Yes. Yes, they are.

If you say you plan to go to southern India, most will recommended a relaxing, romantic houseboat trip on the lazy rivers of Kerala, admiring the beautiful scenery. Or perhaps a trip to the hill station of Ooty (just a few hours' drive from Coimbatore). Maybe check out the hopping cities of Chennai or Puducherry (or the home of technology: Bangalore). Or enjoy the beaches on the southern tip of India. Even explore Sri Lanka.

Next time.

I had to satisfy my obsession with the South Indian temples (which are rare in the northern half of India.) So yes, this may be a boring blog for many of you since it will mostly be comprised of "Oh, pretty temple in the distance. Oh, pretty temple up close. Insert whining about taking off shoes. More pretty photos inside. Rinse. Repeat."

But I do have a photo of a horse statue with its full anatomy intact.

My trip was made possible by Google and Aadya e-Travel.

First I searched online for things like "South Indian Temples" and "Top Temples in India" until I mapped out the most bang for my buck (i.e. areas with highest number of awesome temples nearby) and picked out the three cities in question (four including Thanjavur, which is close to Trichy). Then I enlisted the travel agency who politely offered me both the itinerary I asked for as well as a standard option for more normal folk exploring Tamil Nadu that involved beaches. I went with my original choice and, even though they were probably thinking 'WTF, crazy foreign girl?', they provided me a selection of hotels to fit a variety of budgets (I picked the highest one - I'm going big!) and provided me an awesome and very knowledgeable driver for the whole journey.

I began the seven day / six night trip from my home base in Delhi. I flew through the relaxed Chennai airport which had seven security lines for men but only one for women because that is all that was needed (I guess a lot more men travel here) and boarded the smaller plane to Trichy. I watched out the window and became concerned as we headed south over water, not southwest toward the destination. We weren't going to Sri Lanka, were we? The aircraft was over water most of the trip and, if you look at a map, that would not necessarily be what you'd expect. But I guess they like that route for some reason (it was pretty?) We hugged the coast south, then turned west at the last minute to cruise inland to the city.

When I arrived at the airport, I saw my name on a sign (I don't think I'll ever get tired of that!) My pre-arranged driver was waiting for me and even brought me a flower! A very nice welcome to Tamil Nadu.

No one calls it that. Even signs point to "Trichy". It looks like an unobtrusive dot on the map that few outside the country have heard of, but it is a city of a million people. Granted, there are about fifty cities with a population of over a million in India.

We began the tour immediately, driving into Trichy proper, getting closer to our destination: the un-missable giant stone hill in the middle of the city: The Rock Fort temple complex. Despite being December, the weather was still hot enough to have the air conditioning on in the car.

I always notice the color of autorickshaws when I come to a new city. Unlike the green of Delhi and the black of Khajuraho and Aurangabad, these are full yellow.

As we neared the giant rock, we drove slowly through an *iron and onion* market. You read that right. Onions for sale in bags. Recycled iron.

My driver parked then walked me up to the entrance. The first thing I noticed was: no foreigner rate!

I did have to deposit my shoes with the shoe people before starting up, though. I noticed a faucet nearby that a man was washing his feet in. Hooray, I thought, a place to wash my feet when I'm done. They understand that feet will get very dirty after walking around barefoot.

None of the shopkeepers at the bottom (or the one halfway up) hassled me. Neither did the handful of beggars. There was other weird behavior, though. After I took the stair photo on the right, some older guy came up to me and asked me something about the picture. I thought he wanted to take my photo (because that is a common request) then after some more back-and-forth I realized he was worried about me having photographed him and wanted to see the photo because, if he was in it, he wanted it deleted. Weird. (Especially weird because I'm pretty sure that there are hundreds of photos of myself taken without permission in this country. Maybe Tamil Nadu is different.)

At some point, a lady took my arm and thought it was so strange and funny that I reacted. There was a young, flirtatious guy as well. I guess I ran into some characters up here. I only saw one other (obvious) foreigner. The people at the top (which there were plenty of) looked to be mostly students and families visiting one or both of the temples here: Uchchi Pillaiyar Koil and Shiva Temple.

The view was fantastic, though.

I love how the statues are sitting there admiring the view as well.

Back near the shoe place, I made use of the foot-washing faucet, wishing it were just a bit closer to the place to pick up my shoes. I realized, though, watching someone else, that you were supposed to use it for washing your feet BEFORE you went up. Interesting but, um, no. My feet were clean before I started. It is only after wandering outside in the dirt that they are gross. Besides, my wet feet already picked up dirt just in the few steps to get my shoes, they'd be caked if I had done it beforehand. I tipped the shoekeeper and was happy to be shod again.

They had closed the road outside the entrance while I had been at the rock fort. But with the magic of cell phones, I was able to contact my driver and hop in when he appeared in the nearby stop-and-go traffic.

We headed toward our second destination: Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple. On the way, we crossed over the huge Kaveri river and pulled over to look at the view of the temples in the distance. I borrowed his sunglasses since it was bright out.

Our destination was a temple on the island in the middle of the river.

This.

This is exactly the kind of thing I'd come to see.

I took lots of photos of the main approach. Because HOW AWESOME IS THIS?!

My driver dropped me off at the entrance. I left my shoes in the car since he would be picking me up from a different exit. Once again, no "foreigner's price" yay, but there was a "camera charge" which is a less offensive way to charge more for tourists, I think. And it was only an additional 30 rupees on top of the 20 to get in, anyway, not like the exorbitant charges you'll see in Delhi.

There were a lot of folk inside the complex. Many seemed to be just locals, hanging out inside in the shade. Most of the people sitting or laying among the columns looked fairly poor judging by their clothes, teeth, and general cleanliness, but no one bothered me. There were also well-off couples and businessmen and others who were likely Indian tourists. Again, there were very few foreign tourists. This temple clearly does not cater to foreigners, which is mostly a benefit since aggressive hawkers and beggars are nearly nonexistent, but can also have drawbacks since the signage and explanations of places were weak, there weren't really any guides, and a lot of places were blocked off for me.

You would expect more staring, since someone of my complexion was even less expected than usual. But there was not. I think people noticed me, but were only vaguely interested. (Everyone seemed to have my same cough. I picked it up before I came, though.) No one even asked for my photo.

The only person who really approached me was a lady wanting to put a red dot on my forehead. I've sort of had my fill of that in India, realizing they mostly want donations and then you have to worry you are going to smear the thing. I declined.

I found a place you could get a ticket for roof access (meaning, awesome photo opportunity) and was very excited! A super friendly man explained to me, though, that the roof was very hot.

Makes me wonder WHY YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF then. Seriously, most of this temple complex is outdoors, on hot stone walkways. Dirty. Sandy. Not pleasant to walk on at all and by the end, my poor first-world feet were hurting from the heat and stepping on tiny pebbles. Seems to me that they should only require shoelessness for the indoor parts. Right? Sigh.

I went for it anyway because, come on, ROOF.

He wasn't kidding. The stone was even hotter up there. However, there were shaded bits and a part that had some sort of carpet that I could walk on without burning my feet. So it was a stand-in-shaded-part, run to the edge, snap the cool photo, run back, ouchie, recover, repeat.

Pictures I Took from the Roof:

I can't get over the detail in these gates. The sculpture on every level is different and painted all the way up. The work that must have went into constructing (and maintaining!) these towers is mind-boggling.

One particular tower caught my eye before I went down. It had no colors but was equally amazing. (Every tower here is unique.) After I snapped a photo of it, my goal was to find it.

I took a right at the set of signs and wandered around in a general northerly direction until I came upon the white tower. Beyond it was just the public street again, so it must have been one of the exit gates.

After I spent some time admiring the detail of the north gate, I wandered around the area.

I came upon a colonnade next to a courtyard. According to Wiki, this is called the Hall of 1000 Pillars, though a portion of it was cordoned off for renovations.

People were lounging about or just walking from one place to another. It was not as crowded in this area. It was a good place to hang out and get my bearings.

Facing the courtyard were some cool sculptures of horses.

So I walked a bit a closer to examine the intricate details of the sculpture.

Sorry, dude. But you are making your phone call NEXT TO A HORSE PENIS.

The guy kept right on with his call. After I'd had enough of the horses, I kept on wandering around the complex, trying to avoid hot sand or stone on my feet for too long.

I often was stopped in my tracks by signs like these and so never actually got to enter any true interior space where sacred stuff, I suppose, was going on.

Of course, they don't know if I'm Hindu or not. How do you prove you are Hindu? Is it just the honor system or do they stop any white person (white means Christian of course!) or Arab (Arab means Muslim of course!) wandering in with a camera?

Toward the back of the temple complex, on the opposite side of the entrance gate, I found this colorful tower.

It may not be as tall as the one on the front. Or striking as the white tower...

...but it sure makes the anatomically correct horse sculptures look tame!

Naughty! I guess this is what you get for walking all the way to the back of the complex. Nothing to the level of the Khajuraho temples in central India, but this is in color!

Here are some other things I came upon while making my way to the south gate where I was to meet my driver.

After I had my fill of Sri Ranganathaswamy, my feet about to die, my driver dutifully picked me up.

I learned later that this is the largest temple complex in India!

I would love to explore it again with shoes on.

Our final stop of the day, and in Trichy, was the Sri Jambukeswarar temple.

After the previous temple, it seemed tiny.

This temple had significantly fewer people than the last. I don't know if that was because the other one is so much bigger and more well-known or if it was because it was late in the day (it was around 4 in the afternoon by now.)

I'd guess that these temples are only open until sunset and, it being December, we were approaching it.

Luckily, there is plenty of nifty stuff on the outside.

This hotel was fairly high standard for India. A large room that was a step above "India clean" though not a huge step. I ordered in room service for dinner and had delicious fish curry which are three words I did not think I'd ever see together.

Breakfast and checkout were fine, just disorganized. I had to ask for tea cup, cutlery, and sugar. Too many people were trying to help too many other people. Apparently some famous local politician was staying at this hotel (which would explain the row of cars with Indian flags and might also explain the confusion.)

Before going to Madurai, we are stopping over at Thanjavur, about an hour drive away which is the home of, among other things, the famous Brihadeeswarar Temple.

The highway parallel to the river (the highway goes all the way from Chennai to Madurai) was speedy. It reminded me of the one from Delhi to Agra which is the only one like it in that area (get with it, northern India!) We are at American speeds, folks. 120km/hr. If it were not for the people *crossing* and the occasional cruising motorbike on the shoulder going in the opposite direction, it would be just like back home.

In the complex with the art were two towers. Neither could you actually climb. I recall that the bell tower was not structurally sound (a good reason, I suppose). The other one I think is just not climbable. (The stairs were blocked off as I recall.)

You could at least walk up to the main floor of the towers and check them out. Though while going up one fairly sketch stairway, a woman was sweeping. She made a point of telling me she was sweeping it clean. I was unclear if that meant she wanted a tip? I did not oblige.

Among the under-decorated areas near the base of the pyramid tower I saw a group of (older) white tourists. Hello, other white people! I almost forgot what you looked like!

Speaking of random white things, I turned at one point and saw this. What the... ?

I followed the strangeness down the hall and came upon the explanatory sign, luckily with a translation in English. Yep, these are truly the bones of a whale. Displayed in a back hall. Inside this art museum with no other natural artifacts. Miles and miles from any actual shoreline.

Because, why not?

They also had models and explanations of nearby temples.

I found a model of the place that was next on my itinerary and so got a preview. Brihadeeswarar Temple!

Here was one of the more decorated areas of the palace.

This is why I asked that Thanjavur be included on my itinerary. Worth it, I think.

This temple, also spelled "Brihadisvara" or referred to as "the Bride one" by me, is 1,000 years old. That's pretty much average around these parts. Still, as an American, I'm impressed with this.

After I had leisure to study the photo above on the right in more detail, I noticed that the figure has a headdress, fangs, multiple arms including ones in a peaceful Buddha pose, and last but not least, defined breasts. I don't know what I'm looking at here. Good or evil, god or demon? (I'm clearly a bad Hindu; I'd never make it past the Hindu Only signs.)

After I passed under the entrance gates, I wandered off to the covered side corridors.

According to Google, a lingam / lingham is a Hindu term that is "a symbol of divine generative energy, especially a phallus or phallic object worshiped as a symbol of Shiva." The Wiki elaborates, "The union of lingam and yoni represents the "indivisible two-in-oneness of male and female, the passive space and active time from which all life originates."

I'm going to mention lingams again later, in my Coimbatore entry. Let's just say, worshipping lingams doesn't really appeal to me for some reason.

Just like a movie, the climax was in the middle. The tall stepped tower that I saw from the road was in the rear of the complex, but still entirely within it so I could circumnavigate the awesome.

And take a lot of photos.

My photo experience here was much more on par with northern Indian historic sites. There, I am an object of photographic interest. I am often asked to pose with various members of a family / group individually. Sometimes, it is slightly creepy. For example, when random guys pose with me one at a time, or worse, put their arm around me as if they plan to show off a picture of them and their foreign girlfriend. Sometimes, it is cute, like when posing with kids or shaking their hand. My favorite experience was in Jaipur, when I was pleasantly trapped with a large extended family and was asked to pose with nearly every family member, from the school-aged student to the great-grandmother. Over my time in India, I've caught several people trying to subtly take my photo without me noticing. Usually when I catch them, I offer to pose, which they are thrilled with.

Since I have not had this experience much so far in Tamil Nadu, I'm guessing that my experience here was because the other tourists I met were from northern India.

First, I asked a passerby to take my photo. He obliged. Then I ended up posing with him. Then with his whole family! A little bit later, I allowed my photo to be taken again and in return, I got a photo of their family as well. Then there were the five guys who wanted a photo of their outing and gave me their email addresses to send it to. They were very polite.

My driver then took me to a city park. On the way, we saw some protestors which my driver described as a "Muslim political rally." Fun.

He parked and this time, joined me. As we strolled together on the meandering path through the grass, the park gave the impression of a place that used to be popular for children, but had gotten run down and unused over the years. A small train circumnavigated the park but appeared to be no longer in commission. The place boasted a petting zoo, aviary, and water slides but honestly, the turkey, ducks, and parrots looked a little worse for the wear (the peacock, wandering free, looked happy enough, however) and nothing else appeared to be open or in use. We also saw foxes, deer, and rabbits, but the cages were depressingly small.

During the walk, I learned a bit more about my driver.

My driver took me to one last temple in Thanjavur. The place was on my itinerary but he warned me that it was very much a locals place.

He was correct.

The price list was not even in English, but the man at the window just waved me in. The temple appeared to be more for the use of people actually worshipping or performing rituals and less for the random tourist wandering in. For that reason, I took few photos. There was a little covered outdoor market I took a peek at, but nothing caught my eye. The place was especially popular with women, my driver explained, and told me that "amman" means mother. I got a few looks, but no one hassled me except for one beggar.

I enjoyed studying the series of paintings along the wall near the ceiling and tried to understand the story they were telling, but without much success.

Before heading back to the hotel for the night, my driver stopped by a pharmacy and bought me Benadryl syrup for my lingering cough. Very nice guy.

At the hotel, most of the patrons I saw were white tourists. In fact, I spotted the same group of tourists I'd seen at the City Palace earlier. The hotel itself (Hotel Sangam again, but a different branch) was fine and clean enough, though the dinner I had here of a dal curry, stuffed kulcha, lassi and soup was mediocre.

On a more interesting note, there were musicians playing at the hotel. A sitar player and drummer. I swear they were playing an instrumental version of the Alvin and the Chipmunks' Christmas song, "Please Christmas, don't be late." Surreal! It also marks the first Christmas song I have heard this year which, for being past the second week of December, is pretty awesome. (If I were back in the states, I'd already be sick of holiday music at this point.)

Thoughts on Trichy / South India