My first full day involved the joys of changing money, quite often an onerous experience. I probably did not help myself by going to C.P. (Connaught Place, the circular area with many white-washed older buildings). Any number of apparently well-meaning people wanted to engage me in conversation and quickly assured me that they were friends and not after my money, always a warning sign. One said that he was a Nepali who was just over for a few days... He, of course, knew a foreign exchange place which offered me Rs96 to the pound. I said that I was after Rs101 and got it but did not change there as I wanted someone who had money on the premises and not someone I was going to hand over money to who then went off to change it. I think that I finally changed it at the third such place and then noticed a horrible grin on the changer's face... It was all fine and my mind playing games.
I went on to the market in Chandni Chowk, a place I should have seen previously but hadn't. It was wonderful but so big that I became so confused that I had to buy my kurta pyjamas in Jwala Heri market, near Paschim Vihar. Chandni Chowk was a delight and great fun despite my not buying anything there during my hour's visit. On my way back to Jwala Heri, it was nice seeing the Red Fort. I had never seen the Jama Masjid, an apparently vast Muslim temple: I still haven't, time having run out. Next time.
The main highlight of my visit to Delhi was undoubtedly the visit to the Arun Jaitley Stadium (formerly known as Feroz Shah Kotla) for the India and Afghanistan World Cup match. It was very noticeable that crowds were pretty sparce unless India was playing. I considered myself extremely lucky to be watching India as tickets were like gold dust if booked online through Book My Show. It was essentially hopeless and required a bucketful of luck in securing a ticket that way. That said, my ticket was in the West Stand and I was surprised that only the first half of the stand was packed, the rear section being essentially quiet although it did fill up later. Seats were unreserved so I could move about and it was fun witnessing some Afghan supporters (who were made much of by the crowd and the TV cameras). Indeed, it was a friendly experience, as usual. The ground looked wonderful with the stands and billboards all delightfully decorative.
The cricket was good too. Afghanistan may have lost comparatively easily after a sublime Rohit Sharma century (which took him above Sachin Tendulkar's World Cup record of six) but the Afghan team did make almost their largest World Cup total and gave a good account of themselves. With the match being a day/night game, the stadium looked delightful under lights. Entry into the ground was far easier than I had imagined too. Much is banned from being taken into the stadium but, although cameras are one such banned commodity, I could hardly believe that mobile telephones could be kept out. They weren't. Strangely, I have one and it wasn't even noticed although a couple of paracetamol were...
I had a fairly early start the following morning for my flight down to Chennai and travelled back to the airport by bus and metro which went smoothly. The Indigo flight was also good and there were not too many complications and it was only much later that I realised that I had not been asked to show my credit card which purchased the flight at the same time as the boarding pass. There have been hassles with this arrangement before especially if the card has been changed since the flight was booked. Anyway, this flight too was on time and arrival was at 3 p.m. after which I travelled on the local/suburban train to the large Egmore station where I was staying.
This 25-minute, 10p journey from Tirusulam Station (adjoining the airport) was terrific fun. I must have travelled on this train over a hundred times since 1986 and it brought back many memories. When it is busy, people hang out of the open doors (although I have never seen people on the roof, something which is advertised as being banned and a "punishable offence", like much else in India). Have a beer and travel back on that train hanging on in the doorway is not necessarily recommended. Anyway, this time I was stone-cold sober and had a seat for most of the way for good measure. Disabled and blind folk ply their trade inside the carriages but it does seem that some of the carriages have been upgraded since I last used it.

The main place for me in that area is the delightful arts and crafts shop, Cane and Bamboo, in Ethiraj Lane. I have known Thomas and Thangam Philip since 1986 and it is always a pleasure to see them, this time after quite some length of time. Inevitably, I came out well laden.
One impromptu purchase, a watch, came from a man on the street selling his wares on the main street close to Cane and Bamboo and near to a bus stop. My watch had given up and I just wanted a cheap one to tide me over. I fancied my chances when I saw this chap sitting on the ground but he was completely unbiddable and his English very good. I really didn't have the heart - or the confidence - to take him on but did come away with a £2.50p watch which has required rather a lot of winding up since... I am not sure what his refund policy is, though.
Armed with a ticket, entrance to the New Zealand and Bangladesh match in the afternoon was far easier than the previous afternoon. The concrete bowl which I had visited for the epic 1987 World Cup match has been replaced by this much more pleasing, tented-stand stadium and I would seriously rate it as highly as Lord's for my own personal enjoyment. There are also walls commemorating noble deeds of the Chepauk (mostly from the concrete bowl days) including the famous Tied Test in 1986 and Narendra Hirwani's 16 for 136 on debut in 1988.
I was not remotely surprised that I found myself in one of the busiest stands. I took this to mean that it was one of the cheapest stands (Rs1000 or approximately £10): I had gone for it on the strength of price and I imagined that others had too. The difference was that one had to pre-book a particular seat (and hope that no-one else took it if you left it). When I saw that not all of this lower stand was under cover, I did rather hope that I had chosen wisely. I had, and even though I had booked the last row on the end of the very last row back, I could still look pretty much down the wicket and see the action (although not to see birthday boy Litton Das's caught-on-the-boundary dismissal to the very first ball of the match). Generally speaking, the crowd numbers were not terrific but it was another happy atmosphere.
Again, under lights, the ground looked fantastic. It may not have been the most exciting of matches, the well-drilled New Zealand team comfortably overcoming their opponents. Like many matches in India, it was a pleasure and privilege to attend.
My last full day of the trip was the one where I had a lot of visiting to do. I felt, as usual, that preparation was key so had worked out public transport times (suburban train, bus and metro) in helping me visit all of the places and it worked almost perfectly and saved a lot of time from trying to work out a way between the many places on the hoof.

The cave where St. Thomas spent a good deal of his life is in the area called Little Mount or Chinnamalai in the Saidapet area which is much closer to the city and meant taking the metro. Entrance is through a small gate to the Shrine of Our Lady of Health & St. Thomas the Apostle after which is found another delightful area. The church, built in 1551, is quaint and the guide insisted on taking me into the cave, presumably recognising my height. It wasn't easy as the entrance is small and care needs to be taken in remaining upright without hitting one's head frequently. There is an altar and a foot and hand impression of St. Thomas.
I had a brief visit to the Shiva-dedicted, Hindu Temple, Karaneeshwarer, also in the Saidapet area after a shopping stop. It wasn't open at that stage but was still an impressive sight from the outside.
The only slightly tricky journey was between Little Mount and San Thome Cathedral. The direct bus did not appear and, after being told which bus to take, I was then informed en route that I must also change in Adyar. It worked out adequately and everyone was very helpful.
I have seen the cathedral before and it is in a beautiful spot near the marina. I visited St. Thomas's tomb and found out that there are three cathedrals in the world which house the tombs of Jesus's disciples: St. Thomas here in Chennai; St. Peter in Rome/Vatican City and St. James in Santiago de Compostela. I am lucky to have visited all three. San Thome is a beautiful, tall, white-washed building which is one of Chennai's many highlights and very well worth a visit.
Close by stands the Chennai Lighthouse, another of the city's highlights. I had only recently found out that one can take the lift up to its vantage point. Okay, they charge foreigners five times more than locals but it was still very cheap and great fun. People seemed to be restricted to a brief visit but the views of the city and marina were spectacular and it was a lovely way of seeing the city and admiring the view.
It was fun also stopping further up the marina in the area by the cricket stadium. There are some wonderful buildings such as the University and the renowned Triumph of Labour statue. A walk along the marina is always a treat.
My last evening was spent following the cricket, eating and working out the least-fraught way of travelling to the airport for my return flight. It meant leaving at around 11 p.m. when most public transport was closing down but I did manage to take the last suburban train of the day from Egmore. I had been congratulating myself on not losing my nous on how to cross busy Indian roads and indeed smiled at my success after I had crossed the last such road. Crash! Hit by a motor-cyclist travelling the wrong way down the road... No damage done to anyone and we all had a laugh about it.
The journey back was long as there was quite a wait at Chennai and Abu Dhabi. The flights were once again excellent and an added bonus was finding the live coverage of the England and Afghanistan game at Delhi. It came as quite a surprise to be able to watch it (and the later result). However long the journey had taken, it had gone very smoothly something which could not be said for arrival in London. Most trains to Rugby had been cancelled due to a points failure earlier in the day. It meant taking a slow train to Northampton after which a further train to Rugby so I was not back quite as late as appeared likely at one stage. Fair play, though, to West Midlands trains who approved and paid the compensation/Delay Repay within just a couple of days.
So, an excellent trip ended and, whilst it took a few days to recover from, I was delighted to have been able to return for my forty-second visit to India as I did wonder if I would make it back in the foreseeable future. I expect that I shall be back.