Chennai or Madras?

Chennai was earlier known as Madras but in 1997 its name was officially changed. The Tamil speaking population called it Chennai earlier, so it's really not a new name. It is still often known by the old name and on several maps you will still not find Chennai. The international IATA abbreviation is also still MAA.

How to get to Chennai
The following airlines have direct flights from Europe to Chennai 6 days a week: British Airways (via London) (BA now has Club Class flat beds on this route which means you can get a good nights sleep) and Lufthansa (via Frankfurt). Apart from these there are several airlines that fly to Chennai: Singapore Airlines, Air Lanka, Gulf Air, Emirates, Saudi Air, Malaysian Airlines, Air India. Then there are a number of airlines who fly to Delhi or Mumbai (Bombay) like KLM, SAS, Air France and others. A number of domestic carriers - Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Sahara Airways, get you to Chennai from other parts of India. We would recommend that you take an airline that brings you directly to Chennai. Transiting through other airports is more difficult, especially for a first time traveller to Asia.

Visa
Most nationalities require a visa to enter India. Please get in touch with your nearest Indian Embassy or Consulate (In Sweden: Tel no. 08-4113213 or 08-107008, address: Adolf Fredriks Kyrkogata 12, Stockholm). If you intend to visit India more than once you can apply for a multi-entry business visa. For that you will need an invitation from us.

Accomodation
We can recommend and help you to book hotels in Chennai for rates which are generally much lower than you can get via your travel agent. We also have special prices with some hotel chains.A typical decent three star hotel will charge about US$30 per night. Three star hotels will mostly have a good multi-cuisine restaurant and a bar. They may have a pool. Five star hotels will typically charge from $90 per night and upwards. Five star hotels will have pools, gyms and many restaurants, entertainment, etc. Here is some more hotel info.We also have a a membership in a local sport club and can arrange less expensive but good accommodation for our guests in the club guest house.

Currency and Exchange
We don't recommend you to exchange to rupees abroad since you will get much better rate at an Indian International airport. Credit cards work well at Hotels, restaurants and most large shops. However if you want a taxi or a bottle of mineral water from a small shop you will have to pay cash. USD, GBP or Euro or other hard currencies can be easily exchanged at the Airport (in the arrival hall) or at Foreign exchange offices in the city. The Indian rupee is called INR but the local abbreviation is 1 Re. or many Rs. Currently the rate is about Rs. 46 per US dollar..

Recreation
Mahabalipuram or Mammalapuram, as it was called in the past, is a small fishing village some 60km south of Chennai. There are a number of good beach resorts, but no mass tourism. Apart from a relaxing atmosphere, big and good waves and swimming pools there are also many interesting archaeological sites. The most famous is the Monolith temple on the beach which dates back to 670 AD There is no mass tourism and we can recommend Fisherman's Cove (5 star) and Ideal Beach (3 star), which are the best hotels available. If you book your travel in advance, we recommend a visit to Andaman and Nicobar Islands - a group of Islands between India and Singapore which are supposed to be one of the few island paradises still untouched by modern commercialism. There are plenty of good reefs for diving and unspoilt beaches. You may have too book as much as 3 months in advance with Indian Airlines from Chennai.

Eating out
Restaurants are very cheap compared to most western countries. You can get a good meal at an acceptable restaurant for less than 3 dollars. Even if you go for the luxury restaurants the prices are very competitive. At the Patio (the best French restaurant in the city), a main course will cost you about $10-15 and the service and the food is world class. You would not find many western fast food joints (though a few are available) but since Indian food is very tasty we don't think you will miss them very much.

Local transportation
Cheap three wheeled taxis are available everywhere. Though the drivers hardly speak English you can easily negotiate the price to the place you want to go. If you prefer renting an air-conditioned car with driver the price for a full day is about $20-40 depending on how far you want to go.

What to take home
Clothes and materials like cotton and silk are very inexpensive. If you stay for more than a week you can have your clothes tailor made. Branded clothes are also available cheaper than in the west. Benetton, La Coste, Levis, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Arrow, Nike and Reebok are all available at branded showrooms. Lots of traditional handicrafts in wood, marble, limestone or brass are also available.

The City
Chennai is a traditional city, more than Delhi or Mumbai. Most women dress in traditional
clothes like Sari or Salwar Kameez. Quite a few of the men you see in the streets
still use a dhoti or a lungi. However in business the men mostly dress in western clothes.
Chennai is a very colourful city with lots of happy beautiful faces. You will find Hindu temples in most corners but there are also lots of other religious minorities including quite large communities of Christians and Muslims. The different religions live side by side peacefully. Religion is very important in South India, but there is also much respect for the differences. There is less poverty than in the northern parts of India, though still there are slum areas and beggars here too. Chennai has a population of about 8 million people. It is not a very large city since the radius is only about 20km. The traffic is busy and maybe the only obvious sign that Chennai is a megacity. Most people live in village areas and from the air you will see mostly palm trees. Public transportation is well organised with suburban trains and frequent bus service everywhere in the city. These can of course be very crowded at times. Some buildings worth seeing are: The Madras High Court, The Art museum, Fort St. George, Madras Central Railway Station, a few Hindu temples and a few old British administrative buildings. Most buildings are not well-maintained. Looking at important buildings is not the main reason for going to Chennai ; there are others: the people, the colours, the countryside, the beach and the hill resorts.

Dress Code
The dress code is fairly informal for men even in business. You will normally never use a jacket or tie unless you are invited to the Madras Club. Women should however keep in mind that India is quite conservative and use conservative clothing covering legs and necklines.

Language
English is lingua franca and lots of Chennaites have studied in English medium schools. Even the poorer part of the population will normally speak enough English to help you find your way or understand if you want to purchase something. According to our experience, communication in English often works better than in many places in Southern Europe.

The Weather
You will often be told that there are three seasons in Chennai: The hot, the hotter and the hottest. Actually it's not that bad. The closeness to the equator and the sea makes the difference in temperatures over the year very small. The table below shows approximate temperatures and weather types, and the variations from year to year are normally very small. Unlike in most North European countries the weather is quite predictable. Temperatures below are in Centigrade

Months	Weather Type	Day	Night
December - March	In December the weather is generally cloudy but there are only a few showers compared to the main monsoon months. In January it is normally quite sunny. This is the best time to visit Chennai. January is the main tourist season.	+25 to + 32	+18 to +25
April - June	Clear skies, very warm, top temperatures are in late May and early June. A few days a year the temperature can go up to more than +40.	+34 to +38	+25 to +30
July - September	The summer monsoon (The south west monsoon) normally starts first week of July. The weather is generally cloudy, some showers now and then, but you will see the sun once in a while also.	+28 to +35	+24 to +28
October - November	This is the main monsoon (The North East monsoon). The weather is generally cloudy with quite heavy showers from time to time. Occasionally parts of the city are flooded. There are sunny days also.	+25 to +33	+22 to +26

Our Office
Our office is located in a duty free export zone (MEPZ - Madras Export Processing Zone), about 6 km from the International & domestic airport. Our office is on the first floor in SDF II, Unit 27. Our telephone numbers are 091-44-2262 7541

Tropical Diseases and Immunisations
There are far fewer dangerous tropical diseases in India than in most other parts of the Tropics and South India is also safer than North India. Since almost all food is cooked the most important advice is to watch out for the water and only drink boiled, mineral water or purified water. Malaria is prevalent in India, but in the Chennai region it is quite rare. The type of malaria which exists is called M. Vivax and is quite harmless, compared to the tropical malaria M. Phalsipharum. Though it is extremly unlikely to get malaria the mosquitoes are a problem at nights but they do not like an air-conditioned environment. Most westerners staying here long time do not take any malaria prevention since the drugs may actually harm you more than malaria, and the statistical risk of getting it is very low. Swedish doctors suggest that you take Chloroquin as profylax on short strips in case you plan to go outside major cities. Immunisations recommended are Gamma globulin, Tetanus and Polio. Instead of Gamma globulin Havrix gives 10 years protection against Hepatitis A. For more information about Travel and Diseases please check National Travel Health Network and Centre.