We leave Mamallapuram today. We've been here a week. We never expected to stay this long, but it's the kind of place that just reels you in.
To give an example of just how welcome we feel here - the other day when we hired a moped, Lydia and I were riding through the town; there were people that we had befriended waving at us from each street corner. Various Tamil gypsies, one of the local stone-carvers, the jeweller, volunteers - it was almost as if we'd been living here for years. We felt so welcome, so wanted. It's going to be so hard to leave tonight.
Additionally, after a week in the hotel they've become really lax about us paying for food and drink. It's perfectly acceptable for us to go to the fridge and help ourselves to a bottle of water or Sprite. We have to keep track of everything we eat and drink, otherwise they forget!
Tonight we get a bus to some random place (can't for the life of me recall the name), and then an overnight train to Madurai. We're travelling 3AC (third class - eeek!), so we'll be mingling with the masses. I hope they don't smell.
We've spent most of this week swimming - I think Lydia is developing gills. We've been to the beach only once! To be fair, the beach is not ideal for swimming or sunbathing unless you fancy the idea of a group of Indian men leching at you. And we don't.
Other news headlines, I wasn't ill, I had sunstroke (and I'm very well now, thank you). Valeska left today for Pondicherry - we'll miss her! Oh, and we might hire a moped again today seeing as we didn't kill ourselves or anyone else last time. We've additionally been spreading the wealth of UNO to the nation - teaching Bosnia-guy and two French guys last night. It's quite difficult to concentrate when so many people don't really know what they're doing. And Bosnia guy kept giggling all the way through. I haven't the faintest idea why. I think he found the pretty pictures funny.
We're currently working out a new travel itinerary - we've been here so long that we're going to have to drop a couple of places. But that's OK, we're both talking about coming back next year. We have just under 4 weeks - and our current destination list is Madurai, Kantakumari, Kollam, Kochi, Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Mysore, Bangalore, Mangalore, Gokarna, Goa and Mumbai. It's going to be so hard working out what to drop. :o(
And looks like we're going to have to head back up to Delhi on either the 3rd or the 4th. Ugh. Both STA and Jet Airlines want to charge us 200 quid each and our mothers souls in order to transfer flights. We don't want to pay 200 pounds (although our mothers are expendable), so looks like we're going to have to fly to Delhi. I really don't want to get the train up as I don't want my last memory of India to be a dingy carriage. Ah well. Never mind.
Enough already, it's time for lunch.
Caroline xx
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2 comments:
Mnn sounds like you had a good time at Mamallpuram.Its a nice place.
I stayed in Chennai for 4 years..SO I know.
When in Kerala do the backwater trip from Allepy to Kollam ...Its good and visit Varkala if u have time.Its a cliff beach and u can swim and sunbathe there without being stared at..(Not totally )
I am leaving to Puri this friday.I am starting on friday afternoom directly from work and going to chennai at night and taking a train from there.
Thanks again for your help.Will check the Z hotel.
I will be back in Blore on 17th morning.Drop a mail if u need any places in South India.Don't miss Gokarna.Its a hippy heaven.I loved it cause I am a hippy.But u can swim and sunbathe there without disturbance.Plus the sea on this went side(Arabian Sea ) is much calmer compare to the east side Bay of Bengal.So its good for swimming.
Thanks for the tip - that's definitely on our itinerary now! We're in Madurai, catching a train to Kanniyakumari this evening, and then next stop Kollam. We'll do the boat to Allepy.
We really wanted to go to Gokarna - it was on our list! But we're not going to have time now! We spent far too long in Mamallapuram. But hey, we have no regrets!
We're not too worried about missing out on anything as we are thinking about coming back next year. So what we don't do this year, we can do next year - I hear Sri Lanka is very nice!
So please do pass on other tips you may have.
Don't forget to visit the Mickey Mouse restaurant opposite the Z Hotel. Have a prawn, egg and cheese burger with potato wedges. Oh, and the chocolate pancake with coconut! Give Mickey our love!
Enjoy!! xx
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