The benefits of being a foreigner
Trip Start
Dec 05, 2004
1
16
25
Trip End
Jan 17, 2005
Chennai,
India
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
We decided to re-route our trip and head inland to Trichy, one of a number of important temple towns in Tamil Nadu. Our first hurdle was to get a train. Being peak season and also with many Indians heading inland to escape the tsunami upheaval, trains were packed and booked up far in advance. Having located the ticket office (not an easy task) at Chennai Egmore station, we were redirected to the Central station a short (and mad) rickshaw drive away, as there was a possibility of getting a 'foreign tourist quota' ticket. Following a little bit of bureaucracy, we were issued (in the delightful air conditioned office reserved for foreign tourists!) with two A/C chair carriage seats. Our rickshaw man had hung around to take us back to Egmore, where we spent 2 hours recovering from lugging our bags from one place to another and back again! The railway canteen served up some new delicacies for me for breakfast - South Indian vadai (a chickpea or semolina fried ball or doughnut), an Idli (a steamed rice ball) and a soft dosai (a kind of pancake) all with some sambar (a lentil and tamarind sauce like dahl) and coconut and coriander chutneys. Seriously yummy and spicy.
Our train took us through some scenic countryside. Five hours of a totally different landscape to what I'd seen in the desert area of the North. Lush green fields, tree filled, lakes, rivers (not dried up), palm trees, banana groves, paddy fields, healthy looking livestock flashed by. The old lady next to us took out her newspaper parcel of cold rice and mushed up little bite-sized balls of rice. She gestured to me about eating, as I'd not bought anything from the many trays of food that were paraded during the five hour journey up and down the train (pakoras, dosas, vadais, biryani, pooris, chocolate - yes even that) - she was an Indian version of a worried Jewish mama! She was fascinated with the photos on my digital camera too.
Arriving in Trichy, we went to the Hotel Femina, a large hotel overlooking the street, with a comfortable fan-cooled room for less than 6 pounds between us. Dinner in the restaurant that night revealed that Southern interpretation of Indian dishes, such as malai kofta or korma were totally unlike those of the north - and not so nice either!
The next morning, I had the most delicious south Indian breakfast (similar to the one at the train station) and we worked out which bus to get to the town of Thanjavur (Tanjore), another temple town about 90km east of Trichy. This was Debbie's first experience of the Indian bus and so the time passed quickly, whilst I explained the ins and outs of the seating procedure and we also chatted to a few of the passengers (plus got stared at for most of the hour). The bus terminated at the new bus stand and someone gestured for us to get a local bus into Thanjavur. The Brihadishwara Temple is a World Heritage-listed complex, built in 1010 it is the crowning glory of Chola period architecture. It is unlike any of the temples I had seen in the North. Set in spacious grounds, it has pillared halls and shrines dotted around within the high walled enclosure. We hired a guide, who unfortunately could not take us right into the central area as he was doing puja because he had just lost his Uncle to the tsunami (over in Nagaputtinam) - although his Aunt and their children had luckily survived. It kind of brought it home to us. There are 3 (I think) gopurams (entrance towers) and an even higher 13 storey tower above the sanctum all made of stone brought by elephants from Trichy. The carvings are beautiful and detailed of gods, many armed demons, animals, dancing ladies and cherubs. There was a huge Nandi (the bull that transports Shiva and Parvati) statue made from a single piece of rock and weighing 25 tons, one of the largest Nandi statues in India. Pilgrims were walking past and placing offerings in front of it, before visiting each of the shrines and the main sanctum to get a tikka (the red, yellow of white paste placed on their forehead by the Brahamin priests), or bring food and gifts to their favourite god. We were asked to light a candle at the sculpture of Ganesh (the elephant god - son of Shiva and Parvati).
After visiting the temple we walked into the town - quite quiet by my previous experiences but somewhat overwhelming for Debbie, who quickly learnt to dodge the auto ricks and motorcyclists. The palace was closed so we went back to the bus stand and caught an express bus back to Trichy, munching delicious cashew nut and plum cakes. That evening, we ate in a real non-touristy local eatery which used banana leaves as plates and not cutlery in sight. It was a delicious meal, nice and spicy just how I like it!
