I visited the Brihadishwara Temple this morning. In the center, it looks like a pyramid, 66m tall. It was impressive. I felt a few drops of rain today, first time I have seen rain in months!
Later I visited the Royal Palace. There I saw an art gallery and walked up a tower. There was also an old royal library there which had a museum, which I liked most. I saw a lot of rare and old books and maps.
It was practically a sleepless night for me last night. I picked this room because it appeared to be sealed off from the outside, but as the night went on I noticed there was a hole rotted through the bottom of the bathroom door which allowed an endless stream of mosquitoes inside. In addition, the ceiling fan was broken, so it was a very hot night. I have to say it was the worst place I’ve stayed in India.
In the morning I decided to take a bus out of town. Thanjavur was my next stop. Here I found a much better hotel room on my first try. I’m getting used to eating these rice meals with only my hand now. And it is hard to believe how good of value it is at $0.50. I didn’t do much else today since I was so tired. Not feeling so great after that night.
I started today with another bus. Unfortunately, it was one of the private buses I’ve been able to avoid my entire time so far here. Compared to state run buses, the private buses are slower and they have loud music. I got to use my ear plugs on this journey.
I stopped at Chidambarm, the location of a large and important temple. The four tall, colorful gateways had hundreds of sculptures up and down. I did notice a sign forbidding photography inside, so I couldn’t take too much. I did notice some other foreigners taking photos in the courtyard, so I decided to sneak a few.
Then it was on to the next city, continuing south to Kumbakonam. Here I needed to find a place to sleep. For at least and hour I walked around checking many rooms, but didn’t find anything I was happy with. Some rooms were not clean and ready, others had windows that couldn’t be closed. I decided on a very cheap room and would try my luck.
I found a packed local bus and luckily made it off the bus at the right spot to see some of the famous places in the city. I saw Ramaswami, Chakkarapani, Sarangapani, and Nageshwara temples this evening. Busy day.
Since Mahabalipuram is a small town with only a small bus station, there aren’t direct buses going to my next city starting here. I had to walk out to the highway and flag down a bus. Unfortunately, it meant standing up for half of the 2 hour journey on the crowded bus.
Puducherry is a sort of special town, the location of a French colony. I spent some time here today. In the historical area it does seem different from the rest of India:quiet, more paved streets, less dust. I visited the Puducherry Museum and Sri Aurobindo Ashram. However, I found a place to stay near the bus station, away from the center of the city. There are always a lot of restaurants near the bus station, one of the reasons I do this.
Today there was a small traffic accident partially caused by me being a foreigner. Walking back to my room, one particularly hungry auto rickshaw driver kept asking for my business. I was walking and he was driving, looking and bothering me when he drove into someone walking a cart. Both of the bicycle wheels on the cart were bent and he was stuck in the middle of the street unable to move any farther. I think the auto rickshaw driver gave him $2 and drove off. Just more evidence these drivers make life horrible for everyone else.
I visited all the places I skipped the day before. The famous and huge Arjuna’s Penance relief carving, Krishna Mandapa, a kind of cave temple, and Krishna’s Butterball, a large boulder.
I spend the morning waiting for restaurants to open until I noticed no stores or restaurants in the town were opening today. I thought it might be a Tamil holiday (Thaipusam) in the 10th month called Thai since they do have their own Tamil calendar. But I talked to someone and he said all businesses are closed today to protest the Indian government’s inaction in the civil war in Sri Lanka. The Tamil side is about to lose the war right now and these people aren’t so excited about that.
I found one restaurant open, the one in my hotel, but I noticed the prices were 3x the cost of the local Indian restaurants. I decided to order something different then, a small Veg Pizza.
In the evening, I looked at the road and like magic the streets were full of open shops. Relived, I was able to get some more food. If I knew this was going to happen today, I would have bought some snacks ahead of time.
This town has some world heritage monuments that I saw today. First was the Shore temple. Later I visited the Five Rathas temple. Both over one thousand years old. Maybe not quite as impressive as some of the other places I’ve been, but I think people come here because it is a quiet, relaxing place.
Every day that goes by, I am surprised I am not sick yet. This is a country where toilet paper and silverware is not used. It is a place where garbage is swept up along the road and burned there, a place where I can’t see any emission standards on vehicles. Maybe it is simply because I’ve been staying away from other people.
I had a few more places to visit before I leave, so I walked to Devarajaswami Temple to see the 1000 pillared hall. It was impressive. I liked the chain cut out of a single stone. I’ve been getting paranoid about my shoes getting stolen (especially after seeing that Slumdog Millionaire movie, where the main characters as kids steal shoes of foreigners) so I’ve been limiting my time inside the temple so I can get back to my shoes for the 3km walk back. When I started my trip, there was a person who would look after your shoes and you pay a small fee. But that doesn’t seem to exist here in Tamil Nadu.
I haven’t been feeling too secure in India, so when possible, I padlock my door with my own lock. In addition, I lock my computer by cable to the bars of the window in my room. I don’t want to lose all the originals of my photos on my computer at this point.
I walked through a dirty market before seeing Vaikunta Perumal Temple and then Kamakshi Amman Temple. After taking a shower, I headed to the bus station and waited for a bus to Mamallapuram.
Two hours later, I arrived in this small town next to the ocean. This was the port of the empire in ancient times. Also looks like a popular place for western travelers. I can see why, it is quiet and the beach is nearby.
It took most of the morning on buses to get to this old city, capital to a few dynasties in south India. I found a hotel close to the bus station, but this is perhaps the rudest staff I’ve encountered. After waiting to have a look at a room, the manager throws the keys towards and they fall onto the floor. Then the guy showing me the room kept asking for money. I registered and paid, then he followed me back to my room and asked for money. I slammed the door in his face and locked it. Then a little while later, a knock on the door. Someone else came in to spray something in the room, then was touching my clothes asking if they need to be washed then he starts pulling on my finger trying to crack it or something. I see now why my travel guide says it might be a bad idea to spend the night in this city since there is a culture of harassment.
In the afternoon I got to see the 7th century Kailasanatha Temple and the 16th century Sri Ekambaranathar Temple. At the first one some guys were asking me to pay for a camera fee. But I asked for the ticket and they didn’t have one, so I think they were lying and I didn’t pay. The second temple was huge with a really tall doors, I had to find a place to hide my shoes and I went in. Inside there were dark pillared corridors with some cows and horses. They were doing some sort of ceremony with the animals, but a little strange to notice you have to take your shoes and socks off, but cows and horses can walk around making a mess. Outside there were elephants walking down the road. One grabbed a branch off a tree and started eating it. I guess that’s one way to trim your trees!
The night was pretty bad. The room wasn’t sealed and there were a lot of mosquitoes getting in. I must have killed at least 50 through the night and I didn’t sleep much at all. Instead I was watching some movies and videos on my computer. I decided it was my last night in this city.
I decided against going all the way back to that Adyar Library and instead went to the nearby public library for a while today. Half the library was English books, which made it nice to read some things about India.
I’ve noticed they don’t give you any blankets in Tamil Nadu. I guess it is too hot for them. I have to wear all my clothes to protect me from mosquitoes however. Still hard to get a good sleep at night since I still get bit on my hands, neck, and face. Tomorrow I’ll take my chances in another city and see how things go.
I took a bus to the suburb of Adyar. Here, I walked to the beach (my first time seeing one this trip) and the grounds of the Theosophical Society. The hours were strange however. Closed from 10AM-2PM and I arrived at 10AM. There is the Adyar Library and Research Institute there where I wanted to find something I read about. I was unable to get in, since I needed an official letter from an institution. I talked to the head librarian and he said get a signature and name from the place you are staying at and come back some other day.
Unable to see the collection at the library, I killed some time by eating food at a lot of different restaurants. I finally got into the grounds, which had some interesting old trees and other things. After a while, a guy on a motorcycle stopped me and said this area is private, I’m not allowed to be here. He gave me a ride to the more public area, although it isn’t clear where these areas start and stop. I saw the headquarters of the society and then left.
Next, I visited the Vivekanandar House, overlooking the ocean. It is a sort of museum and they had some exhibitions. I took the local metro train here and away. The train stations here are probably the dirtiest I’ve seen anywhere. Some were opened in 2007, but they still look old and abandoned.
On the way back to my room, I took a wrong turn and walked through a poor residential area of the city. I was getting a lot more attention there, but I made it through and got back safely.