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Published: November 8th 2008
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Woke up early and watched the sunrise. It was stunning (even if I was a bit bleary eyed!) and so cool I had forgotten what not sweating was like!
I went fishing with the boys this morning and after breakfast we watched the local fishermen dragging trees to the sea using the Brahmin cows. They will be making a reef out at sea to improve fishing..It was really fascinating watching them - we really have found a great spot here to watch the world go by on the beach.
We visited the park this afternoon which was lovely. we took our time wandering around and discovering the bas-reliefs, temples, man made caves and rathas ('chariots' carved from single boulders). After telling various 'guides' and 'students' that we wanted to walk on our own we were left to relax - these individuals aren't really guides but own shops that they take you to to buy carvings after showing you around! Some of the carvings were amazing and we've got photos of stone elephants, reclining Vishnu and other recognisable ones (thanks to the rough guide) along with a load that I'm not really sure what they are! Pete posed with Krishna's
butter ball - a massive natural spherical boulder perched on the top of a ridge.
As well as the carvings there was plenty of places to shade from the sun and a lot of cheeky monkeys scampering around.
We spent the evening munching bakery foods on the balcony - we love 'egg pops' and 'sweet pops' and its a brilliantly cheap way to eat (rs56 for a huge bag of goodies - we also get a surprise sweet every time - yummy!). It also makes a change from eating out all the time.
4.11.08 - We woke early today to walk to the five rathas (Pancha Pandava Rathas) while it was still cool. Again a showcase of the local stone carving tradition with bas reliefs and temples in a smaller area - a big elephant, a cow etc. We opted not to pay the rs200 each to get in as a lot of people had said you can see it just as well from outside and they were right! Because it was only 7am and we were the only people around really no-one seemed to mind me taking photos.
On the way back we visited the
Shore temple - you can see it from our balcony (Daphne Guest House). We wandered down the beach which is visited by a lot of Indian tourists and had a total different atmosphere - stalls selling Indian breakfasts, completely different types of tourist tat (plastic toys, painted shells) and no hassle to buy...
We were asked to pose for photos on a few occassions and obliged because people asked so politely. we had what you might call a conversation with one family - the man deciding that if he shouted random place names at us we would respond. We stood for about 5 minutes while he shouted 'America', 'England', 'Gujurat' etc at us and we nodded or shook our heads accordingly...He clearly wanted his family to spend a little time with us as I dont think he had any idea of the meaning of the chat and nor did we....We ended the conversation by shouting back 'breakfast, walking, bye' - shook hands and set off.
We stopped for breakfast and I realised that by 8:45am our sightseeing for the day was done!!!! We were able to have a lazy afternoon - sunbathing, watching life on the beach and
chatting to Gopi who was telling us about the impact of the tsunami on Mamallapuram. He explained that whilst casualities were minimal (a young fishermans son and a German tourist) the fishermen's boats and some homes were destroyed. The boats on the beach now have been donated by various charities and individuals and properties rebuilt but the memory of that day remains vivid in the minds of those who witnessed the waves.
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