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

After bribing the ticket controller with the equivalent of 1 EUR (which seems to represent a fortune for him) we managed to get 2 seats for the 50 km up to Mamallapuram(also known as Mahabalipuram). It took almost 2 hours, but considering all the vehicles on the road (including cattle and a wide range of other animals) this seems to be a good average. In Mamallapuram we selected the Sea Breeze Hotel, chose a room with a fan and no air condition. What attracted us was the huge swimming pool. However, we were so tired that we slept until 4:00 PM. In the afternoon we found an internet cafe, which was not difficult as there are plenty of them in town, and tried to solve our final problem in Frankfurt. Mamallapuram is a nice little town ... read more