First stop for the day was the Bodyguard Muneeswaran Temple. The temple history dates back to 1919 when workers from another area brought the idol of Lord Muneeswarar, created by Shiva, to Chennai and placed it under a tree next to the military barracks. The commander objected and later that day had an accident, so he believed Lord Muneeswaran had healing powers. People started believing the same, worshipped him and built this small roadside temple. He is worshi...

The next morning I met our OAT trip leader and some of my traveling companions during breakfast. After the late morning trip orientation meeting, we drove through a bit of Chennai with the first stop for money exchange. Some people chose to use the money exchange. For the rest of us, neither of the ATMs were functional. A short drive onward and we arrivec at The Writers’ Cafe for lunch. Founded by Chef M Mahadevan in December 2016, this Swiss bakery cafe works ...

Using my offline map (maps.me app) and the travel apps I had downloaded, I planned a walking route to a monument at the beach and headed out. The desk clerk told me it was 5 km to the beach. Down the street from the hotel I passed the entrance to a Muslim girls’ school (meaning administered by Muslims but open to all.) The young women were arriving in groups wearing vibrantly colored clothes. I turned to walk down a main street and realized I would have to walk...

Flight LAX to Amsterdam was uneventful. While waiting to board I chatted with a young man in the Peace Corps working at a health clinic in Botswana (a country I had visited just a year ago.) He had worked in Arizona in an AIDS Clinic and said he was fortunate to have gotten his first choice of where to go He wanted to work with people affected by AIDS and stated that the infected rate in Botswana was 1:4. He had a loooong trip, having come from Hawaii, flying ...