Tamil Nadu Kanchipuram

... br><br><br>The sanctum sanctorum is closed between<br>12 noon and 4pm but the complex is open<br>all day.<br><br><br><br>Kanchipuram is within 2 hours driving<br>distance of Chennai, well connected by<br>public transport. <br><br><br><br>Temples of Tamil Nadu by AV<br>Shankaranarayana Rao has useful<br>information about this temple.<br><br>http://www.eprarthana.co m/temples/kancheepuram/tn460kail.asp?ti d=460<br><br>

... avoid it, as the temple there is the main reason why I am going there.<br>Kamakshi temple is nice, I walked around clockwise, took some pics and left again.<br>After that I decided for another not popular temple, where I even was all alone and the priest showed me around and with his little english tried to explain as good as possible. I also got the red-spot-between-eyebrows blessing took pics and had one pic taken of me. I left a little ...

... t know for sure, but we think it was because he is a priest, and the temple he works at is not state funded so he is not paid for many of his services. There are definitely many wealthy Indians with servants and drivers etc. but we did not experience this side of Indian life. The next morning I left for my trip to a Dalit village with Semester at Sea. Dalit is the tamal word for those born into the caste of "untouchables." Although the caste system is much less ...

... wedding, they gave my friend and I henna/mehendi. It's cool. It makes me wish Indian fashions were more widely accepted at home.... Either way, my saris will make really cool pillows/curtains/dresses when i get home! India really is beautiful too ( I'm working on the pictures!) There are jsut so many beautiful landscapes,the south (where I am) is really green, and there are big hills everywhere. When you get out of the cities, there are just these ...

From Rameshwaram, I took a couple of long, hot buses north to Thanjavur, also known as Tanjore, ancient capital of the Chola empire from the 10th to the 14th centuries. Along the way, in the coastal plains, fallow dusty fields were evidence of extreme drought problems, in the rainshadow of the Western Ghats. Upstream, reservoirs were not full enough to supply water to many of the irrigation systems; only half of the usual fields were planted. At the same time, many of the ...

... giving us all red bindis as blessings. We returned to the car just as the sun was starting to rise. The second temple, or tomb rather, was a bit closer to the airport. It was called Haji Ali and it is one of the most famous tombs in India. It is located in the middle of the sea off the coast, and there is a long causeway that allows visitors to get there. However, if you visit at the wrong time (high ...

... rollercoaster of tragic emotions that was intended. So un-PC it wouldn't get a rating in Europe, it features a moustacioed hero who fancies a feisty village girl. However his dad decides, as a huge favour, to offer the hero up for marriage to his friend's disabled but virtuous and beautiful daughter, since her last suitor ran off in disgust when her limp was discovered at the bride viewing. The hero is understandably distraught - he fancies the village pot ...

... week. It has been soo much fun!! not much to report on medically - but it's like being in a world vision video!! hundreds of little kids smiling and trying to shake my hand, all the old ladies come out of their houses to bless me!! there are heaps and heaps of goats and cows wandering the streets too - so cute! and there's a family who have chickens, and they had 4 chicks which they dyed fluoro colours - i want to buy one, they're only 10c!!! We met up with Nick ...

... They are conducting a follow up to an earlier assessment, determining what next steps can be taken for the welfare of the woman and her family. Ideally, they will find her housing in a special hostel which offers some medical treatment; however, it means separating from her family. At this juncture, it is the only sustainable option. She appears to finally agree. EAI- a small grassroots NGO based in Mammalapuam - is doing stellar work, providing educational, social, disability and health ...

Finally, an update on our India travels... We arrived in India on the morning of September 12, after a marathon of travel from Johannesburg through Dubai and then onto the city of Chennai (formerly known as Madras), in southern India. Chennai is not the most typical starting point for travels through India, but perfect for us, as Allison's brother Adam happened to be in Southern India for part of his summer break from graduate school. Adam was kind enough to collect us from ...