Share Autos ofvChennai

One of the cheapest yet easy modes of travel in Chennai is by share auto. If you are ready to sit a little cramped in a space for three seats as the fourth seat you will do well. Be also prepared to hear the colorful language of the drivers. Also don't expect a very safe driving. The fares are very economical. Typically a 5 km journey will cost you just 10 bucks. A 15 km ride would cost about Rs.35/-.

The best part is the various types of co passengers you will meet. You are likely to encounter young college kids chattering away, some reading, some with earphones clamped onto their ears, young mothers with infants in arms, school children sharing toffees with their friends, the occasional drunk man, some office types who pompously talk loudly on their mobiles, housewives with vegetable laden bags and several such people.  A share auto rider comes from all classes. I have seen middle aged ladies praying and chanting. One most common site is whatsapping and gaming..

Kodaikanal Road Station

Recently I had to take a train from Kodaikanal Road station at around 1130 at night. We reached the station around 8 pm. The crowd at the station was very thin and by the time it was 10 pm the whole station was deserted. There was literally no one except me and my wife and a couple of staff including the station master.  It was a scene straight out of a horror movie. Then we changed platforms and found at the far end a couple of guys chatting with a eunuch in between. It was all very suggestive.  The waiting room at platform No.1 had toilets which didn't have water.
I feel it's a huge security risk when anyone could enter the station and commit acts of crime including plant some stuff like explosives.
At such stations and especially at odd hours there must be regular patrolling by Railway police.
We found one Railway Police post unmanned.