Sunday, December 21, 2008

lovely mamallapuram

well i successfully made it out of mysore, i really am pleased with myself every time i reach a new destination. i took a train from mysore to chennai, which was 11 hours (overnight) arriving in chennai at 8am. then a 40 minute rickshaw ride from the train station to the bus station, after apparently looking lost trying to find my bus, someone actually asked me where i was going and pointed me in the right direction to my bus. it was a 2 hour ride from chennai to a small village called mamallapuram, it's on the coast between chennai and ponducherry. the bus ride was on a city bus so was cheap, 20 rupees (.50 cents) but not the most comfortable ride, definitely an indian experience. mamallapurham was kind of a last minute decision but i'm so glad i stopped here. after being in mysore which is a city of a million it's nice to be in a small village again, i can walk up and down the road after dark, stop and talk to shop guys if i want, and get to know the people a bit more. on my first night here i reluctantly went into a shop, i was tired and just wanted to go to my room but this guy promised not to sell me anything just have some tea. after being in there about 10 minutes, five others joined us, an italian couple, 1 american girl, 1 german girl and a spanish lady. it turned into a very entertaining couple of hours. nela the spanish lady comes to mamallapuram every winter to run the local orphanage, she is an amazing woman and i have been spending my afternoons with her and her 25 kids. it has definitely been the highlight of my trip so far. we take the kids to the park after school and run around for 2 hours, they are so happy and just want to play with you and hold your hand and they love having their picture taken, (thank god for digital). tomorrow is my last day with them as i am flying back to goa for christmas and new years, they are very excited for christmas as nela has promised them ice cream and pineapple. that's all they can talk about right now is ice cream and pineapple.....
i have done some sightseeing as well, there is a beautiful temple here on the beach, unfortunately the beach here is quite dirty and not good for swimming, but i have a pool so that's ok. one of the days at the orphanage another girl joined us, kim is from vermont and we have been hanging out together now, she is also travelling on her own and is going to come back to goa with me. i have been doing a little shopping here as well, i figured i should get myself a christmas gift so i went to one of the many tailors here and had 2 dresses and 2 tops made all for around $40 cad. tomorrow is our last day here as we leave for the airport in chennai very early tuesday morning. apparently all the shops are going to be closed for the day as they are protesting the moving of the bus stand, i had the chance to be an extra in a bollywood movie but can't as i promised the kids i would be there one more day. kim is going to do it though, you get breakfast, lunch and dinner plus 800 rupees, around $20. as much as i was hoping to be discovered in a bollywood movie i can't dissapoint the kids....

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