FabIndia where I bought two new, high-quality sets of clothing. They are made of colorfully embroidered and patterned silks, linens and lightweight cottons and feel silky smooth on your skin even in humid weather. I love the top – which is a knee-length tunic, however, the pants will take some time to acclimate. The 
drawstring waist appears to fit a XXXL…yet it’s a size small. At first I thought it must be labeled wrong, but then I tried it on and discovered the skinny legs barely fit over my calves. Hmmm. You use the drawstring to tighten the waist to your own and let the hips billow out like a mushroom. In my opinion, not quite as sexy as some skinny leg jeans but when in Rome….
After new cultural clothing, I headed off to see the San Thome Cathedral and Kapaleeshwarar Temple. The cathedral (pictured below) was built in 1504 and rebuilt in 1893. It features stunning ceilings constructed entirely of teak wood. The tomb of Saint Thomas the apostle is housed in the basement, but slightly cheesy with a plastic-painted replica of his dead body. Although the cathedral was beautiful, I truly fell in lov
e with the temple. I went in the late afternoon when all the families were gathering to pray. Religion is an integral part of Indian life – whether Christian, Hindu or Muslim – and overtly noticeable either by the bindi adorning one’s forehead, rosary ring or headscarf. Families will gather daily at temple, sit and eat together inside the compound, pray and then head home together with religiously white painted foreheads. 
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