Two days in Mamallapuram

Mamallapuram is harder than it looks to pronounce on arrival at Chennai airport!! Anyhow - the flight from the Andaman’s on Kingfisher was first rate with food served on route and a flight time of around 2 hours. Arriving at the airport I found that my pick up had not arrived 0_0 but this was soon sorted out with the hotel on the phone and it was due to traffic… Chennai airport is about 15km outside of the city but it is still in a busy area with lots of traffic on the roads, including the obligatory cow!! However, as you move away from the city the traffic becomes lighter and you soon find yourself on the East Coast Highway, which is a smooth road with toll - it even has speed limit signs and you are able to rush along at the head spinning speed of 80kph!
Mamallapuram is exactly what it states in the Lonely Planet guide book (never leave home without one ;)). With its army of stone crafters and gift shops. It is a friendly place and I stayed at the Hotel Daphne, where the staff were very welcoming and gave me some ideas about what to see in the area. With effectively only one day I decided that I should look around at the ancient monuments and rock carvings - which are amazing considering their age. They are found all over an area of exposed rock hills to the West of the town and can easily be accessed on foot - walking just a few km’s will complete a circuit of all the major sites including the 5 Rathas and the Shore Temple.
The carvings come in many forms from simple pools, to elaborate carvings taking up whole sides of rock faces, the imagery on the walls is breathtaking as they have carved into the stone itself and had no room for error - Chambers are cut out from the rock, while figures shape the inside walls decorated at times with naturally pigmented vegetable paints. Outside some of the chambers are erected stone pillars… You do need a guide if you are going to see all of the carvings in the area (or a pretty thorough nature) as the paths a not clear and at times you are clambering over the rock itself! Along with many goats!!!! The ‘Butter Ball’ - which I was looking forwards to seeing ended up being a large vaguely circular rock balanced precariously on the side of a rock slope being used as shade by a herd of goats in the mid day sun… Not as impressive as the carvings…
The 5 Rathas are found at the end of a road which is currently undergoing a lot of work in developing tourism - new shopping areas have been set up, car parks laid and sewer pipes put underground to replace the current open channels, it is an area in transition thanks to investment aimed at the tourist - However I cannot help but think what the impact is of coach loads of tourists arriving and flowing through, in effect, a shopping mall before going to the historical sites. As ever with all monuments you are greeted by a swathe of trinket merchants who want to sell you everything from a hand carved rock elephant to a set of postcards for “a cheap prise”. It is possible to ignore them and go in to the fenced off grounds but it should not take more than 30mins to see it all - the rock carving here once again is incredible but it is becoming more ‘touristy’…
On the way to the shore temple I spied the ‘sculpture museum’, which only costs 10r to enter - it houses a bedazzling array of sculptures painted in vibrant colours which attract the eye and leaves you thinking that you have dropped down the rabbit hole into some kind of Alive in Wonderland garden. It is small but very much worth a look and it does house some paintings and models as well as the sculpted items.
Eating in Mamallapuram is simple - Le Yogi - in my humble opinion is a great place to hang out, it has a wonderful ambience and fabulous food (if in small portions). The staff are very welcoming as you arrive on the first floor. Removing your shoes grants access to the seating area with a choice of tables or floor covers and pillows. The best option is the wicker chairs in the corner where you can watch the street life unfold outside while eating you meal - I recommend the pasta but it is all good :)
The beachfront of Mamallapuram shows its fishing roots as there are a number of fishing vessels resting on the beach every morning ready to go and supply the local market with fresh fish (this has led to you being able to choose your dinner from tanks in the restaurants before it is grilled or boiled to your taste :)). The sea here is a little rough but this meant a lovely sea wind swept in and cooled you down while standing on the edge of the swash line giving an opportunity to watch the single surfer braving the waves!!
It had been a wonderful refuge from Indian city life, but as it was Divali the children/families had been out a purchased ‘bangers’ - these fireworks are sold by the bucket load and resemble small sticks of chalk or marker pens in size but by heaven - when these things go off you think you have arrived in a war zone!! The bangs from the larger fireworks are ear-splitting while the smaller ones pop, splutter or BANG depending it would seem on the quantity of gunpowder within them. The children seem to regard health and safety as an optional extra as they light them with either a match or ignition string - and if they don’t go off they go back to the same one and try again!! Still they all seemed to be having a whale of a time and only the western tourists bemoaned the noise…
I am so glad that I stayed in Mamallapuram instead of Chennai - it was a perfect rest stop before taking a flight to Sri Lanka. The people are incredibly friendly, you meet lots of fellow travellers (some of whom play chess ;)) and it only costs 900r by taxi to get there… Check it out if your in the area.
The flight from Chennai to Sri Lanka was ‘MAGICAL’ - Because it was Divali very few Indians were flying and the plane had lots of spare seats (I found myself in a exit row with lots of leg room and three seats to myself!!). Before we took off the pilot let us know that there may be some turbulence as there was a cyclone in the Indian Ocean 0_0 Glad he told me that before we took off so that my fear of flying was reassured!! However, getting back to the magical flight - taking off from Chennai was like lifting off from a Disney title screen - Fireworks were alive all over the city and as we rose above it the whole place was a kaleidoscope of colours with every street having a set of rockets lifting into the sky before bursting with life and colour - it is one of the greatest human induced sites that I have seen in my life - I will always remember Chennai from the Air on Divali 2010.