Mamallapuram

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Made our way south of Chennai to Mamallapuram. Caught up with a couple we met in Varkala and they tipped us off about some good rooms down on the beach so it was a hassle free trip....Fab. Great to catch up too - like meeting long lost friends even though we've only known each other a few hours!

Pete's done some fishing - off the beach with another guy we met and the boy who looks after the guest house - caught one so he was full of it - posing for the angling times and such like!!!

Mamallapuram is a fishing village which doesnt seem to have so may tourists staying. As with many places in India some places are beautiful and others quite squalid. It does have some amazing stone carvings throughout the village and on the outskirts which we will see at some point. Stone carving is is one of the local trades along with fishing and the temples, monuments and other carvings are a showcase to the work of the carvers...I'll tell you more when we do the rounds!

On the down side the beach is the locals toilet!!! Not such a great view first thing in the morning -it's quite a bizarre sight - lets just say I'm staying out of the sea....

We were thinking about going to Pondicherry but think we'll just stay here now until wednesday when we leave India for Thailand...We're both really looking forward to it and cant quite believe how lucky we are to be on this trip....We think perhaps its less backpacking and a bit more flashpacking given the places we've stayed so far (apart from the tomb of course!)

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Photos

Pete's catch!
"Should've seen the one that got away though".