We have just spent the last week and a half in Kerala's neighbouring state Tamil Nadu, which always makes me think of Xanadu and Olivia Newton John on rollerskates every time I say it (if you have not seen that film you are missing out) Anyway, I digress...
We had a complete change of temperature on arrival here. One moment I am standing in a bucket of hot water in Munnar and we are huddling under four blankets to keep warm, the next sweating like pigs on a bus to Madurai. The lower down the mountain the bus got, the hotter the temperature gauge became until the thought of blankets and hot water was about as pleasant as being in a room full of flies and mozzies (....hang on a minute....where's the mozzie net gone?....)
Once we had acclimatised again we were able to enjoy this dusty temple town. The spires of the towers were sadly half covered by bamboo scaffolding as they repaint them every 12 years. This in itself was very interesting to see though, and I am sure would not pass any health and safety tests back home (still, not much in India would!)
Inside the temple complex we were both blown away by not only the carvings but by the everyday workings of the temple. Unlike some we have visited, this complex is used by the masses and visited by up to 10,000 people a day, many of whom are pilgrims. Just watching the rituals, along with all the sounds and smells makes you feel you have stepped into another world and time. We were glad we had employed a guide to explain everything to us, as we would have missed alot of the finer points of the temples. People not only go for religious purposes but also to arrange marriages among other things. He explained the two families of the proposed couple come to the temple along with the details of their son/daughter including job, education, dowry,horoscope and of course mobile number(no stopping progress) On asking what happens if the horoscopes don't match the answer was all can be fixed by a Brahman priest for the right price. Easy peasy Japanesy.
After all the temples we went in search of the flower market which was just incredible. We made some friends and I tried to learn how to make the flower garlands but failed miserably, so just watched in amazement as the people strung and tied tiny flowers into beautiful garlands at amazing speed. It never ceases to amaze us how friendly people are here. Once you leave the tourist enclaves (where all you get is the hard sell and hassle) you end up having broken conversations, being offered chai and having endless combinations of photos with the same people as more and more of there friends and family arrive and see they have missed out on being in the shot!
We also visited the Gandhi museum in Madurai.After this we read in the Lonely Planet that next to this museum was another, the Government museum which apparently houses a collection of sculptures and carvings. It was instantly recognisable as the building with the large T-Rex out the front. Needless to say, we assumed this was the best bit, took a photo and moved on.
From Madurai to Pondicherri was the next stop and quite a contrast. This is a town that was colonised by the French and the influence of this time lives on. The first child we walked past said 'Bonjour' which was the first clue. After that there were street signs, croissants and cows with French accents......all quite surreal really. Of course there was no supressing the Indian side to the city and we passed a hilarious day watching Australia play India in the cricket. It began as just Will and I and a few Indian guys in a cafe for the first 30 overs but as the game went on and it looked like India would win the room slowly got fuller and fuller until by the end I was praying Australia wouldn't make a comeback as I could hardly bare to witness the disappointment on such a scale! India did win and there was much cheering and shaking of my hand. Obviously I put all my good sportsmanship into play and took the defeat gracefully!
The architecture in Pondi was amazing, a mix of colonial French and traditional Tamil styles. I am already planning on somehow getting rich enough to build a house like these one day! As in every Indian beachside town, promenading along the shore in the evening is a must and certainly presents a million photo opportunites. I have put a couple favourites on the blog (the candy floss sellers and the baby in the dolphins mouth!)
I am writing this post from Mamallapuram, just south of Chennai. Yet another temple filled town and the home to many stone masons. Granite sculptures everywhere, mostly of the Hindu God's but as one guy showed us yesterday, he had brought this artform into the 20th century by depicting his Ganesh sculptures with the elephant reclining with a laptop! Tempting.....but no thanks.
and so, our next stop on our adventure is the Andaman Islands. We fly from Chennai tomorrow morning and will spend the next two weeks there before heading to Nepal to meet my Mum. If the Lonely Planet is up to date, then we will be without internet during this time. But I can tell you that I am planning to learn to dive (Amy-we shall truely be twin dolphins now!) and Will is going to get some long awaited dives in too. Apart from that it will be snorkelling and laying about on pristine beaches. Hard work but someone has to do it (call me a cow if you must as here they are sacred!) So, until I post again, love to you all and welcome to Blake Lyons who leapt into the leap year just in time!
xxxxWill and Raina
