Madurai and some amazing Temples 26th March

We felt better next day and caught the 6.00 am bus from Kumily to Madurai, to avoid travelling in the heat of the day. The border to Tamil Nadu was just at one end of Kumily, and we descended sharply from the mountains of the Western Ghats to the Tamil plains below. much greater poverty, and larger plantations, suggestive of big landowners made a marked contrast with Kerala.

Our hotel here is a bit of a flea-pit, very dirty and Samuel killed a cockroach in the bathroom on our first night. We're going a bit more up-market when we go to Trichy!  After a long rest in the heat of the day we visited the famous Sri Meenakshi Temple, which was huge and very amazing with 9 "gopuras" - gatetowers ornamented with brightly painted figures of gods and goddesses. We had a guide who helped interpret the different spaces - 2 shrines, one to Meenakshi or Parvarti, and the other to her consort Shiva. We couldn't go into the inner shrines, but were allowed in to see a lot more than in most temples.  At the end our guide took us to a very expensive shop where we could view the temple compound from the roof, and then left us to the tender mercies of a hardsell salesman, who tried to flog us some lovely, but very expensive carpets.
Next day we went to another smaller Temple in a Madurai Suburb, with huge statues of horses in the outer courtyard. As we were viewing the outer areas we could see a lot was going on in the inner shrine, with hordes of people milling about. suddenly we were swept up and welcomed by an elderly woman, who told us her daughter was getting married. She took us through to a hall where a lavishly costumed but rather nervous looking young couple were standing. They also welcomed us, and we were all photographed together, and then pressed to partake in an elaborate meal (Only an hour or two after our breakfast!) Everyone was very friendly and all the children wanted to be photographed with us. I was given a baby to hold and asked to sing to it - very sweet. We had some difficulty tearing ourselves away - how incredibly friendly and welcoming peple are here.

We went on to the Ghandi Museum and then a palace, so by the time we got back to our hotel we were really shattered. We have another 5 days or so of towns and temples and palaces planned, and then I hope back to the hills and Ooty and more Wildlife centres and birds.

Cathy