Tamil Nadu

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April 28th 2009

Published: May 4th 2009

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simonandamy

Simon on the avenues of Pondicherry

Tamil Nadu - a land of beaches and temples, where its ok for grown men to wear nappies, hold hands in public, and grow the most extraordinary moustaches

As we headed into our second week of eating off banana leaves, using female urinals (in Amy's case that is...), and acclimatising to the Indian heat - we splashed out on fancy air conditioned tickets for our 30 hour train trip from Kolkata to Chennai. All of NZ$45! The train allowed us to bypass a chunk of central India (not to mention the states where trains get hijacked...) in search of the beaches of the south - all in air-conditioned comfort with meals served at our seats.

We rolled into Chennai for just one night as our bible (aka. the lonely planet) basically didn't offer one positive word as to why we should stay longer. However, after not seeing the sea for nearly two months, our kiwi souls were like moths to a flame as we headed for Marina Beach at Chennai - only to find a vast expanse of baking sand bordered by a steep beach and dirty water! Seeing the locals swimming fully clothed in their saries or shirt

Shore Temple at Mamallapuram

and trousers was rather amusing though.

Using the local bus system (which is cheap as chips - NZ$1 can get you 140km on the bus here but can't get you home from work in Wellington - go figure) we headed down the coast to the sleepy fishing village and tourist enclave of Mamallapuram.

When not sitting under the fan in our room trying not to sweat, we explored the ancient rock carving sites which the village is famous for (and got it inscribed on the World Heritage list no less). Simon even had a quick dip in the Bay of Bengal, which was warmer than most spa baths at home! Aside from the fact we were both a tad sick, and had a touch of the mid-trip blues, Mamallapuram was a delightful little village which turned on several beautiful sunsets.

Only 100km south but several worlds away from Mamallapuram, the former french colony of Pondicherry offered a total change of scenery (and diet). Strolling the rues, avenues, and seaside promenade of this charming town was a pleasure in itself, and the efforts of the locals to preserve and re-use the heritage buildings was great to see. The

Amy with carved elephant at the Five Rathas, Mamallapuram

coffee and pastries were pretty good too...

Leaving the east coast of India behind we headed overland towards Kerala, breaking our trip for a night in the temple cities of Trichy (which was great) and Madurai (which was not). Tamil Nadu was certainly a change of pace for our trip, one which we probably needed. So it was with batteries recharged that we headed off into the Western Ghats in search of wild elephants and maybe even a tiger....

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