Search results

Day 9: Puducherry, 04.01 Itinerary Visit the capital of the former French colony, the Sri Aurobindo ashram and the temple of the god Ganesha where you can see not only various rituals and representations of the god Ganesha but also a live elephant who blesses the people visiting the temple...

and some more the full moon rising made it even more special they think this is Marco Polo truly an amazing place even for avowed aetheists like we are, it was very spritually moving back to the noisiest hotel in the known universe for dinner there's a bus station diagonally across...

boys out playing cricket in the fading light then a stop at a 10th generation bronze making business. It was actually very interesting. They us the lost wax technique and each bronze statue made is unique - melt bees wax and tree resin together and cool it to make the model. This is covered...

Raj our guide was waiting for us when we came down at 4.30. It was this late so we'd see the temple at dusk and dark. What Google AI says about the palace. There was no way I could keep up with what Raj was telling us The Tanjore Palace Complex, also known as the Thanjavur Maratha Palace or...

Thanjavur/Tanjore is famous for two very amazing sites. The Tanjore palace, and the temples (of which there are actually quite a few but one maine one). We were visiting both the palace and the Brihadeeswarar Temple with a guide, included in our tour. Entering Thanjavur and the temple First...

Day 8: Tanjor, 03.01 What the itinerary said we were doing Travel to Tanjor, where we will visit a set of unique temples that are on the UNESCO list. There is a sanctuary, which is covered by a monolithic dome built of a single block of granite weighing 80 tons, which was pulled to the top of...

I waved to you. Didn't you see me ;)

Once we eventually found the car hiding down on the lowest level, it was back to the hotel for a cheeky vodka before 7:30 dinner across at the other Astoria Hotel Hotels in Madurai | Madurai Hotels | List of Hotels in Madurai | Budget Hotels | Business Class hotel in Madurai. Ignore the...

Then to Meenakshmi Temple. The traffin Madurai. Yikes!! First issue was parking. Entry road was closed so we dived back into the maelstrom that is traffic in Madurai and went around a very long block. When we got back to the carpark entrance they’d re-opened access from the bloody road and...

We didn’t leave to see the sights of Manjore until 3.30. First stop the Thirumalai Nayak Mahal. Dropped off outside and INR50 each for entry. A stunning piece of architecture dating back to the early 17th century. Massive pillars, stucco work and a huge courtyard. Quite spectacular. Lunch and...

Somewhere along the way we drive for kilometres beside a large windfarm. Into another town and this appeared behind us and then passed us in the traffic. It's a hearse Stopped for a coffee and coke for Sunil. We tried the Nattuchakkarai and it was delicious, pretty much like everything we'd...

Day 7: Kumily to Madurai, 02.01, What the itinerary says we’ll be doing - After breakfast, drive to Madurai. Visit famous Meenakshi Temple - a complex dedicated to Shiva and his wife, which is characterized by a wealth of sculptures and decorations, and a multitude of pillars. Visiting...

I had one my first breakfast at the Taj and have had a couple since. Delicious!!

we had dinner across the road at Grill&Grove and it was delicious. We'd tried to get in on NYE but it was full I'm not doing real well with food pictures. It's often gone before I think about it. We had Al Faham Mandi, some bread and pineapple lassis. Excellent Then we went back and had beer...

We stopped at the ‘magic tree’ where paddles for our rafting magically appeared. Told they were stored in the hollowed out tree to protect them from elephants. desperately hoping to see some wildlife, any wildlife back at the morning tea stop. This is the backpack we were all given with...

Day 6: Periyar, 01.01 what our itinerary says - Spend an additional day in Periyar, where you can go on a safari tour both in the morning and in the evening. Overnight - Crystal Cove hotel. And what we actually did - Happy New Year! New Years Day without the slightest hangover. Wth? I'm...

Martial arts show. It was pretty crazy. Huge crowd lined up and I wondered how the seating would work but it was all very orderly and our allocated seats were there for us when we got to them. It's a smallish space with three rows around it. Bloody hot!! The aim of the show is to demonstrate...

We'd thought the town was Thekkady but it was actually the region. The town we stayed in was Kumily, and as with everywhere it was very busy. here it was doubly so because tonight was New Year's Eve. Down the main street where I caught a glimpse of the hotel as we drove by. It was Crystals Cove...

Day 5: Rajakkad to Kumily, 31.12 What the itinerary said - After breakfast travel to Periyar Sanctuary. South India’s most popular wildlife sanctuary and home to bison, antelopes, sambar, wild boar, birds and even the odd tiger! Kumli, close to the sanctuary and where you’ll stay, is a pretty...

With some more crazy manoeuvres we eventually did. To the Kana Devan Hills Tea Museum. Our recommendation to anyone thinking about visiting this museum is don’t We bought our tickets, entered the museum, and were ushered into a stifling hot theatre/room where there were no seats available...