The girls wanted to go to an amusement park in Madurai on Saturday, so I got to go along for the ride. Instead of returning to the village with the girls Saturday night, I am staying two nights in Madurai to enjoy clean showers, a real bed and AC. (I know I am spoiled, but you have no idea how dirty and hot the village is, what the water is like and what the thing I sleep on is like...)
So we take 3 busses and 3 hours to go 45 KM to Madurai. We took a wrong bus which the girls blamed on me, "You wrote the wrong address" they said, Me?!?!. I wrote the address from the Internet of the hotel. Anyway, I pay for all of us to get off the bus system (How does anyone get around by bus?? It is soooo confusing to me! which is really too bad because I would go all over India if I could figure it out).
So here we are flying along in the tuk tuk. I am the crazy American, Thila is the chatty one and Sweety is, a shy sweetheart. I love this photo.
Next, on to the hotel. It's a western hotel and I see for the first time since leaving my other hotel, other westerners. The girls feel out of place at the hotel and I tell them no one can make them feel inferior, and just to act like they belong, because they do. I am not sure how that translated, or if they understood. There is a caste system in India which I don't understand. I am not sure how others know, who belongs where...
So we have a 'western' lunch, finally!! The girls don't use the silverware and I don't say anything, but it was fun to have chicken burgers and fries with them.
Now on to the amusement park. We are taking a tuk tuk to the park and the driver wants 250 Rupees. We try to negotiate and he refuses....until another tuk tuk pulls up. Now it gets interesting! The two drivers are spitting mad! They are yelling and the girls are yelling, I am standing there thinking, "I hope we get a good deal out of all this". We have such a fight going that the security guard from the hotel comes over. I think, "Now he is going to bring the peace." NO!! He starts arguing too! So he gets driver #2 down to 180 Rupees, this after 20 minutes of yelling and 6 people arguing (Ok I was just standing there). But gosh! Then we get into the tuk tuk and the driver is still mad and yelling!! He talked and yelled the whole way to the park. I kept asking, "why is he sooo mad??" Oh my!
So we take 3 busses and 3 hours to go 45 KM to Madurai. We took a wrong bus which the girls blamed on me, "You wrote the wrong address" they said, Me?!?!. I wrote the address from the Internet of the hotel. Anyway, I pay for all of us to get off the bus system (How does anyone get around by bus?? It is soooo confusing to me! which is really too bad because I would go all over India if I could figure it out).
Next, on to the hotel. It's a western hotel and I see for the first time since leaving my other hotel, other westerners. The girls feel out of place at the hotel and I tell them no one can make them feel inferior, and just to act like they belong, because they do. I am not sure how that translated, or if they understood. There is a caste system in India which I don't understand. I am not sure how others know, who belongs where...
Now on to the amusement park. We are taking a tuk tuk to the park and the driver wants 250 Rupees. We try to negotiate and he refuses....until another tuk tuk pulls up. Now it gets interesting! The two drivers are spitting mad! They are yelling and the girls are yelling, I am standing there thinking, "I hope we get a good deal out of all this". We have such a fight going that the security guard from the hotel comes over. I think, "Now he is going to bring the peace." NO!! He starts arguing too! So he gets driver #2 down to 180 Rupees, this after 20 minutes of yelling and 6 people arguing (Ok I was just standing there). But gosh! Then we get into the tuk tuk and the driver is still mad and yelling!! He talked and yelled the whole way to the park. I kept asking, "why is he sooo mad??" Oh my!
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