Allo.
I finished my teaching last saturday, and on the following sunday evening I took an overnight bus from Chennai to Madurai. I had about 30 minutes sleep on the freezing AC bus, so I wasn't in a lucid state as I visited the Meenakshi temple in the monday morning. I was in Madurai over last Christmas, but at that time the gopuras of the temple were covered in coconut thatch as they were being repainted which happens every 12 years. Now they're all uncovered and fresh for your enjoyment, you lucky people.
The Meenakshi temple is special for several reasons. It's spread over a huge area right in the centre of Madurai, it's dedicated primarily to a green-skinned goddess and secondly her partner Sundareshwarar, it's got the biggest gopuras of any temple, there's always elephants in attendance and it's easy to get lost on your first visit.
I'll not bother describing all parts of the temple as One Masala Dosa has been here before. I did the usual thing of wandering around the courtyard first to take in the gopuras, then headed inside to look around the Meenakshi and Sundareshwarar shrines and more places.
(The photo above is my best sunset of Chennai. I should have some better ones from Odayam on the west coast in a few days time.)
A Hanuman shrine being circumnavigated.
The garland weavers at work.
Here's a close up of this tower - check out the snake similiar to the one on the tower at the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram.
Outside the Sundareshwarar shrine.
The Vinayaka (Ganesh) Shrine.
This is looking inside the Sundareshwarar shrine, where I'm not allowed as I'm not a Hindu. I liked the sunrays streaming down onto the floor.
I had difficulty taking decent photos of the elephant this time, a combination of bad eyesight and co-ordination from me and a restless elephant meant all my shots were blurred. Sometimes this poor quality was acceptable though, especially considering what came out of the elephant's arse shortly after the above photo was taken.
Put 10 rupees up the snout...
....and the snout will duly bless you.
Another Hanuman shrine.
A Nataraja sculpture.
You can take a picture of one of more gods home if you like.
Around the Lotus tank in the middle of the temple.
This is the south entrance to the temple, it's a lot more colourful than the other 3 entrances.
Looking at the Meenakshi temple from my hotel roof.
A visit to Madurai isn't complete without a visit to nearby Tirupparankundram. Behind the railway station sign you can see part of the huge rock that the place is built around. The Murugan temple at Tirupparankundrum is cut into the rock's caves at ground level, and on top of the rock's summit is Sikandermalai, which is a Muslim shrine.
The entrance to the Murugan temple.
Looking down at Tirupparankundrum and its temple from the top of Sikandermalai, with Madurai city in the distance.
The Dargah on top of Sikandermalai.
A train passing through Tirupparankundrum.
Looking up at the Dargah from halfway down the rock.
The temple front entrance in the evening.
And a cup of tea before taking the bus back to Madurai.
The Meenakshi temple at night from the roof of my hotel.
A quick stop for grape juice on the way from the hotel to the bus stand.
Waiting for the bus to Munnar at Madurai's Arapalayam bus stand.
On the bus from Madurai to Munnar, just as we start to ascend into the Ghats.
This is the best I could do whilst looking out of a moving bus window. It was a great journey, with the air becoming cooler as we drove higher.
The border post between Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Inside the bus from Madurai to Munnar.
Cheers
Chris
Munnar has probably the most attractive location for a bus stand in India.
Looking at Munnar town and its hotels from the Letchmi Estate.
This is where a cup of tea begins.
This lady on the right of the above photo and in the one below is Miss Packiam. She is a Tamil, and works on the Letchmi Estate picking tea. She was very keen on me taking her photo, and her colleagues shared her enthusiasm to be captured on camera.
Smiling wasn't compulsory.
These are Kurunji flowers, which grow all over the mountain region, often on tree trunks like below.
About 30 minutes after I extracted myself from the clutches of Miss Packiam and her team, I encountered another group of ladies engaged in tea picking, and I had to take all of their photos too.
The Moon is right in the middle of the top half of the above photo.
This is about as good as a sunset gets in Munnar.
"You have school pen? Chocolate? Sweet? English money? Indian money? One photo?"
