Vilāngudi

Greeted on arrival with fancy parasol, music, filming, ceremonial bindis and photos only to discover we had been dropped at the wrong hotel! Just can‘t get the drivers, nor welcome drinks these days.

Arrival Take II - flower garlands, freshen up towels and welcome drink. And the right hotel.

Just arrived in Madurai having left the film stars back at The Bangala with George fawning all over Mr Tamil Nadu or Andra Pradesh. So funny to see.

We saw a couple of processions this morning as groups of people made their way to the temples. The women especially were decked in the brightest of saris. It’s a holy day when Lord Shiva and Parvathi are taken from the temple and washed before being returned to the temple.

Great fun afternoon tour. The banana market set Joannie and I singing much to everyone’s amusement. Visited the main palace and saw the outside of the temple. Both are incredible and the scale indescribable. The temple grounds span 15 acres. Each gate is 56m in height and adorned with 1300 figures carved out of stucco. They are repainted every two years.
As ever got asked for selfies and group photos. It doesn’t take much to smile and be kind. People are genuinely excited to have their photo taken with us. Lots of waving, handshakes and cuddling of babies.

Spent our last evening with Marcelle dreaming of a cold beer only to find that much of India is dry today and tomorrow. I guess we’ve joined dry January albeit a tad late.

Can’t believe that I shall be heading to Northern India tomorrow to start the next leg of this adventure.Read more