Day 80 (Mon 25 Sep) - Chennai / Mamallapuram
Got up and had breakfast in the rather dark and dingy restaurant at the base of our hotel before setting off to the bus station.
There was a bit of confusion about where the bus station was. The guidebook stated it should be literally 10 minutes away whilst the auto rickshaw man, and the hotelier, insisted things had changed and the new bus station was some 10km away. Decided to go to the new bus station declining the rickshaw man's offer to let him take us all the way to Mamallapuram, even though it was a two hour bus ride so no idea how long it would take in a beaten up auto rickshaw.
We finally arrived at the new bus station which looked more like an airport. Very plush. Sarb went to find out where the buses to Mamallapuram went from. We'd decided we would chill out for a couple of days here before heading on to Pondicherry.
We jumped on a local bus and traveled out of Chennai along the coast. The coastal road was very pretty; on one side you had the sea and the other there were palm trees, rice plantations and a plethora of small exotic plant nurseries.
When we arrived in Mamallapuram we weren't sure where to get off. Fortunately the bus conductor told us to get off before the bus set off again.
As we walked through the afternoon sleepy fishing village everyone seemed so friendly and happy to see us. Immediately we knew that we were going to enjoy our time here. It was so relaxed after the bustle of Mumbai.
We went in search of a nice hotel, with a pool, which we'd spotted in the Lonely Planet. When we arrived at the Hotel Sea Breeze we were told that the rooms were far more expensive than what they had been quoted in the Lonely Planet. Jo asked if they had anything cheaper. She really wanted to stay at this hotel as she had caught a glimpse of the pool on the way in and it looked so inviting. Luckily he said that we could have a single room so Jo went to check it out. The room was paradise compared to our room in Mumbai, and cheaper and had a proper toilet!
We quickly changed and went to relax by the pool. Later we ventured onto the beach where we saw the Shore Temple ( [1], [2] ). We walked along the beach amongst busy fishermen as they cleaned their boats and mended their nets.
Apparently Mamallapuram was hit badly by the Tsunami in 2004 but it's good to see that things seem to be back to normal as there appears to be a thriving fishing community.
We wandered through the village and stopped at our hotel for a drink. It was getting dark and suddenly we were getting seriously bitten by vicious insects. We quickly drank up and headed back to our room to DEET up before we ventured out again.
Later we went to a French restaurant called Nautilus and devoured delicious fish and chips.
There was a bit of confusion about where the bus station was. The guidebook stated it should be literally 10 minutes away whilst the auto rickshaw man, and the hotelier, insisted things had changed and the new bus station was some 10km away. Decided to go to the new bus station declining the rickshaw man's offer to let him take us all the way to Mamallapuram, even though it was a two hour bus ride so no idea how long it would take in a beaten up auto rickshaw.
We finally arrived at the new bus station which looked more like an airport. Very plush. Sarb went to find out where the buses to Mamallapuram went from. We'd decided we would chill out for a couple of days here before heading on to Pondicherry.
We jumped on a local bus and traveled out of Chennai along the coast. The coastal road was very pretty; on one side you had the sea and the other there were palm trees, rice plantations and a plethora of small exotic plant nurseries.
When we arrived in Mamallapuram we weren't sure where to get off. Fortunately the bus conductor told us to get off before the bus set off again.
As we walked through the afternoon sleepy fishing village everyone seemed so friendly and happy to see us. Immediately we knew that we were going to enjoy our time here. It was so relaxed after the bustle of Mumbai.
We went in search of a nice hotel, with a pool, which we'd spotted in the Lonely Planet. When we arrived at the Hotel Sea Breeze we were told that the rooms were far more expensive than what they had been quoted in the Lonely Planet. Jo asked if they had anything cheaper. She really wanted to stay at this hotel as she had caught a glimpse of the pool on the way in and it looked so inviting. Luckily he said that we could have a single room so Jo went to check it out. The room was paradise compared to our room in Mumbai, and cheaper and had a proper toilet!
We quickly changed and went to relax by the pool. Later we ventured onto the beach where we saw the Shore Temple ( [1], [2] ). We walked along the beach amongst busy fishermen as they cleaned their boats and mended their nets.
Apparently Mamallapuram was hit badly by the Tsunami in 2004 but it's good to see that things seem to be back to normal as there appears to be a thriving fishing community.
We wandered through the village and stopped at our hotel for a drink. It was getting dark and suddenly we were getting seriously bitten by vicious insects. We quickly drank up and headed back to our room to DEET up before we ventured out again.
Later we went to a French restaurant called Nautilus and devoured delicious fish and chips.
posted by Jo and Sarb at
9/25/2006 08:49:00 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home