Blogs from Tamil Nadu, India, Asia - page 155

Try out some of the italics and such. What about things like quotations for instffance? ... read more

For the first time, we experienced a bigger Indian city, it was very crowded and we felt quite uncomfortable in this overpowering atmosphere. However, we managed to cut our way through the bazaar to the city’s main attraction, the famous Minakshi Temple. The temple’s towering gopurams stand out with their colourful stucco images of gods and animals, which are regularly repainted. The whole complex seemed so overloaded with statues and colours, that we were reminded of some rococo churches in Vienna. After meeting the temple elephant and the cow, we decided to have a rest and to watch the sunset seated by the Golden Lotus Tank. In the evening we went to see a typical dance performance within one of the temple halls. Next day we visited the Thirumalai Nayaka Palace. This royal palace was built ... read more

We are slowly getting used to Indian traffic and the buses, stoically enduring all noises, smells and bumpy potholes or speed-breakers. We didn’t drive until the Central Bus Stand which is a couple of kms from the centre but were shown out off the bus right in the centre. The hotel we had chosen was full so Klaudia stayed in the lobby while Stephan sought for another place to stay. This took a large part of the afternoon so we could see the magnificent Brihadisvara Temple rather late (notice: the sun sets at 6:30 p.m.). Despite the advanced hour, we were awe-struck. This temple had no kitsch colours to offer, but wonderful buildings in nice red sand-stone in a lush and pleasant surrounding. The 62 m high Vimana (= towered sanctuary containing the cell in which ... read more

Yes, we made it! Due to the time-table, the bus should have left at 10:20, but in India time-tables are merely approximative, we caught an express bus at 10:00. The distance to Pondicherry (also called Pondy) is 100 km and it took us only 1.5 hrs. That is what "express" means in India. The bus was again lacking windows and doors, but the resulting draught made the heat bearable. Just a few remarks on traffic in India. It is even more chaotic than we can imagine in Europe. The most important utensil is the horn respectively the bell for the bicycle. The louder it sounds the better. A loud horn means "I'm loud so I'm big and strong and you better get out of my way." A bus being a bigger vehicle than a car, a ... read more

Hey Everyone, Bean on the mike. India is incerdable, just like I knew it would be. we traveled down south to Chennai, yesterday, it was a long train ride and we were in a small compartment with a family, with three kids. The constantl mimcked everything we said and wanted to play chess the whole time. That is how India is, people are very friendly and ver interested in what you are doing. Everytime we ask one person for direction a crowd of ten or more people surrounds, all of them trying to help us out. Jason and i have adapted to the squat toilets and wiping with our hands as well as eating with our hands. To answer Chads question, the Buddhists at Bodgaya were of course very peaceful, I felt incredably peaceful there too. ... read more