“We have seen some incredible temples around Trichy and Tanjore”.
We are getting used to travelling on the public buses which have no doors or windows. They are nearly always uncomfortable, full and by ‘full’ I mean people packed in, standing and hanging out of the doorways and worse still, all have suicidal drivers !
You are just grateful at the end of each journey that you have survived ! I have found it very stressful but am now getting used to it.
In amongst all these buses are lorries, rickshaws, motorcycles, pedestrians, goats, cows and oxen. The animals wander about and just seem to survive it all”
The five hour bus journey from Pondicherry to Trichy was pretty uncomfortable even though we had a 10 minute ‘comfort’ break en route. As expected, the driver was the usual frustrated Formula 1 reject.
Compared to Thailand and Laos the accommodation so far is not only poor but also more expensive. Trichy was no exception and it was deciding whether you wanted the air conditioning to keep you awake or the combination of the noise from the bus station plus the heat. We tried both and there wasn’t much to choose between them.
The spectacular Ranganathaswamy temple at Trichy (Tiruchirapalli, to give its full name) is definitely not to be missed. It is only a short bus trip out of the town centre and covers 70 hectares. You will regret it if you forget your camera as the detail and colours of the temple are irresistible.
Whilst staying in Trichy we also took a bus out to Tanjore (Thanjavur) to visit the temple and palace. The trip was just about worth suffering the hellish bus journeys although the loud ethnic musical accompaniment on the return nearly tipped us over the edge, as did the driver on several occasions.
The temple here is plain sandstone, similar to the Angkor style, but is very imposing.
Getting down to basics
No mention has been made of some of the basics so far so here’s an extract from one of the e-mails home.
“The vegetarian food, which is mainly what the locals eat, is very good. We have had no stomach problems at all. We have even tried some Indian breakfasts which serve up interesting sounding dishes such as idlys, pooris and dosas. The main dish of the day is eaten at lunchtime and is called a ‘thali’.
This is an individual banquet served in numerous dishes and presented to you on a large banana leaf. You then spoon bits of the dishes onto this along with the rice and poppadoms. Everyone eats with their fingers so we always have to ask for spoons but they are really very good.”
We have had no stomach problems so far on the trip.
OK, so the input has been good but what about the output end of things. Everything has been fine and it has been a pleasant surprise to find that the public toilets are all clean and not smelly, even railway & bus stations, market places, public buildings. At most of them you pay a very small fee and staff keep the place clean. They may not be all dry but the wet is only water. Generally they are more pleasant than a lot of public toilets in the UK.
