Sunday 27 March 2011

Pondicherry

Hello to all!

Well, after dragging Guy away from his lovely room with balcony with sea view in Mamallapuram (thought I was going to have to leave him there forever) we took a 2hour bus journey to Pondi (a rickety ride). 
 Guy's balcony

Pondicherry wasn't quite what we imagined, after reading the guide book, but still good fun!  We have spent a long day walking around the city, from the sea front to the incredibly busy market, and are both pretty shattered.  Lucky this town is French and we have just had a coffee in a patisserie to perk up for the evening.

 Ghandi statue (this wasn't the only picture taken as many India's also took the same snap of Emma!)

Our plan for tomorrow is to take our first long distance train journey straight to Kerala, about a 13 hour journey, should be fun!  So our next update will be in the new state of Kerala and the town of Kovalam.

Friday 25 March 2011

Mamallapuram

We have arrived! And what a place it is. Unbelievably hot, colourful, friendly and every bit an adventure!

So far we have visited the enormous city of Chennai (6.4 million) and it was manic with rickshaw journeys on roads unashamedly disorganised! Our first venture outside was a hair raising ride into the city from the airport.

After our first night in an aircon room (expensive) we met a lovely friend from Couchsurfing - Lead Machary. He was so friendly and let us have the keys to his place and do as we pleased. On the second day he showed us around the city, and the many modes of transport to get around. We saw all the city had to offer from these vehicles: Rickshaw, Train, Metro, Bus, Car and Motorbike (Guy only). We hung out with Leads lovely friend Mani and his wife in the eve, and talked/laughed into the early hours.  We could have stayed for longer with new freinds, but Chennai is a very big polluted city (so much waste and rubbish lines the streets, poverty is very apparent) and we felt it time to head somewhere more calm.

Lead - Guy - Mani and his Wife - Emma - Beer (V.expensive here!)

We are now in Mamallapuram on our second day in this wonderful small town - where huge caves and temples have been carved from the local rocks. The town supplies much of the world with Hindu statues. It is quite a sight. Cows and Goats roam the streets freely, occasionally getting pushed away from eating from the food carts. Cheeky monkeys frolic in the temples and trees.  It is a pleasant place - quite touristy though because of its white sandy beach.  It is one of the beaches hit by the 2004 tsunami, but it has recovered well and people hear seem relaxed and happy. Guy could achieve one of his top things to do in his life here: #2 - Surf in waters so warm as to not need a wetsuit. I should hope to try this in the Bay of Bengal, before we head west towards the Indian Ocean.

Krishnas Butterball
Shore Temple - Oldest Temple in South India

Next we intend to head to Pondicherry, just south of Mamallapuram and will keep you updated.  Our Indian language skills have not improved much - as in this state (Tamil Nadu) the most prominent language is not Hindi but Tamil - so valakom (hello - incorrectly spelled?!) is as far as we got.  However, we have been taught the correct way to eat with our right hand and it is becoming a little easier now.


Sunday 13 March 2011

Flights Booked

We have finally booked flights - we leave on Sunday 20th March heading to Chennai to begin our little adventure in India.

Love you and miss you already.