A quaint, small fishing village some 50 km south of Chennai, it was our first stop after Chennai. It is known for its many temples, including the shore temple, and it is an ideal escape from the chaos of chennai. We were happy to get there!! Sea breezes and cheap good food! It only takes a day to explore the temples, and we were proud to say they were our first! We had lunch at a great South Indian local spot and took a break in the park/temple complex during the heat of the day.
We stayed at a cute hotel near the water with a rooftop restaurant. It was a peaceful escape for some R&R.
One of the things you notice immediately in India is the lack of beach culture. For instance, in places on the coast, like Chennai or Mamallapuram there is prime coastal property by the Indian Ocean. Yet, no one is swimming even though its incredibly hot, and no one even hangs out on the beach. Sometimes you will get stands or kiosks on the beach selling goods instead! There is absolutely no life on the beach in India, it is just not in the culture at all. The ocean is a place for fisherman, maybe some temples, & occasionally used as a bathroom!!! That concept really bothers me because people love water and the therapeutic properties of water are indisputable, yet India does not seem to embrace that! I was told there are some coastal towns (mainly in the south) that do have a bit of a beach culture, but it is because they are touristy places. I am curious as to why this is the case here....
Anyways, the temples were nice & we got some R&R after a blistering hot day. The plan for the next day was to catch a local bus to Pondicherry just down the coast of Tamil Nadu state. Waiting for the bus as well as riding in it was an adventure. Not as crazy I had imagined it, but definitively not an experience we were used to. After missing 2 buses in a row while standing at the bus stop (the driver just dropped people off and left before we could get on) we caught the 3 rd bus....
Filled with people, we were forced to hang out near the open side door, Tom actually standing on the stairs and enjoying the breeze from the wide open door! In the meantime, I was squished some were in the middle of the bus, weaving in & out if people whenever there was a changeover. We stood like that for a good hour before we snatched some seats! In the meantime, the driver was weaving through traffic in a mayhem! I felt like I was on a Formula 1 racetrack! Of note, both city & highway driving in India is INSANE!! Worse than East Africa!
Anyways, we made it safely !
