Last weekend in South India

Friday, 09/09/2016. Since I'm feeling better today, we decide to visit the '5 Rathas' and the 'Coastal Temple' in Mahabalipuram in the morning. Under the blazing sun, we start sweating a lot and decide to follow a tip and cool off by shopping for souvenirs at 'La Boutique'. For lunch, we dine at the Radisson Blue Hotel with a fantastic ambiance. This resort even has a beach restaurant. We are getting around on a rented scooter. Wow, it's a cool ride. Even I enjoy riding it.

Back at the hotel, we decide to take advantage of the hotel pool in the late afternoon for the first time. After swimming a few laps, we play water volleyball. It's quite exhausting. Unfortunately, we have to leave the pool after 2 hours because it closes at 7:00 PM. Too bad. But we have to hurry anyway because we are expecting a visitor. Jasmin's friend Daksh is coming from Chennai, and we are going to celebrate his birthday together! Happy Birthday!

Saturday, 10/09/2016. In the morning, it's finally time to pack our things, making sure we only keep what we need until our flight the next day. Luckily, I can always rely on Jasmin, otherwise I would have been running around screaming by now. ;) Thanks, sweetheart! Checking out requires some negotiations as the hotel had some significant flaws. However, we did get a complimentary lunch.

On the way to Chennai, we make a stop at Dakshina Chitra, an open-air museum and cultural heritage center. Here, we get an insight into the South Indian cultures, houses, and lifestyles. We also have the opportunity to have our future predicted by a parrot. And we get traditional henna tattoos, now adorning Jasmin's palm and my back of the hand.

In the traffic of Chennai, after half an hour, one gets so annoyed that I start yelling at the other drivers from the backseat. But they really do drive like mad. In addition, it is pouring rain (it's pouring buckets) and it takes us a solid 1.5 hours to travel 26 km.

In the evening, Jasmin and I celebrate our 1st anniversary and enjoy an American-Indian dinner at Tovo. Absolute recommendation! To end the evening, we have a beer at the rooftop restaurant of the neighboring hotel with a view of the night-time Chennai and the landing planes.

Sunday, 11/09/2016. We want to sleep in, if you can call 9:00 AM sleeping in. ;) Alright, then we use the time to blog and cuddle. At 1:00 PM, we finally go outside and enjoy a very spicy lunch behind bars at the 'Prison Restaurant'.

It's now past 9:00 PM. Our taxi will come in 1.5 hours to take us to the airport. Keep your fingers crossed that Jasmin will be allowed to enter the airport, as it usually requires an extra visitor pass. We hope we can sort this out without any time and stress. My flight back to Germany departs at 1:50 AM.

This is me saying goodbye to India, to Jasmin, and to all you diligent readers. See you soon, my loves. All the best, your AnniwentIndia.