Taj Garden Retreat Madurai

... a lot of intricate ceiling designs, and open spaces. There was also a room with ancient artifacts of Hindu gods collected from the area that dated back thousands of years. There was a lot of activity around the palace because workers were setting up for the arrival of someone important tomorrow, I think a politician.

The next place we visited was the Sri Meenakshi Temple. This was another massive temple similar to the ones we had seen ...

... and close to the Boat club. Resort is 83 km from kodaikanal railway station and 120 km from madurai airport.

Hotel facilities includes Vegetarian multi cuisine restaurant, conference, doctor on call, travel desk, safe deposit lockers, ample parking, accept all major credit cards and more

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India kodaikanal

... zartuje! Wierni skladaja tu w ofierze banany, mleko kokosowe, kokosy, slodycze; obmywaja mlekiem kokosowym figury bogow, glownie Siwe i jego malzonke, ktorzy maja tu osobne swiatynie, ale... ok 20:45 figura/statua Siwy jest przenoszona do swiatyni Parwati/Minakszi, by malzonkowie mogli spedzic upojna noc we dwoje. Rano figury sa obmywane mlekiem (oczyszczane) i zmienia im sie szaty, by za chwile Sziwe odstawic do wlasnej swiatyni, by mogl wypelniac codziennie ...

... Nadine let him and another guy show us some hotels because the budget choices were horrendous. Our baksheesh bought the touts dinner. I am sure the Indians have a good sense of how long you've been in India by the way you look, your confidence, the way you walk and your attitude, they have a very good instinct for this and we've found the more time in India, the better the interactions we have with the locals and the more enjoyable travel becomes ...

... ancient buildings and lanes surrounding the temple are also worth a wander and are very picturesque. Plenty of tailors. Sean had one of his shirts copied and they've done good job. We went to the Ghandi Museum which was interesting and they have some original artifacts including his glasses and the homespun cloth he was wearing when he was assassinated in 1948. As we were going into the museum I heard my ...

... towers) were covered up for maintenance and work, but we could still see some of the other colourful gopurams. The temple is HUGE (it has the famous 1000-pillared Hall within in the temple), and we were lucky to have our personal guides taking us through it! We enjoyed the Temple Art Museum a lot with its stone and brass images and examples of Dravidian architecture. The following day was a much needed rest day before the long night train to Kanyakumari.

... until he said, i was joking... :P well .... i didn't know what to say after that... heheheh. during the tour we ran into the resident temple elephant, the kids loved him and threw 1rupee and 2 rupees at it, the elephant would pick it up with its trunk and give it to its master. Then it would hit the kid over the head and give them a blessing with its trunk. My guide said if I wanted to do it, i had to pay 10rupees for the experience. Why do I need to pay 10Rupees when the ...

... Today we have been to a Ghandi museam which has his blood stained robe from when he was assinated....and took a walk through a tailer market - with everyone trying to measure Carol up! Weather is so hot - around 30 degrees and its extremely humid. Mozzys are terrible! Cant upload any photos yet as the comps we're on dont have a USB port! Taken loads already though! Hope your all well Alex & Carol xxxxxx

... in my nice hotel room and sightsee the following day. In this cluster of relatively upscale hotels where I am staying all of them have rooftop restaurants and bars. I ventured to the top of my hotel to find a sweet view of the cityscape and the temple complex, surprisingly nearby. As I sat there, on the top of the world, enjoying some great veg food and a Kingfisher, I felt the city of Madurai growing on me. This was even more so as I sat with a group of waiters ...

... and that rickshaw drivers would try to take us to a hotel of their choosing thereby obtaining a sizable commission (baksheesh) at our expense. Having had lots of experience with this routine in Northern India, where the practice is much more intense, and in other countries as well, we had a well prepared strategy ... we asked the driver to take us to the railway station which is within walking distance to the hotels and to the temple. When he asked ...