Cintra and I are pleased to share with you our continuing journey through southern India. We took our first trip outside Chennai to enjoy some historical and cultural sites along the east coast.
Our group involved the entire Ross family of Mathias and Sujatha and their adult sons Arul and Selwan. We enjoyed the comfort and convenience of a Toyota Innova mini-van and a hired driver.
It was clear the driver had the experience, patience and skill in escorting tourists, handling the sometimes heavy weekend traffic and getting through obstacles such as unusual barriers to slow down speeding traffic or making way for wandering cows.
Not surprisingly, it was a ghastly hot day, something we were reminded of each time we had to get out of the vehicle.
Our first major stop was at a museum outside Mahabalipuram where we were introduced to the history and culture of the people of south India. Next we had a vegetarian lunch at Sangeetha's restaurant with its much welcomed AC and tasty food. We then visited the marina and took in a short boat ride along the coast.
Tired and hot, we located our accommodation for the next two days. The Ross's arranged for us to stay at a beautiful religious retreat centre in Mahabalipuram.
This community is well-known as the home of World Heritage sites such as Shore Temple and the Five Radhas. Thousands of visitors trek to these significant sites and while here enjoy other attractions such as the beach and the Shell Museum.
Shore Temple is one of seven original temples built on the coast hundreds of years ago. Six of them were eroded and virtually erased from sight due to wind, water and the Tsunami and there remains a pair of weather beaten but spectacular stone temples. This is clearly a reminder of the intense faith of Hindus over thousands of years and the pride and ingenuity of the Tamil residents.
Nearby is another world Heritage monument of The Five Radhas. These majestic stone structures, depicting five chariots of five kings, have been effectively worn down by the strong winds and salt water to a fraction of their sizes when they were built hundreds of years ago.
The Shell Museum appears to be a typical tourist attraction but is actually one of the most fascinating displays one ever see. It features some 40,000 different varieties of sea shells. These were part of a personal collection by Raja Mohamed and now is a source of enjoyment as well as education for visitors to Mahabalipuran or Mamallapuram as it is also called.
None of these interesting and beautiful visitor attractions seems to be compromised by crass commercialism as we see in other tourist spots around the world. In the village itself, one has to resist the persistent hawkers and sellers of trinkets and jewelry. But more interesting are the admission fees to the two heritage sites. If you are an Indian citizen, you get to pay 10 rupees, but the signs outside the entrances are clear that outsiders pay 250 Rs.
We have enjoyed several beautiful meals on this trip, mostly featuring exotic vegetarian cuisine. We keep reminding ourselves of the warnings to avoid certain types of food that may either be too demanding on our systems or not prepared by the most hygienic standards. These include dairy products and uncooked foods such as salads and peeled fruits.
Our next stop in this drive though southern India is the small neighboring state of Pondicherry or Pondy. Please come back and join us on that visit and please look up on the internet for details of the places we are seeing.
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