Some like it hot

The first thing people here in India have been bemused about, upon meeting me, is why on earth I would want to travel here at this time of year, when the temperature is reaching its annual peak and the locals cower in the shade waiting for the sun to relent as day turns to evening.

Well, it is certainly good to get away from home for a bit, for a start, but one thing there is no getting away from is that it is swelteringly hot in India just now, as many parts of the country count down the days until the monsoons hit. Thankfully, this has not happened yet, although there has been some fairly heavy rain storms whilst I have been in Chennai and (briefly) in Bangalore; in the case of the latter, the plane which I was sitting in, bound for Goa, was stranded at the top of the runway for around 45 minutes as it waited for a storm to pass before it could take-off.

I have spent a few days down in the south-west state of Tamil Nadu, in Chennai, where I spent time with Balaji in this heaving metropolis. Indian cities aren't the most comfortable places to be, with suffocating pollution, furnace-like heat and sheer weight of population making for a claustrophobic experience - certainly not for the faint hearted. Despite this, I made the effort to see as much of the city as I could, from the ridiculously busy T. Nagar shopping district (I have never seen so many people in one place in my life), to the sweeping sands of Marina beach, one of the longest city beaches in the world. I also enjoyed the opportunity to visit both Hindu and Christian places of worship; the Kapleeswarar temple in the district of Mylapore is a stunning feat of architecture, with its amazingly intricate artistic detail; and I felt suitably humble when I visited St Thome Cathedral, one of only three cathedrals in the world built over the tomb of one of Jesus' disciples - the original "Doubting Thomas" in this instance.

Travelling around Chennai for a few days, it was strange not to spot a single Westerner - not that I seek out those of my own colour, you understand, but in most world cities you tend to find a cross-section of nationalities. It turns out that they tend to favour air-conditioned western-style hotels as refuge from the 40 degrees heat, before being chaffeured to air-conditioned offices in the morning. I only know this having spent my last evening in town dining in the roof-top restaurant of the opulent Rain Tree hotel, enjoying the company of Balaji and his friends Sriram and Vidhi, whilst business men and women discussed the events of the working day on adjacent tables over bottles of chilled wine. Not a city for the casual sight-seer at this time of year, Chennai.

I spent the vast majority of yesterday in airports and on planes, encountering various delays before finally arriving in Goa for 6pm. One surprisingly hassle-free transfer later (perhaps unfair - hassle and Goa rarely go hand in hand, unlike the other 99% of this country!), and I find myself in a sleepy village by the beach from where I write this. I have until Sunday until I fly back up to Mumbai - whether I can summon the energy to move onto another resort between now and then remains to be seen, although the heat may mean that I just loll around here, strolling on the beach, catching up on some reading and indulging in the delicious local seafood. It's a tough life...