Thanks for all your advice.

Trip's been postponed to mid-May, I guess it will be even hotter by then...

Most of India generally has three seasons. Hot, hotter, and inferno. Hire an air conditioned car for the day. The drivers will often try to save a bit of money by turning the a/c on and off repeatedly but a mild rebuke will set them straight. Have fun.

MAA in May ... Ouch.

MAA .. ouch

-- this from a resident in MAA for the last 6 years

I personally think an autorisckshaw is the way to go. Even locals get ripped off but sitting in the thing in the heat and humidity is an experience on its own and you get to see, feel and smell the city firsthand (though the latter two certainly are not for everyone).

Hiring a car for the day, while expensive is easy but you just don't get the authenticity...

^^

Or get up early in the morning (6-ish when the town is just waking up) and walk out from your hotel (it's in a good area), discover you are lost and take a 3-wheeler back to the Sheraton for breakfast and back to work.

I was there in August. Does anyone want to compare heat and humidity notes?

I live there all the year round. You want heat and humidity notes? I got pages and pages of them .. Kingfisher beer. And more Kingfisher beer. And coconut water straight from the coconut, and sugarcane juice, and iced, spiced (with chili peppers, cilantro leaves etc) buttermilk.

I've done my share of summers in Chennai/TN. Ouch is an understatement.

Looks like I'll be going there in October now.

What is the weather like then ? Still infernesque ?

Oct - Feb the weather is quite pleasant.

chennai
 

we will be in chennai in december for a few days (26-29 dec)

can you let me know which hotel to stay in at the seaside? I ve heard that the sea there is fantastic. My budget s around 100-150 usd per night for a double bed.

which restaurants to eat in? i love indian food but it has to be in a nice indian decent place

i m also happy to get from the chennai airport directly outside the city and leave it but not too far though

thanks for your help

1. Fishermans Cove or a bunch of others along the kovalam beach / east coast road. Fish Cove would go to $50..75 over your budget.

2. http://chennai.burrp.com/ is decent wrt restaurant reviews - but all those are in madras city, and the seaside / beach view hotels are about an hour and a half at least away.

sold out
 

the only problem is that they are sold out

are the rooms in DEC 2008 are not made available yet or are they really sold out

it sounds strange to me unless there are some conferences 27-30 dec 2008

what do you think of the
Grt Temple Bay Beach Resort?

Madras Hotel Question
 

For a trip to Madras next month, I am debating between the Hilton and the Crowne Plaza; they are both similarly priced and I hold status at both chains.

Which one is better? Which one is easier for public transport and which one has more shops / restaurants within easy walking distance?

never stayed at the crowne plaza but i have stayed at the hilton a couple of times & would not hesitate to go back....