Chennai (Madras) Warnings Or Dangers

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Bathing at Marina Beach is not at all advisable as it is very rough not safe enough for taking a swim. Many people die every year for venturing out in the sea even if some are expert swimmer. There is not life saving society/ agency is operating at Marina Beach. It may look attractive but please stay away from swimming.

Please never ever drink water from tap in Chennai. Even the locals buy water in pet jars or in pouches, they come cheap. The ground water of Chennai is salty. The Chennai corporation has not been able to provide potent drinking water to their citizen.

The local brands are also process water with reverse osmosis technology, they are safe enough for any European.

There's plenty in Chennai. It's really sad when children too come up to you for money.

When I was there in 1999, a child who looked barely 7 came up to me and said, "10 Rupees, Ma'am, 10 Rupees, Ma'am..." she was tugging at my shirt.

You just have to ignore them and move on, lest a whole swarmful will come up to you once they see you giving money.

get prior permission to visit otherwise the security will see to it that you visit only the banyan tree and don't linger along.The grounds are green, vast and has various shrines and a well stocked library.

street food though inviting and colourful should be a strict no no.
i saw most of the street vendors take a break sharpen their knives on the footpath and cut veggies and fruits with out washing the knife.

* Look both ways when you cross the street. And then look again. Not only is the traffic extremely disorganized, as a foreigner you're bound to get stared at by motorists which can itself lead to accidents.
* Don't step barefoot into puddles which can harbor leptosporosis. Better yet, take Doxycycline as your anti-malarial because it will take care of lepto as well as malaria
* Drink only bottled water and don't drink beverages that are served with ice.

If you want to do business in India... remember when they are the client, they will expect a lot.

I found the rules immediatly when I entered the office. So, I knew what to expect. But, I must say, people are very friendly ...

Akin to begging, but more odious in tactics. It’s not just a problem for non-Indians, either.

A person approaches you and starts talking very fast - sometimes they’ve met you before and are only running into you because they have a relative/child in a hospital/school in the area; sometimes they’re a social worker or a good Samaritan paying for a good cause out of their own pocket; sometimes they’re from the north and just got robbed/mugged. It varies. (Use your imagination, because they do.) In all cases there’s a shortfall of some kind, and you look like a kind person, can you help? Can you spare 100, 150, 500 rupees? Think of the children (because there are almost always children).

If you really do feel for the person and would be willing to help, ask for the name and phone number of the hospital/store/school where the shortfall is and offer to pay the bill or make a donation there yourself. Chances are the story will change a little and you won’t get any useable information. If you do, check the story. As an example, one shortfall started at a store where a good Samaritan social worker had prepaid for milk for poor children out of his own pocket – when I asked for the name of the store, it turned out he was really buying the milk directly from individual farmers with cows; I asked for their names, and gee, you’ll never be able to find them, give me your phone number; no, give me their names and general locations, I’ll hire a local driver and find them; and he left. Never, ever give out your contact information.

Of the two dozen or so people who have tried one of these on me, only one gave a legitimate address, and that school had no idea what I was talking about.

Worse, these scams can be done using kids in pressed clothes or uniforms doing the asking, nominally on behalf of a school. Ask for an address, phone number, or card: likely there isn’t one. Ask for their name. Follow up, including names.