Hello India! Part 1- Tamil Nadu

Yours truly at one of the most famous Hindu temples in  Madurai

 A boy at the station in Madurai who introduced me to his whole family, keen for me to take a whole series of 'family' portraits. Here with his younger brother.

One of the many group pictures I took of the children in the backstreets of  Pondicherry

Being 'blessed' by an elephant in Pondicherry

 A holy man at the Sri Meenakshi Temple in Madurai

A scene from the station at Madurai

I arrived in India via KL on an early morning flight. My first experience was chai and tiffin (a dish of 3 different curries and a roti- very popular in India) followed by a bus from the airport to a central Chennai bus station. I ended up having to take two further buses, and if you can imagine my with my huge backpack, a smaller rucksack and camera bag trying to get on a bus that is packed to the gills and barely stops in stifling heat. Hello India!

Chennai doesn't hold much to tempt the tourist but its a great introduction to a crazy Indian city. I got a local bus (again) to its main beach, Marina beach, and saw the community which had been devastated by the tsunami in 2004. People here are still living in makeshift homes and in incredible poverty, something you have to get used to in India. The beach here attracts locals at the end of the day  and I did a walk along the ocean front path taking in the sights, sounds and smells.

From Chennai I took a bus to nearby Mamallapuram, famous for its Shore Temple and rock carvings, and from there to Pondicherry. This town is a very French-influenced part of Tamil Nadu and is famous for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, set up by a Tamil freedom fighter called Sri Aurobindo Ghose who was given shelter from the British in Calcutta. He went on to set up the ashram which attracts devotees from all around the world. A French holy woman  and disciple of Sri Aurobindo, Mirra Alfassa (the Mother) set up a utopian living experiment at nearby Auroville that is still thriving today. Even today you can join locals eating at the ashram (I did this, three meals for 20 rupees) and visit the working ashram at Auroville as a guest.

I ended up staying a few days in Pondicherry as I loved where I was staying- the Maison Natura ashram - which was in a neighbourhood on the edge of the town centre. Everyday I was mesmerised by how the ordinary people lived here - women washing using the taps in the streets, babies being bathed,  the ironing man using an iron you heat on the fire and the animals who shared the street and houses! It was like stepping back in time, people still living like they have for centuries although now with some of the conveniences of 'modern' living. And the children were adorable, mobbing me every time I walked down the lane. They loved having their pictures taken as the many photographs show.

From Pondy, I made my way to Madurai which is one of the oldest cities in India with a very famous Hindu temple, the Sri Meenakshi temple, where people from all over India flock to visit each year. And then it was a train journey to Kanniyakumari, unique in that it is the only place in the world where three seas meet - the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is also special as you can see the sun rise and set within a few metres of each other. It has been an important place of pilgrimage for this reason and there are two monuments you can see from the shore to commemorate this - the Vivekanada Rock Memorial and the 133 metre high Thiruvalluvar Statue which you visit by a short ferry ride. Other important sights here are the Gandhi Memorial where Gandhi's ashes were put on display before being scattered into the confluence of the three oceans after his death in 1948. The memorial has been designed with three faiths in mind, Muslim, Hindu and Christian- and has a hole in the roof so positioned that on the 2nd October (Gandhi's birthdate) the sunlight falls directly onto the permanent memorial below for a few hours.

The view from my guesthouse at Kanniyakumari

The Gandhi Memorial at Kanniyakumari

The temple at Suchindrum, a short bus ride from Kanniyakumari

My last stop in Tamil Nadu was the famous hill station of Ooty, an overnight bus journey from my previous destination. I woke from my sleep to find the bus was winding its way up a steep incline and as I looked bleary eyed out of the window I was welcomed with the beautiful sight of clouds shrouding the hills  all around. This was a real contrast to the India I had experienced to date, especially the temperature. Going back to long sleeves and socks seemed very odd and they actually sell hats and gloves in this part of India. And I night you certainly need them..

Ooty is noted for its stunning scenery and did not disappoint. I met fellow traveller Yuki at the YWCA where we shared a dorm and we were able to have a day exploring Ooty together- wandering through the busy town, visiting Ooty Lake and making a pilgrimage to the highest point, Doddabetta Peak.Taking the local bus ( 5 rupees each way) we then had a three kilometre walk to the view point. At 2636 metres you really feel 'up in the clouds' and the stunning views are captured in the picture I've included.

Next stop : Mysore

A close up of the Thiruvalluvar Statue at the southern most point of India. India's version of the Statue of Liberty. The Tamil Poet wrote 133 chapters in his most famous work and the height of 133 meters pays homage to this.

The stunning scenery from the highest point in Ooty, Doddabetta Peak.