We got up at 4:30 a.m. to catch the 6:00 train to Madras. Rao was going with Krishna and me (Rama was to return to the U.S. later in the month). This time we were in an "AC" car--air conditioned. In this type of car, the seats stay upright and the windows stay closed. I tried to take pictures along the way, but they didn't come out; the train was moving significantly faster than the bus to Hyderabad.
In Madras, the three of us checked into Hotel Picnic, where we also had a late lunch. We all napped in the late afternoon (I know I didn't get much sleep on the train), then took showers.
About 7 p.m., we set out on foot. Rao asked various people the way to Golden Beach. Eventually, we caught a #19 bus, which we rode for about an hour and a half. By now it had gotten dark. When we reached Golden Beach resort, we learned that it had closed at 8 p.m. So we walked just down the road to VGP Musical Fountain, which was open until 9. This attraction features a large goddess-like statue, which we took pictures in front of. There were some caged birds, including peacocks and peahens, quail(?) and several varieties of roosters and chickens. A row of aquaria were empty. There was a concrete fish you could walk through, a water slide, and the musical fountain itself. They ran the fountain just for us and two others. It was not as impressive as the one in Hyderabad.
We caught another #19 bus back to town. It took us to the bus station, where we had to catch a #11 bus to get back to the vicinity of the train station.
At 2 a.m., we got up again, so we could get to the airport three hours before the flight. We got there (by cab) before 3:00, put Krishna and my luggage on carts, and had coffee outside. K. and I said goodbye to Rao, then headed inside. We got through the British Airways counter quickly, but then had to wait until almost 5:00 for immigration to open. The plane, a 747 named the City of Edinburgh, took off on time.
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