Blogs from Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India, Asia - page 9

We got into the train station in Chennai, the closest city to our next destination, Mamallapuram, in the early morning of March 15th. We had intended to take a 2-hour taxi directly to Mamallapuram, but I got sick in the train station (in front of plenty of staring people, with a little accidental splashing of Jeff… not my finest moment of the trip) and instead we made a dash to the nearest hotel in Chennai so that I could spend the next couple of days in bed and in the bathroom. When we left Chennai to head to Mamallapuram two days later, I literally hadn’t left the hotel, so I can say nothing about India’s fourth largest city. Mamallapuram is a small seaside town known for its long history of rock-carving. The road from Chennai to ... read more

Dedicated to Jaspreet Laly - RIP!! Mamallapuram is 60 km south of Chennai, and offers tourist attractions with exotic beaches, as well as the famous historic temples. Navtej's increasing knowledge of Chennai ensures that no attractions will be missed out. The journey on East Coast Road had an aire of tranquility personified throughout. The Bay of Bengal was on our left, thus providing exceptional sights, also the road itself had a gracious presence in this peaceful setting. The journey lasted for 1 hour by car with the fitting music of Moby in the background. Upon arrival, the Pharangees were at large. This location boasts wonderful stone carvings embellished on the granite temples, making this a guaranteed haven for tourists. The Shore Temple is the most impressive artefact and has stood for almost 1400 years. We had ... read more

21 fév. On quitte Pondicherry en city-bus. Direction: Mamallapuram. Je demande au Ticket-Master dans la ferraille-mobile de nous faire signe lorsqu’on arrivera à destination. Mais le moustachu ne parle pas anglais. Dialogue de sourd et muet. ‘’Mamallapuram. Mamallapuram’’ que je lui répète en levant les bras. Il hoche la tête de gauche à droite. Il semble me comprendre. … C’est après un deux heures de route que le Ticket-Master nous lance un hochement de tête. Tout porte à croire que c’est le signe qu’on attendait. On agrippe alors nos packsacks comme si c’était des parachutes et on s’avance vers la porte de sortie. ‘’Sorry. Sorry’’ qu’on chuchote aux indiens dans le bus alors que nos bagages leur accroche la tête au passage. "Get out" que nous dit le Ticket-Master alors que le bus semble encore en ... read more

Hi all. I'm in Mamallapuram at the moment, and am feeling very relaxed. Me, Colin, Gemma, Rose and Kim all came down yesterday evening and are staying in a cheap guesthouse that has hammocks on the roof! Last night we sat in a rooftop restraunt/bar that overlooked the beach and played very chilled out music. We must have stayed up until about midnight and then stayed another hour or so in our hammocks, it was a very late night but a good night. Something I'ver learnt is that beer is not cheap ouyt here. A 650ml bottles costs around 1.20, which is really not much of a reduction from U.K. prices, which is surprising. Anyway, today we got up leisurely and we did a bit of shopping in the morning. I bought a slightly offensive and ... read more

We arrived into Mamallapuram at exactly the right time, in the thick of the annual dance festival that takes place in this small seaside village. Every weekend evening during January, there are traditional Indian dances performed for crowds of dance enthusiasts and pilgrims (as well as a host of travellers like ourselves). Mamallapuram (otherwise and more correctly known as, Mahabalipuram) is a favourite traveller's hangout and pockets of long-haired, bearded hippie-types appear to have made this place their home. With the dancing it was extra full in the village with many travellers making a beeline to the village to catch traditional Bharatanatyam dancing performed by experts from around India. The dancing was incredible to see and when you get closeup is even better as much of the art is performed by the face and in particular, ... read more