Day 173 Chennai, India

Well, I’m off…… My guide was supposed to pick me up at noon from the port of Chennai but….. I was looking down at the pier around 0930 and saw someone standing there with a sigh with my name on it. Imagine my surprise! I quickly went and grabbed my bags and was off. We first drove to Chennai which is about a 45 minute drive and we dropped my bags off at the hotel. Then it was time to do a little sightseeing. In India it really doesn’t matter too much where you go because there is always something interesting to see. I’ll bet you can just see me snapping photos right and left as we drive along…. You wouldn’t be too far off on that one. We first went out to Mahabalipuram. There I saw amazing things. First was the 5 Rathas, 1400 year old monument carved out of a single monolithic rock. This baby was very large and quite impressive. Next was the two light houses. The first, also built about 1400 years ago (they would light fires on top) and the second a more modern version. Next was the world’s second biggest bas relief at Arjuna Penance where I saw Krishna Mandapa and the Varaha Cave…. Very cool. The next major place is a temple dedicated to the god Shiva, the seashore temple. It was once covered by the sea but was reclaimed by the efforts of Indira Ghandi. We went back to town and saw Ft . St George, St. Mary’s ( the oldest Anglican church this side of the Suez and the Hindu Kabaleeswar Temple. We drove along the shore checking out the widest beach I have ever seen. We also saw the area where the fishermen do their thing and how some live right there in some pretty rough housing…. Overall, it was a very good day…. I have a wakeup call at 0400….. yawn….