The Persistent Tout, Back to Chennai

Because we also wanted to take a few photos at the local market, we decided to move on. At the entrance of the market, immediately we were met by the man at the hotel. Not wanting to listen to his insistence to visit certain shops, we decided to skip the market and head back to Chennai. Surprisingly, the man followed us in his auto rickshaw for over 25 minutes! Finally we were rid of the persistent man (who obviously was hoping to get some sort of commission) and were on our way.

The national highway connecting Bangalore to Chennai was much wider, faster, and better-maintained than most of the roads we had traveled. The hilly area around Bangalore slowly evolved into the flat plains more typical of South India. Although the road was an easy drive, one still had to be vigilant. Herders took their cows for a walk along the highway. Cows seemingly on their own happily munched on the grasses in the median strip, occasionally wandering onto the road itself. Roadside sweepers also popped up, quite unprotected. As we got closer to Chennai, we began seeing caravans of large car transport semis with the Hyundai name imprinted on it. We also passed by several buses with the Nokia logo as well as its large plant. Both companies continue to play a dominant role in our school’s enrolment. Finally, after about eight hours of driving, we were back in Chennai, ready to celebrate coming of a New Year.

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