Mamallapuram

Today, Mamallapuram is a small fishing village on India's eastern shores just south of Chennai. It also has a decent sized tourist population due to its history as a trading port from the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram. During the peak of their dynasty, 400-700AD, they carved many sculptures and temples into the rock faces that protected the town from an land invasions from the west. In addition to these amazing carvings the town also has a beautiful beach and Shore Temple that has been rescued from the seas that threatened to devour it, a fate shared by several other temples that lie under the crashing waves today.

For me Mamallapuram was a refreshing break from the crowds and grunge of the city in Chennai. The first thing we visited was the shore temple, which showed evidence of years of abuse from the crashing waves of the Bay of Bengal. It is now a UNESCO world heritage sight and is protected from the sea by a large rock embankment. While visiting the temple, we were swarmed by a group of kids on a field trip to visit the temple, who all wanted to introduce themselves, find out where we were from and excitedly posed for large group photos and swarmed around the tiny digital screen to see the final product.

Next we headed for the Five Rathas, which is a series of temples designed to look like chariots and was left unfinished as the dynasty collapsed. It was carved from a single stone and was covered by sand until it was excavated by the British only 200 years ago when the East India Company controlled the country. It is an impressive collection of carvings and temples and I can't imagine how long they were chipping away at the stone to create the collection. Among the other cliffs there are many other carvings and other points where it looks as though temples or structures had been started but now are nothing more than scars of a by-gone era, that leave you wondering what could have been. At the highest point on the rocks behind town there is a temple or guard shack that has a commanding view of the seas to the east and the plains to the west, that sits astride a more modern lighthouse that warns the ships of today that they are off the shores of a great port of yesterday.

The day flew by and I could have easily spent a week in this town. The beggars and street merchants are still constant theme, but here even they seem to be a little more laid back, and quicker to give up the sale for some banter about where you are from and wish you a good stay in their country.

Though the day was short the night was long and changed my opinion of the mosquitoes. Before, thought they were lazy vagabonds, drifting on the breeze waiting for a victim to run into them. Almost to lazy to even go to the trouble of sucking blood. Now I know that this deceiving show is really the result of gorging themselves into a lazy stupor during the night. Our hotel did not have A/C, so we had opened the windows in hopes of a cool evening breeze off the ocean. Instead, we were robbed of blood by thieves on the breeze, which mockingly buzzed a 'thank you' in my ear a hundred times as they fled. I wrapped myself in a sheet for protection but left my face defenseless. They left it feeling swollen with bites, to include a 'goodnight kiss' that had left my upper lip swollen. When they weren't biting me I was slapping phantoms from my face like a madman possessed by demons. I was glad to see the morning light and welcomed the all day train ride to Madurai that awaited group.