Tamil Nadu; Mahabalipuram

Our train arrives in Chennai at 6:45 am, having left Mysore at 8 pm yesterday evening; it stopped at many places, including Bangalore. It was a second-class sleeper and a long night. From Chennai, we travel south along the shores to Mahabalipuram on the Bay of Bengal, stopping off for a well-deserved dosa breakfast.

Mahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram, was once a major port built in the 7th century by Mamalla, a Pallavas king; it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to masterful rock carvings from that time - these still exist today. The area is a boulder strewn landscape, and these were used for the rock carvings

We visit Panch Rathas (Five Rathas - a Ratha is a processional chariot), a 7th century complex of monolithic rock shrines to honour the five Pandara brothers (see captions on photos for details).

Next, we visit the Shore Temple; dedicated to Vishnu. It was built by Mamalla on a promontory by the sea; it used to be accessed by the beach, but the 2004 tsunami led to the building of walkway access. There is also a smaller shrine dedicated to Shiva that was added later.

We then go to Arjuna's Penance, aka The Descent of the Ganges, a celebrated bas-relief carved on an immense rock with a natural vertical cleft symbolising the River Ganges; the story depicts the Sacerd River's descent from the sky, made possible by the penance of the sage Arjuna (Bhagirata).

There are other smaller temples, monuments, and cave-temples in the area around Arjuna's Penance, and we walk around to see these.

Later on in the evening, we walk down into Mahabalipuram to the Santana Fish Restaurant by the beach for our farewell dinner. Helen and I shared a fish curry, grilled fish with French fries, and washed it down with some British Empire beer.

It's been a fantastic trip.Read more