Ashby Hotel Tiruchirappalli

We have arrived in India. The beard on my face is getting bigger than ever, and I think I won't shave until we leave India again. A trim, maybe. <br><br>The flight was uneventful, blissful sleep, as usual, though our necks were in bad pass when we got off to the 28 degrees of Tiruchirappalli, the back end of Tamil Nadu, the airport as big as Tirgu Mures in Romania, nothing there but a building and a runway dominated by hawks and ravens. The baggage reclaim belt had to be kickstarted and ...

... and mountains off in the distance for most of the ride. Trichy seemed like a dirty city by South Indian standards upon arrival, and we checked into our hotel, which was a significant step down after being so spoiled at the last place. We had lunch and then went out for some sightseeing. <br><br>Many cities in South India go by two names - one that is the older, native name and the other that is easy ...

... host of dormitories also designed to accommodate pilgrims. And all of thi9s excellently managed around many temples, exhibition areas, devotional centres and bazaars.<br><br>Travelling thro&#8217; India out of season has been an absolute joy, particularly as so few tourists mean I&#8217;ve been able to mix freely with locals, unhindered by mass tourist numbers. I&#8217;ve been used to being the only apparent &#8216;foreigner&#8217; around in many of the places I&#8217;ve ...

... favourites!<br><br>After some afternoon internet time, my time in Thanjavur was coming to an end and I took one last walk from the bus station right up thro; town to my digs near the train station. I fetched my bags and made my way to the train station across the road for the 8.30pm train to Puducherry. the problem was that the journey was only 5 hours and I would be arriving at 1.30am. There was no better bus service and this was the only train scheduled service, as this was part ...

... truly a plant lovers paradise.<br><br> <br><br> A particularly enjoyable outing was the walk to the Avalanche Valve House above the penstock. On our previous visit we went through the shola forest abutting the EB camp to steps going steeply up from the powerhouse. This time, we took the winding U. Bhavani road. It was a good 5km walk to the Valve House road junction, and another 3km thereafter, passing plantation and shola forests throughout ...

Blessed by an Elephant   Wow! Where do I start? I guess I haven't written about my Indian New Years Eve, so I'll begin there. The professors organized a party, (which consisted of buying 15 bottles of hard liquor) in an effort to keep us in the hotel, - instead of venturing out into town. The few sophomores/freshman on the trip dove right in, and drank - a lot. While the rest of us, were a little depressed, and unsatisfied with our quarantined NYE. The business ...

... permit. He knew i didnt have one so he blakmailed me into giving him 20 rupies - still better than 50! He also took me to a view point which was ok. I then got back on the No 1 bus after writing a brief letter to the Si Lanka'n guy i owe money to) and got back to near where i am staying. I can find a post office here so i will do that tomorrow, and a haircut and a whole load of other things - i think it will be just as busy as today! Aaargh! P.S ive been on 6 buses today!