Week one and then some!

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We hired a car to take us from Mammallapuram south to Pondicherry. To say that was an adventure would be an understatement! There are no traffic signals and all vehicles are equipped with working horns. The roads were crowded with buses, three-wheeled taxis,motorcycles and bicycles all vying for position. Add the horns into this mix and you have a symphony of sorts, and somehow it all works. Now crossing the street is another story!

Pondicherry was occupied at one time by the French and as a result a strong French influence is still seen today. There is canal that divides the French quarter from the Tamil side, and the differences are quite distinct. The French quarter is very distinct with its white colonial architecture, while the Tamil side is quite colorful with many shades of yellow and blue.

Feb 19

We spent 3 nights in Pondicherry leaving on the overnight bus to Madurai. Madurai is one of the oldest cities in south Asia and the location of the Meenakshi temple, parts of which date back well over a thousand years. The stone carvings are amazing and the vastness of the temple itself is mind boggeling. We only stayed in Madurai for the day, then hired a car for two days to take us to Kanyakumari, the southern most point in India.It is also the meeting point of the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. People come here specifically to watch the sunrise and sunset. Following a night in Kanyakumari, we rejoined our driver and headed for Varkala, in Kerala,stopping along the way to view the scenery and a few beaches. We arrived here late afternoon yesterday, and will probably stay a few days just to veg on the beach, hike some of the cliffs and maybe take a Keralan Cooking class. Would love to stay in touch, so feel free to leave comments.

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Photos

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Meenakshi Temple, Madurai

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Meenakshi Temple, Madurai

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Meenakshi Temple

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Paper roast dosa, much more than I was expecting

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In the flower market, Pondicherry

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Flower market

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Fishing boats Kanyakumari

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Sunset Kanyakumari

Comments

[Katrina]

Nice to see your smiling face :) The flower market looks beautiful!

[Joan Verkirk]

Hello
Was so great to see what u are up too, the pics are beautiful and so was ur smilling face, take care , and I have read all ur blogs <3