Day Three

We woke up, had the usual things for breakfast, and were off with aunt Usha and Uncle Kannan to see a crocodile farm. This crocodile farm is called “Madras Crocodile Bank Trust” and was founded by a man named Romulus Whitaker. It is one of the largest reptile zoos in the world. Right as we walked in the gate we were greeted with a gigantic mass of crocodiles in this large and enclosed space. There must have been about a hundred of them going about their daily lives, which is basically sleeping on top of each other. It’s amazing how some crocodiles can even breathe with one or two other crocs sleeping on top of them. We saw many more of them from all around the world ranging from little baby crocodiles to the largest captive crocodile in India. There were also snakes at this crocodile farm. My mom has a major phobia of snakes so she did not come with Will and me to see some men from a village extract venom from them. The extraction was SO cool. There were tons of pots with covers over them, each containing a snake. After the crocodile farm we went to a hotel called the Taj Fisherman’s Cove for lunch, which is about as close as you can come to Heaven on Earth. This place is so beautiful in every way. It is right on the beach and with a nice, constant breeze from the sea coming at you in 85-90 degree weather, it is nirvana. The lunch was not as good as yesterday’s, because it was REALLY fancy, but the desserts were stunning. There was a dessert buffet with 15-20 different kinds of cakes, chocolates, and sweet things. I found one dessert quite funny because it was just really fancy looking whipped cream with a nice looking stick of chocolate in it (it was yummy though). There was even a chocolate FOUNTAIN! After that beautiful experience, we drove off to see where my dad went to school, Madras Christian College. The drive there was long, so we were able to see quite a lot. We passed through classic South Indian villages where everybody has a little hut for a house. I really enjoyed seeing these villages because it is a part of India that I have never really seen before. You would never know that these serene villages are only 30 mins to an hour away from a city larger than NYC. That’s something I’ve noticed about India. You never know what you’re going to see. If you go to a gigantic city expecting to see hoards of people the entire time, you may just end up in a village of only one hundred people. We arrived at Madras Christian College at about three in the afternoon. As we drove through the gates I expected to see a bustling university but that was not the case. I had not factored in that it was a Sunday, and on Sundays places likes colleges and universities and VERY quiet. Anyways, I much preferred the quiet to a bustling university because of where the college was located. It was like once you passed through the gates you entered an entirely different world and in a way a nice, quiet town. The campus was beautiful. Most, if not all of the buildings were white with fantastic red outlines and there were fields in every direction. We went to my dad’s old dorm and saw a group of boys sitting watching the big India vs. Pakistan cricket game that was on TV. After Madras Christian College, we went over to the airport to head back to Hyderabad. It was kind of sad to leave Madras (even though we were only there for about a day) because the city itself was, in my opinion, one of the nicest in India. There is something about being by the sea that makes Madras special. We said bye to my aunt, uncle, and Augustine and were on our way. Once we got past security, we noticed that the India vs. Pakistan cricket game was on. There were lots and lots of people sitting and standing staring at the screen in the middle of the airport. This game is HUGE. It would be like a not as hyped up Indian version of the Super Bowl. It was estimated that about one billion people watched the game. I decided to stay and watch with everybody, which was a lot of fun because India ended up winning the game by a large margin. When India won everybody cheered LOUDLY which was so cool. We took our plane back to Hyderabad and had Prasad take us back to the apartment. We ordered pizza from my cousin’s favorite pizza place because he was coming over to dinner. My cousin’s name is Akash. Akash is quite the character. He is extremely intelligent and is starting his own business at the moment. He has strong opinions on many things and doesn’t like India much. He’s a really nice guy, though, and is also really funny, but you would have to meet him to really know his personality. Dinner with Akash was yummy, and we decided we would have dinner with him again tomorrow. After a long day, we were all ready for some sleep in our nice Hyderabadi beds.

This is Will, if you don't know him:

Madras Christian College:

Heaven on Earth:

A cobra:

A Crocodile: