Southern India - 18 February 2012 (4)

Dinner in Mamallapuram

We all met up at 1830, dressed in our best for our last meal together.  I wore the top I had bought that morning.  After a few photos, we got on the bus and headed for the Moonraker restaurant in the centre of town.  Lukose said that it was owned by two brothers and they were doing very well.  Someone, possibly Bella, said that it was in the guidebooks and highly recommended.  They gave us one long table and a smaller table where Jen, Mike, Andrew, Sue and Martin sat with Lukose.

Most people on our table ordered the mixed fish: tuna steak, prawns and calamari with rice.  Shona and Stewart ordered just the tuna, but got a huge fish complete with head and tail, but not much meat.  I don’t think it was tuna.  I got a veggie masala, which, I was told, would be hot like the crisps.  It tasted very nice, but wasn’t hot by any means.  Almost everyone ordered beer and it flowed, with bottles being replaced long before the food was ready.  I think most people had downed a couple of bottles before my fresh lime soda and Bella’s tonic water arrived.  At one point in the proceedings, the waiters brought round cups and told people to pour the beer in them and then collected the bottles.  Apparently this was a dry area and they feared a police raid.

It was an even longer wait for the food, so Bella and Diane disappeared to a nearby shop for some last minute shopping.  They came back just as the food arrived and said that they had ordered some outfits which would be ready the next day.  Bella and Steve weren’t going back to the UK with us, so the plan was for Bella to pick up the completed outfits and send Diane’s on via a relation or friend who lived near Diane.

Towards the end of the meal, Diane gave Lukose the card and the tip and said some words.  She had wanted everyone to say something in appreciation of everything which Lukose had done and lots of people did say a few words.  I couldn’t think of anything new to say, so I kept quiet, but I did appreciate all his hard work.  Another envelope went round for an extra tip for Guruprasad as he had taken us out for the evening, above and beyond what he had been required to do.  Lukose suggested Rs200 and most of us were happy to contribute that.

The fun came with the bills.  I wanted my own bill as I had only had a veggie dish and the fresh lime soda.  Shona and Stewart had a separate bill for their fish and Pam and Reg also wanted their own bill as they said they had only had one bottle of beer and they had seen how much most of the others had drunk.  The others shared the rest of the bill.  I went downstairs to pay my bill, which came to Rs180.  I gave a waiter Rs20 as a tip and he happily stuffed it into the tip box, declaring that they all shared.  Apparently the others all paid Rs750.  By Southern India standards, that sounds a lot, but it was only £10.

Toad in Hotel Garden

Then it was time to get back on the bus and head for home.  While I was waiting for the others to come, I got a photo of Guruprasad, leaning out of his bus.

Back at the hotel, we said goodbye to Andrew, Reg and Pam.  Bella and Steve promised to get up and see us off the next morning.  Andrew escorted Jen and me back to the chalet.  On the way, Jen spotted a toad in one of the gardens.  Then we said goodbye again and went in for an early night.