If you are goint to stay in chennai during the summers, just one advise, drink gallons of water and try to stay in doors, its going to be crazy hot and humid!!!

Like timj said, yeah, it’s going to be really hot and try not to go out so much during the day. You could probably give the beaches (Marina, Elliots) a try in the evenings. I hope you have a nice time!

hmmm…i second timj above…the weather’s gonna be “SAD”...make sure u carry summer wear..but make sure not to show too much skin (not really appreciated in our country!) ...there are a couple of getaways…ooty..kodaikanal…pondicherry…which will be a relief from this hell hole!
wat are u gonna be here for? if u have ANY flexibility in ur program…dont come to chennai in summers!
anythin else…just shoot!

oh okay…thats kool…i see ur doing ur law…hit upon ur blog! ;)

when shopping for anything in chennai, bargain hard. if possible add a few basic tamil phrases to your vocabulary.

I see a lot of suggestions. here are my 2 cents.
You are going to run for shelter in chennai during summer. You would need lot of water of course.

be careful when you approach the roadside vendors for negotiations
make sure you are not cheated by the auto drivers
dont try all the roadside small snack centres
chennai water would not suit you for sometime.
ok i think this is good enough to scare you.

now good things:
Chennai is one of the best places if you have a friend to show you around who can handle the auto wallahs, road side vendors and chennai traffic.

Lot of places to hang out,temples, churches particularly.
Beach to have a good walk,
Santhome church, Besant Nagar Church to enlighten you spiritually and
Pondy Bazaar, T Nagar for purchases etc… and the list goes on.

In addition to the statutory warning on the extremely hot weather – some places to visit when you are in Chennai include Spencer Plaza (shoppers paradise!) which is in the heart of the city. And there’s “Mayajaal” which is a short drive from the city and home to multiplexes (watch the “local Chennai” movie fare as well as English movies), shopping arcades, video game parlors etc.

Over a weekend you may also want to visit Mahabalipuram (about an hour’s drive from Chennai) which houses several historic monuments near the beach and Pondicherry (about 3 hours drive from Chennai) which is home to “Auroville”.

Here are some links,

http://www.chennaionline.com/
http://www.mayajaal.com/
http://www.chennaionline.com/toursntravel/placesofinterest/spencer.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabalipuram
http://www.auroville.org/

Hi there-

I am actually a law student as well and I visited Madras over my winter break.

I was a little surprised as the lack of nightlife, since it is one of the larger cities in India.

The Park Hotel on Mount Rd (Ann Salai) has a good lounge that’s filled with a younger crowd. Also, if you want to go to the beach check out Taj Fisherman’s Cove resort at Covelong Beach. It’s secluded and clean, and has a nice pool and cabana area. But, it will be deathly hot so I don’t know if hitting up the beach is something you are going to want to do.

As for restaurants check out the restaurant at the Park. If you want an authentic South Indian meal try Dakshin at the Adyar Gate Hotel (Park Sherataon). Also, my favorite was Benjarong for Thai which is also near the Park Sheraton.

As for shopping I didn’t find great stuff, but that’s probably b/c I didn’t know where to go. But Spencer’s was good to get your fix of all the touristy stuff and any necessities from home that you may have forgotten.

Also, if you want to go to a spa hit up the Park. I got a tour of it and each spa room is modeled after one of the precious gems. However, it is priced comparable to any spa in the States. The Park also has a BBQ night every Tues. or Wed., I forget, right by the pool with a cover band which is a fun experience.

As you can see I seriously thought the Park was one of the best places in Madras. I guess it was the only place comparable to a place in Bombay or Dheli.

I might be visiting again at the end of the summer so I might be asking you how your experience was!

I would say drink lots of water. You need a lot more when it’s hot. I was there in May, and I didn’t mind the heat so much, but the thirst had a way of creeping up on me. I don’t think there is any place in Chennai, indoors or outdoors that you won’t enjoy. You must get a sari at Pothy’s in T Nagar. Lot’s of the residential neighborhoods are super charming and filled with cows and goats. I also second the motion you take a day trip to Mahabalipuram.

You will have a lot of fun!

http://onedrous.org/india/?4=8&5=&6=&7=&8=&9=&10=&11=&12=42&13=2

Destinylaw:

Chennai’s great :)Don’t be bogged down by the weather. Yes, it’s hot and will be sweltering heat in Summer, but it’s nothing that can’t be handled. All you will need is sunscreen, a hat/umbrella and lots of cool drinks/water. You’ll find it way too hot and humid the first couple of days, but after that you’ll get used to it.

For shopping, try Globus, Lifestyle, Shopper’s Stop, Spencer Plaza, Fountain Plaza, Alsa Mall and Cisons Complex, Central Cottage Industries Emporium and T. Nagar (plenty of small and big stores to browse through, thought the traffic may be chaotic).

Places of interest would be Mammallapuram (a.k.a. Mahabalipuram or Mahabs) that has sculptures from the Pallava period, beaches (Marina and Elliot), Dakshinachitra (a heritage village) at Muthukadu en route to Mahabs, temples (Parthasarathi temple, Peter’s Road, Triplicane, Sri Kapaleswarar Temple, near Kutchery Road, Mylapore and Shirdi Sai temple, Mylapore), Pondicherry (about 3 hours from Chennai), amusement parks (Kishkintha and Dizzy World), Muthukadu Boat House, Valluvar Kottam, etc.

Food’s aplenty – If you like kababs, try Kabul along TTK road….they have yummy dhal makhani, sheesh kababs and khurmi naan among other things. Eden at Besant Nagar has pretty good bakes and less spicy Indian food, Saravana Bhavan has amazing idlis, dosas and the like…plenty of other places are there…Saanjha Choola, Dakshin, Dhabba Express, Vasantha Bhavan, Annalakshmi, Southern Spice, Mathura Restaurant etc. If you don’t mind sacrificing ambience for taste, then the Mylai Karpagambal Mess in Mylapore serves really yummy food.

Traffic is pretty chaotic…no one really follows any traffic rules, but do as everyone else does and you’ll be fine :) You need to be careful with auto drivers. They’re a strange breed….awfully sweet with known customers and very helpful to strangers and people that chat up with them, but they can and most probably will fleece you if you seem like you’re out of town and don’t know the city. Always discuss the fare BEFORE you get into the auto as they have a tendency to ask you to give them what you think is fair and will then start a big argument at the end of the journey saying it is too less. Also, if you can speak Tamil, do! The more you seem knowledgeable of the place and where you are going, the lesser chance you have of being fleeced.

The links that Santosh Narayanan has provided will offer you much more information. Enjoy Chennai…it’s lovely :)Good luck with your internship.

Aparna