Escape from Chennai – arrival at Mamallapuram
Customs – We had been warned in Australia, we were warned by the clearing agents here in India, Customs will be difficult. Luckily we got a good officer who Andrew talked to about travel, the officers job and other niceties, and he seemed very nice. It still took 2 1/5 days to clear the car. Andrew was there when they initially opened the container, and said the car looked fine. The lock we'd put in the door was a bit smashed up – perhaps there were some heavy seas between Melbourne and Chennai. The container was re-sealed, ready to be moved from the docks.
The clearing agents were running around like Laurel and Hardy initially, but in the end we'll not know if they actually did a lot of ground work for us, as customs ended up being a piece of cake. They didn't even look in the car. We had emptied the fuel tank and gas bottle apparently for nothing! (We are now struggling to find somewhere to fill the bottle up again. They did ask questions such as 'the condition of the fuel filter', 'does it have a cup holder?', and 'how many indicators?'.
We took more than 6 auto trips to and from the clearing agents offices – in 35 degree heat, and also had to arrange car insurance. Other travellers with their own vehicle told us not to worry, or that they had tried but been refused insurance, but after some more thought we decided to visit the National India Insurance Company. At first we were told we were in the wrong office, then we were told they don't insure foreign vehicles and then (when we doubted the last answer and wanted to query it further) we were told at a different office, same company, that they had not insured a car like ours before, but they'd give it a go. Nearly 40 degrees outside, freezing in the office and 2 hours later we had filled out the forms and gotten a quote. They seemed really nice and not just 'in it for the cash'. 3000 rupees was the quote which equates to about $110. They did say however that they'd need to do an inspection of the vehicle before they would cover us.
On the day we actually received the car we had to go with the clearing agent to a huge freight container handling facility. It is about 15kms north of the city, and I'm glad we were not having to direct ourselves. The Indian men working at the handling yard had already broken the seal when we got there, and were working to get the wooden chocks out from under the car. Andrew backed it out of the container onto a cement ramp, and soon enough we were in Indian traffic, following our agent back to Triplicane where we had been staying. Andrew's first experience with driving in city traffic was interesting to say the least, but I was VERY impressed with his skills. I feel a lot safer up high in the landcruiser, rather than down at walking level as huge buses swerve and cut in on the road.
The clearing agents took the port charges back to their offices to work out our bill, and we decided to call the insurance people to inspect the car. Unfortunately language difficulties meant that when I thought they were on their way, they were wondering where we were. The owner of the guest house where we were staying used his phone to speak to them, and after some conversation he said 'I have a friend.... he can insure you cheap price.' Before we knew it some other guy from a different company turned up, grabbed the paperwork we'd filled out with the other company and called his boss. We handed over 3000 rupees and off he rode on his motorbike. An hour and a half later both the insurance and clearing agents arrived. We ended up paying 38 800 rupees – about $1200 to clear the car. Insurance was 2600 rupees. We headed out of Chennai at about 5pm – knowing we were racing the sunset, but desperate for some relief from the noise and bustle.
Minor car repair – here at Mamallapuram we needed to get a new terminal for one of the batteries as ours broke when Andrew tightened it. The post is a little worse for wear after our 'meltdown' in Melbourne the day before we left. Bad connections on a 900cc battery....
Customs – We had been warned in Australia, we were warned by the clearing agents here in India, Customs will be difficult. Luckily we got a good officer who Andrew talked to about travel, the officers job and other niceties, and he seemed very nice. It still took 2 1/5 days to clear the car. Andrew was there when they initially opened the container, and said the car looked fine. The lock we'd put in the door was a bit smashed up – perhaps there were some heavy seas between Melbourne and Chennai. The container was re-sealed, ready to be moved from the docks.
The clearing agents were running around like Laurel and Hardy initially, but in the end we'll not know if they actually did a lot of ground work for us, as customs ended up being a piece of cake. They didn't even look in the car. We had emptied the fuel tank and gas bottle apparently for nothing! (We are now struggling to find somewhere to fill the bottle up again. They did ask questions such as 'the condition of the fuel filter', 'does it have a cup holder?', and 'how many indicators?'.
We took more than 6 auto trips to and from the clearing agents offices – in 35 degree heat, and also had to arrange car insurance. Other travellers with their own vehicle told us not to worry, or that they had tried but been refused insurance, but after some more thought we decided to visit the National India Insurance Company. At first we were told we were in the wrong office, then we were told they don't insure foreign vehicles and then (when we doubted the last answer and wanted to query it further) we were told at a different office, same company, that they had not insured a car like ours before, but they'd give it a go. Nearly 40 degrees outside, freezing in the office and 2 hours later we had filled out the forms and gotten a quote. They seemed really nice and not just 'in it for the cash'. 3000 rupees was the quote which equates to about $110. They did say however that they'd need to do an inspection of the vehicle before they would cover us.
On the day we actually received the car we had to go with the clearing agent to a huge freight container handling facility. It is about 15kms north of the city, and I'm glad we were not having to direct ourselves. The Indian men working at the handling yard had already broken the seal when we got there, and were working to get the wooden chocks out from under the car. Andrew backed it out of the container onto a cement ramp, and soon enough we were in Indian traffic, following our agent back to Triplicane where we had been staying. Andrew's first experience with driving in city traffic was interesting to say the least, but I was VERY impressed with his skills. I feel a lot safer up high in the landcruiser, rather than down at walking level as huge buses swerve and cut in on the road.
The clearing agents took the port charges back to their offices to work out our bill, and we decided to call the insurance people to inspect the car. Unfortunately language difficulties meant that when I thought they were on their way, they were wondering where we were. The owner of the guest house where we were staying used his phone to speak to them, and after some conversation he said 'I have a friend.... he can insure you cheap price.' Before we knew it some other guy from a different company turned up, grabbed the paperwork we'd filled out with the other company and called his boss. We handed over 3000 rupees and off he rode on his motorbike. An hour and a half later both the insurance and clearing agents arrived. We ended up paying 38 800 rupees – about $1200 to clear the car. Insurance was 2600 rupees. We headed out of Chennai at about 5pm – knowing we were racing the sunset, but desperate for some relief from the noise and bustle.
Minor car repair – here at Mamallapuram we needed to get a new terminal for one of the batteries as ours broke when Andrew tightened it. The post is a little worse for wear after our 'meltdown' in Melbourne the day before we left. Bad connections on a 900cc battery....
I don't know about you guys.... If I had of been there I would have been the worst friend in the world. Over reacting with poeple whom do not speak english as there first language... Supicious of any one whom wanted money no matter who they new... and lets not even discuss the heat situation i would obviously be three pant sizes smaller for sure.... sounds like you guys are on your way so excellent to read this blog of yours... Miss you guys all the best tonight. Ca-na-d-a
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