Week Nine

25/12/06 to 31/12/06

Our seasonal week, slightly pressured since it was everyone else's seasonal week as well

  • 25/12/06 - Somnathpur
  • 26/12/06 - Mysore
  • 27/12/06 - Belur & Halebid
  • 28/12/06 - Madurai
  • 29/12/06 - Madurai
  • 30/12/06 - Mamallapuram
  • 31/12/06 - Mamallapuram
Scene from a Tamil dance performance at Mamallapuran - here (obviously) a number about Baby Krishna and the gopis


25/12/06 - Somnathpur
Inside the small and remote (but very attractive) Hoysala temple of Somnathpur
The outside is a riot of intense carving, all over

26/12/06 - Mysore
Buddhist monks are visiting Mysore palace at the same time as us
The afore-mentioned, slightly kitsch and blocky palace

27/12/06 - Belur & Halebid
Another Hoysala temple, with impressive carvings, at Belur
The outside of Belur Temple
The inside of a third Hoysala temple, at Halebid
And more of that impressive carving

28/12/06 - Madurai
The famous, and immense, temple at Madurai - the four gateways are visible, as is the central gopuram

29/12/06 - Madurai
The equivalently sized Nandi, outside - unlike the ruined ones we've seen, this one is painted in unconvincing colours (and has an auto rickshaw parked beside it).
And one of the gateways/entrances, seen from the side
Surprisingly, there's also a palace in Madurai

30/12/06 - Mamallapuram
The (mostly-ruined) Shore Temple
Traditional, stylised, Tamil dance posture

31/12/06 - Mamallapuram
A very worried Milla, shortly after our snake encounter
And a crow, inspecting the Bay of Bengal from the prow of a fishing boat

Week Ten