Mal...

Dan and I have decided to stay in Mal for an extra day...that was decided this morning over a big pot of masala tea. We were going to go on to Pondicherry today but that will happen tomorrow instead.

We have wondered quite a bit around Mal. It's a nice mix of touristy accommodations and "real" stuff...we have spent a lot of time on the beach too.....it's always nice and warm which I love. I end up just lounging a lot and going to check out monuments like the Krishna Butter Ball which is part of a whole sweet monument area.

And somehow all this fills our day. Today we are going to check out more temples and monuments--there is also some beach time in our future.

Some general observations about India so far....there is garbage everywhere! In fields, on the beach...not covered in garbage but lots of litter. There are also cows everywhere---them being sacred and all although no one really takes care of them. There was a pretty huge cow gathering on the beach yesterday...lots of babies which was cute. Also women here don't wear bathing suits--they go into the water with pants and a shirt, often in their salwar kameezes, sometimes saris. Men wear shorts or a bathing suit.

Oh the food...delicious. I have been eating lots of curry and rice. Lots and lots of tea too. I managed to find a Thumbs Up soda but I haven't tried it yet--I have been keeping my eyes open for a masala soda. I'm sort of easing slowly into the food as to not upset the delicate balance of it all. Oh and I had a coconut naan--that was super delicious. It was a flat bread stuffed with cooked coconut and spices. Yum.

xo

local production

We've decided to stay in Mamallapuram a little while longer. It's an easy place to waste away the days... It's very mixed here; there's the Little Backpackistan district attached to a regular Indian town. The traveller district is clogged with little shops selling sculptures, clothes, shoes, paintings, etc. The big difference from shopping at home is that everything is made in front of you. The stone carvers are unbelievable, the tailors, painters, and shoemakers are also amazing. It's so easy to forget that everything we buy has to actually be produced somewhere since it's always just sitting and waiting for us on store shelves.

We did a tour of the temple park yesterday. These ruins were sitting atop carved rock caves devoted to Vishnu.

The locals side of the beach was packed with a group armin-arm waiting to be swept away by the next big wave.

The Ana side of the beach was much less packed :) Check out the sweet Camel pants.

This morning we had delicious Masala Chai. I was quite tempted by the French Breakfast, but decided to pass in favour of fresh cinni-buns. Mmmmm.

Mustache ratio

When travelling through Central America I was awed by the amount of men with mustaches. India blows them out of the water. I know it's not a scientific study, but my counts on the last bus were 24 men of voting age with mustaches, 4 without. Take that Central!

The bobble

I'm completely enamoured with the Indian head bobble. I had a short, yet intense man-crush on our bus toll-taker guy from Chennai to Covelong Beach, completely based on his head movement. At first it really threw me off as he was answered my question with an affirmative, while giving negative head movements. Soon enough, I learned his head language and we were communicating effortlessly. The closest comparison I can draw is with Italians speaking with their hands...he couldn't open his mouth without moving his head. Love it.

Salad

It strikes me as funny that chicken by itself is just chicken. An egg is just an egg. Add mayo to either and you get chicken salad and egg salad. Everyone knows that getting more salad in your diet is important for maintaining a healthy body. Maybe that's why the developed nations as a whole are getting fatter.
P.S. I know this has nothing to do with India, but it's my blog and I'll do what I want.

India!

So Dan and I are in India.

India is overwhelming...well Channai is! It's just as I thought it would be. Lots of honking, hot and humid and sooooooo many people. We tried to get a room in Channai so that we could spend the day there but decided pretty quickly to get the hell out of there.

So we took a series of buses by relying on the kindness of strangers...and we ended up spending yesterday in a place called Kovelan...a very small town where we were the attraction. Lots of staring of course and touching our arm--mostly kids. We ended up sleeping A LOT during our visit.

Today we took a bus from Kovelan into Mamallapuram (Mal) which I'm liking a lot. Lots to see and do...there will def be some pics to be posted.

The people here are so so friendly. While we were in Kovelan waiting for the bus, we got asked where we were going a lot and many told us the bus to take which was so great. I almost got on the wrong bus and an Indian g-ma who basically stood right by us the whole time we were waiting ran after me and yelled at me "no no no"...haha love it. Even on the bus, it seems Indians have taken responsibility for us--telling us when to get off and such. Nice.

We are spending the next couple of days in Mal...I will post pics tmr after visiting some temples and the five rathas.

xo
a

And we're off...

After a lovely time on the east coast visiting family and friends, we are off to India. We leave tonight...12 hour flight to Abu Dhabi...3 hour wait...4 hour flight into Chennai, India.

We added an interactive map to our site...for your viewing pleasure.

We'll write again soon.

xo
a