Mahabalipuram

This place was like a drug- we lolled in bed in the morning, had a late breakfast and hired a van for 2 ½ hours to take us around town (250 rupees- about $6.00).

We started at the Five Rathas – 5 miniature temples sculpted in the style of chariots. The place was overrun with uniformed Indian school kids. I’m not sure what the biggest attraction was for them- the temples or the sight of two Americans. They all wanted to have their photos taken with us-and wanted to touch you, shake your hand, try their English.

Then we headed to Arjuna’s Penance— the world’s largest bias relief carving in the face of a huge rock depicting fables from the Hindu “Panchatantra”- a mythical story of the origin of the river Ganges.

We headed down to see Krisna’s Butter Ball- a huge boulder perched precariously on the side of the hill…then wandered back to see some of the lesser known sites- and found ourselves hot and sweating and climbing rocks to try to get back to the main road.

After a visit to the Shore Temple, a Hindu temple built on the waterfront;

we headed off for lunch on the beach. The Luna Magica restaurant had a wonderful breeze, fresh tiger prawns, cold beers and a huge fly population. They covered the tables, the floors and the fish- and it was a challenge to keep them off the food while we tried to eat. The food was, however, delicious.
Another email attempt- failed. The lines were down. So, it was back to the hotel before our 4:00 departure back to Madras. It was hard to believe that our Indian experience was almost over. Tomorrow- Sri Lanka!
Notes:
A cold shitty beer beats a warm good beer.
A holy cow is a homeless cow.
Don’t photograph the first monkey you see.
The most wonderful words from Kerry, our Explore guide; “It’s up to you, it’s your choice…”