India (Frommer's, 4th Edition) (165 page)

VISITOR INFORMATION
For general tourist information, contact the busy but attentive staff at
Indiatourism
(
1913;
154 Anna Salai;
044/2846-0285
or -1459; [email protected]; Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–1pm), located across the road from Spencer’s.
Chennai This Fortnight: Explocity
is a useful bimonthly booklet that recently celebrated it’s 20th birthday; it highlights restaurants, nightlife, accommodation and shopping options, and has listings for just about everything, from suggested walks to entertainment events—it’s also available online:
www.chennai.explocity.com
. To get a real feel for the city, purchase a copy of the relatively new glossy magazine
044
(referring to the city’s area code).

ORIENTATION & NEIGHBORHOODS
Extending westward from the Bay of Bengal, Chennai is unwieldy to explore, and it’s best to concentrate on one area on any given day. Linking the north and south of the city is Anna Salai (also known as Mount Road), which starts out as G.S.T. Road near the airport in the southwest, and terminates at Fort St. George in George Town in the northeast. Two major rivers snake their way through the city—the Cooum River in the north, and the Adyar River several miles south. Between these, the most popular section of Marina Beach stretches between the sea and the city’s busy inner districts, where you’ll find most of its hotels. George Town lies just north of the Cooum’s confluence with the Bay of Bengal. Southwest of George Town (around the Cooum River), Egmore and Triplicane form the heart of the commercial city; Egmore is home to the
Government Museum,
one of Chennai’s top sights. Farther south, the neighborhoods of San Thome and Mylapore are the old heart of the city, and where you’ll find the city’s two other top sights—
San Thome Cathedral
and
Kapaleshvara Temple.

GETTING AROUND CHENNAI
By Taxi & Auto-Rickshaw
Chennai is a large, sprawling city, and its many sights are spread out and quite impossible to cover on foot. Auto-rickshaw drivers in this city are particularly adept at squeezing impossible fares out of foreign visitors—you would be well warned to always fix a price upfront. Unlike other large cities, Chennai does not have taxis cruising the streets or idling at taxi stands. If you want a taxi, best to phone for one—though for short distances, this is hardly worth the long wait or cost.
Call taxis
run fairly reliable meters that start at a minimum base fare of Rs 50 for 3km (2 miles), with Rs 10 for every additional kilometer. You can also negotiate flat rates. After 9pm, fares are surcharged anything from 25% more to double. For a full listing of taxi companies, or one nearest to your hotel, check out
www.chennaitaxi.com
, or call
Bharati Call Taxi
(
044/2814-2233;
T. Nagar),
Dial A Car
(
044/2811-1098;
Mylapore),
Comfort Cool Taxi
(
044/2538-4455;
Egmore), or
Zig-Zag Call Taxi
(
044/3245-7788;
Ashok Nagar).

Great Guided City Walks

Storytrails
(
994-004-0215;
www.storytrails.in
) conducts a number of interesting walking tours through Chennai—in many ways, this is the best introduction to an Indian city, particularly for newcomers to India. The
Peacock Trail
(Rs 595, including breakfast; 7 or 7:30am–10 or 10:30am, or evenings) covers the ancient temples and heritage of Mylapore, the old heart of modern Chennai, said to predate the city by some 2,000 years. The
Bazaar Trail
(Rs 795; 4:30–7:30pm) takes you through the historic, colorful, chaotic, and vibrant George Town on foot and cycle rickshaw, visiting (among others) flower and vegetable markets, an experience that gets you feeling as close to local as is possible. But perhaps the best (if you’re as much as a fan of southern Indian cuisine as we are) is the
Spice Trail
(Rs 1,500, including lunch; 9am–2pm), in which you are taken from narrow streets to fine-dining restaurants to experience the delicious and diverse flavors of South India, with advice on how to re-create some of the recipes provided along the way; come hungry!

Chennai