The Metro from the airport to our hotel was easy, no changes and it took just under half an hour. Slight panic at the ticket office when our credit cards were refused, but we think it was because it was below the minimum spend (the tickets are very cheap). We exchanged some £ for rupees and all was fine. I almost walked into the women’s only carriage but Mike spotted the sign just in time.

When we got to our hotel they were serving breakfast so we had some dossa, dhal and done steamed buns (all delicious), before heading to our room for some much needed sleep. A few hours later we were much refreshed and ready to go for a wander.

On the map it looked like a short walk to a small botanical garden. Google maps said 15 minutes so that seemed doable. What I hadn’t really taken into account was a) the heat – it’s in the high 20s and very humid, and b) the traffic – or more to the point the pollution. Our hotel is on a main road and it’s horrendous. I couldn’t drive here – it’s mad. The volume of traffic creates a haze of smog that you can taste and feel. I’ll be glad to get out of the city tomorrow and to some (hopefully) clearer air down the coast.

Nevertheless we persevered with our walk, treading our way along what might be generous to call pavement. Sometimes they are there, sometimes they are not. Even when there is, pavement you can suddenly come to a big hole that if you weren’t paying attention to, you could easily trip down. Google maps finally took us away from the traffic clogged main road down a side street which had its own challenges – no pavement at all, plus piles of rubble and litter. At the end was our destination – the botanic garden. When we arrived, to our surprise (and my delight) we discovered the garden is currently hosting the Chennai Flower Show!

We paid our entry fee 200 rupees each (about £2), and followed the crowds. It was certainly popular there were so many families out enjoying the displays. Now, we’re not talking Chelsea Flower Show here, more English seaside carpet bedding. There were colourful block displays and then dotted throughout the garden, floral bedding displays in all different shapes. My particular favourite was the teapot pouring flowers into a cup, but there was a train, car, peacock, elephants and more. The best bit was people watching – the women were wearing the most amazing saris that were as bright, if not brighter than the flowers. The men looked very dowdy by contrast. In fact we looked quite bland ourselves – must try harder! By the end of the holiday we should aim to take our cue from  the colourful as floral peacock (or the women).