India, Sri Lanka and The Maldives - Days 45 & 46 - Thanjavor, Tamil Nadu to Pondicherry

 

A roadside stall on the way to Thanjavour selling cashewnuts that they had processed there

Day 45

A couple of hours to Thanjavur, another place we’d not heard of, though road signs to ‘The Big Temple’ did give some indication of our sightseeing. We arrived just before 11.00 so sightseeing before check in makes perfect sense. Shanthi turned up a few minutes later and told us to put socks on as it was a big temple area which we had to walk in barefoot so they’d give some protection from the heat. This made sense, though sadly she hadn’t followed her own advice so instructed Shareef to lend her some!

The factory we saw mass processing cashews in Mangalore on our cruise was unhealthy and horrible. This roadside cottage industry was still unpleasant but a lot better. In the first picture you can see the smoke from the fire where they had cooked the nut in its shell to burn off the toxins and here they are cracking open the shell to get to the nut. We bought a 250g bag for 200 rupees (£2)

The temple itself we quite liked, ornate carvings as ever, but this time no paint just the natural granite. It was built 1000 years ago by Raja Raja Chola l the first and that’s about all we really learned apart from “take photo here”. Back to the car to go to the Royal Palace which housed the museum and art gallery, some bit of which shut at 12.30, though I don’t know which bit though we were certainly whizzed round the museum where she just read what was written in front of us, not actually told us anything. We’ve had more information from free guides! The art gallery was full of stuff of varying ages that had been excavated in the vicinity. That’s all I know.

They weren't the only ones making and selling them. There were stalls every few meters, on both sides of the road for several kilometers. We did like the sign though

She did then obviously take pity on us, so rather than sit with everyone else waiting for the next showing of the movie, she took us into the foyer to stand and wait which was definitely a bit cooler. The movie was a bit of a tourist board presentation, but did at least give us a little background. We dutifully watched it (well the AC was good) while she sat in front of us and played on her phone. And that was that. The movie had shown a bit of the palace but when I said we hadn’t seen the palace she said we were in it, and now we were going. According to the internet most of the palace is actually closed, so this is probably true, though the internet did show a beautiful ceiling, in the waiting area for the movie, which we hadn’t seen because she’d put us in the cooler foyer.

Arriving at the Brihadishwara Temple (generally know as the Big Temple) with our guide Shanthi (in the pink there with an umbrella) Just follow her and keep up! It is a UNESCO listed building

One last stop, the bronze statue factory which was interesting, though Brian knew all about the process as he’d learned it as an apprentice, I was just horrified by the heat from the fire melting the metals and then the fact that he just poured the molten metal into the mould towards his feet!

It is a stunning temple, it has to be said. 1000 years old

To the hotel which was nice, a relax by the pool. The room was positively cold and the bar, Baltic. A disappointing meal rounded off a mediocre day.

The main temple through the entrance gate. She told us it's 180 feet high, 1 +8  = 9 which equals the number of planets in our solar system, an important figure in the Hindu religion. She also told us the dome on the top weights 81 tonnes, 1+8 = you get the picture (except that the video she took us in to see told us it was only 80 tonnes. She didn't seem to notice, too busy looking at her phone)

Day 46

A 4.5 hour drive today, but that’s ok, we just have to sit in the AC, to Pondicherry. Just over an hour in Shareef asked us if we wanted to go and see another temple that was not on the itinerary. He was obviously read the riot act by Ranjeet after the spice farm incident. He wanted to go in to the town, Darasuram, anyway to fill up with CNG (though they appear to have stopped stocking it) so we said ok. Glad we did, the cows carved on the walls really appealed to me, particularly as I thought they were goats and there were goats bouncing about outside. It was much in the style of the big Temple, this one was built 900 years ago by Raja Raja ll who is not as you would expect Rajaraja l’s son but his grandson. It actually shares the UNESCO classification with the Big Temple (and one more). The 160 columns are all different and all beautifully carved. We met the Shiva priest who was very friendly, and gave us the red dot on the head. He was obviously pleased with the 200 rupees, the smallest note Brian had, so called over the Parvati (Shiva’s wife) priest to give us the white dot. He was not so happy when Brian told him he had no more change and to go and get some off the first priest!

The main temple inside the walls, a stunning building. You can take a picture she told me, so I did

A second stop brought us to the third temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, built by Rajendra Chola l who might be the missing generation, between the other two, possibly! I put my socks on for this one as I’d shoved them in my day pack this morning jolly glad I did too, Brian has sore feet from walking barefoot!

The Nandi (bull) outside the main temple, associated with Shiva to whom the temple is dedicated

We finally arrived in Pondicherry, to our hotel in the French Quarter. I think ‘rustic’ describes it. It’s beautifully situated, one street back from the seafront, but does smell slightly damp and could do with a little work. We are happy to be here though, unlike the French lady who threw a complete fit at her room upstairs….

The temple inside

We went for a walk around looking at restaurants and to buy beer. Pondicherry is its own state so beer shops are freely available, unlike Kerela and Tamil Nadu where without Shareef we’d never have found them, and we needed to as in those states hotels with less than 25 rooms are not able to sell beer! A much better dinner than last night, rounded off with a proper gelato and a walk along the promenade. Very civilised.

In front of the main temple

Entering the museum in the Maratha Palace. This was about all we saw of it

Lots of interesting figurines that had been dug up in various places around here. All Hindu gods but we know little more than that

They were in quite a nice room but nothing was mentioned of that

Onto the bronze casting workshop and here's our man lifting out the molten bronze. They make the molds using the 'lost wax' principle where a wax model is uncased into the mold material and then heated so the wax runs out to leave a void in the mold into which the molten bronze is poured at 500 C. 24 hours later the mold is broken to reveal the bronze figurine.

Jackie was upset at the way he was pouring it into the mold towards his bare feet. Where's the 'elf and safety eh Bill?

There's some they did earlier. They chop off the feeder bits to leave the bit they want, polish it up, put it into their shop where they hope people like us will buy some. We didn't, but gave them a donation

That was the extent of our guiding, the rest of the day was by the pool in a quite nice hotel. We seek out the shade where the temperature is a bit more bearable, but an occasional dip to cool off is needed

Next day we were off, it was only a one nighter in Thanjavour. Here we are on a main dual carriage way on the way to Pondicherry. In case you have any doubt, they drive on the left in India, as we do in the UK. We're going along on the left side of the dual carriageway, but look, those two cars are going the same way as us but on the wrong carriageway

This is after we'd passed them looking out the back window. They are in the outside lane but that truck, going in the correct direction and head on to them didn't seem bothered. It's just what they seem to do here!

This is the river Kollidam, a major river in India that is very long. Just one problem here, there's no water in it. Think they need some rain

Shareef asked if we like to stop on the way at this temple. It's the Thirumigu Airavateswarar Temple and is the second of three UNESCO listed temples built by the Raja Raja dynasty, 100 years after the Big Temple. We thought it worthwhile, and it was. It's located here

We just walked round on our own in this one, no guide

Except our white faces were spotted by a priest who wanted to tell us all about it, put a red spot on our foreheads and then ask for a donation

After being accosted by another priest who put another colour of dot on our foreheads and also wanted a donation we headed outside. Jackie sensibly was wearing socks, very necessary in the heat. Mine were locked away in my bag so I went barefoot. What a mistake, think I have mild burns on my heel now!

Further on and Shareef asked if we'd like to stop here. Its the Gangaikonda Cholapuram Temple and is the third of the three UNESCO listed temples built by the Raja Raja dynasty. Its located here

A very big Nandi at this one

Unlike  the other two we weren't allowed to take photos inside, but its pretty similar to the other two

Not sure of the relevance, but a nice statue. By now my feet were suffering and I was seeking out any kind of shade to walk on. Grass I found was better than stone paths, despite the possibility that there might be hidden pebbles waiting to embed themselves in my feet

There it is from outside the less than effective outer wall. All in all, we're glad we visited all three UNESCO temples

On to Pondicherry, a lovely old French colonial town and our room in a converted colonial building. Jackie's right, it is rustic, but at least the aircon works very well and it has everything we need, plus a great location close to the sea in the middle of the heritage area. Its called La Cedille and its located here

But we do have a nice outdoor sitting area, which has a fan and is in the shade. I'm sitting there right now, writing this. Three nights here, the promenade is a great walk and there are almost too many restaurants to choose from. We'll do our best!