We began our travels in Mahaballipuram where we relaxed, swam in the sea, saw the 'Butterball' rock and carvings and indulged in fruit salads and the usual western affair of foods! (A real treat after rice and vegetables everyday!).
We then headed up to Chennai and found ourselves perched in extremely comfy cinema chairs in front of the new Avengers film, (3D) all for just 150 rupees, equivalent to £1.50. Feeling slightly overwhelmed and almost culture shocked by the amount of western shops including The Body Shop, Tony & Guy, M&S we grabbed some black coffee, kfc and Pizza Hut before heading down to the temple town of Madurai the next day.
Madurai holds the Meenakashi Temple - a huge, blue, beautiful temple with four main 'towers'. We arrived on the night of a festival so the town was extremely busy and the temple was lit up from head to toe with bright lights. In Madurai we also visited the Ghandi Mueseum where interestingly the clothes he wore on the day of his death lay in a glass cabinet, 'blood stained'. It was interesting to read more about his work in India and the change he made.
From Madurai we headed up to the hill station of Kodai Kanal. A beautiful hill station. The temperature reached the low of 16 degrees on a rainy day, leaving us feeling rather cold (for the first time in months!) treating ourselves to hot chocolate seemed inevitable and the cool air allowed us to have a brilliant time cycling, trekking and shopping - without sweat!
Kanyakumari was the last place we visited in Tamil Nadu and is the southerly most point of India! 'We made it!', we can say, and we saw a beautiful sunrise too.
Mahabalipuram
Chennai
Madurai
Kodai Kanal
Kanyakumari
