Today we had a full day off (no work, not travel) … to sight see and shop … before
we head up North for the second part of our trip.
Photo of the day... beautiful Gabi in Indian garb ... stunning!
We started the day at the Madurai Temple, a
true wonder. Over 2,300 years old (I know, incredible) with literally hundreds
of different gods and unique prayer opportunities.
Photo: The towers of the temple complex are literally made up of hundreds of thousands of decorated gods.
And yet, you approach it by walking down a
side street and turn left at the old man stringing flower garlands.
We were not allowed to take cameras into the Temple, although Iphones were allowed (who makes up these rules?) and I had not bought my Iphone. So I don’t have many photos to share of inside.
What I can tell you is
the temple is re-painted every 12 years to make sure that the vibrant colors of
every statue stays bright. Even the ceilings are painted and decorated.
Shrines and devoted prayers everywhere you looked
Dancing Shiva
Open bath /water area for devotees to wash their hands and feet before prayer
There are lots of opportunities for blessings at the Temple… so we decided to try them all, including blessings from the scantily clad priests
And blessings from the Temple Beasts: Our guide organized a real
treat for us. He got us into the back
stables so we could meet the Temple Elephant and his handlers. And it’s hard to imagine what would be a better
luck than being blessing by a Temple elephant
Eileen's elephant experience face was the best... by far
Side story: By legend,
the gods apparently most appreciate sacrifices of children’s hair. So if a family is in distress and need a
heavy dose of good luck, they shave the child’s hair and offer it up to the
gods. No one in our group was willing to take one for the true good luck of the team.
After a morning at the Temple, we then did LOTS of shopping for all kinds of trinkets and souvenirs from street vendors and in the small shops.
Lunch was at a local, local, local restaurant... no other Westerners in sight.
No menu really... just bread in the middle and a lot of tin cups filled with various spicy, savory and sweet things to dip the chippatti (bread) into. Some good. Some awful.
In the afternoon we visited the Gandhi museum, which was up there on the list of awful, antiquated and almost mind-numbingly boring museums. Except for the one macabre highlight, the dhoti or clothes that Gandhi wore the day he was shot. That was really interesting to see.
No menu really... just bread in the middle and a lot of tin cups filled with various spicy, savory and sweet things to dip the chippatti (bread) into. Some good. Some awful.
In the afternoon we visited the Gandhi museum, which was up there on the list of awful, antiquated and almost mind-numbingly boring museums. Except for the one macabre highlight, the dhoti or clothes that Gandhi wore the day he was shot. That was really interesting to see.
Photo: Blood soaked dhoti worn by Gandhi on the day he was shot
2 comments:
I love a Thali meal. Yum.
Enjoy kids.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thali
So excited you had a chance to visit such a fantastic place. nothing like Elephant snot in ones hair.. but it does make for great photos. We really loved it when we were there. travel safe.
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