Flying into southern India put us in the heat and damp of the late monsoon. We headed to Mamalapuram for our first taste of Tamal Nadu. This busy little beach town with world class rock carvings from many different dynasties, was ours to explore for 3 days.
We got hussled by a handicraft salesman as we were fresh meat. The highlight of our stay there for me was the day we rented bikes and rode to a neighboring town to hike the temple mount before sunset.
It was a long hot bike ride through flooded rice fields on uncomfortable bike seats. Julie had luckily bought herself a sun hat to shield her face from the scorching mid day sun. Unfortunately her arms were bare to the bright sunrays and were visibly burned by lunch. The Eagle Temple was perched a top a granit dome with 556 steps carved into the side. The views were great and we stayed just long enough to perform a puja with the temple priest.
After making our offerings at the shrine inside we hurried down to the streets below and began the long ride back to Mamalapuram. We were racing the setting sun, a most beautiful sky unfolding in all directions. Our asses hurt fiercely on the hard bike seats but the fear of riding the streets of India at night drove us on as fast as we could. The sun won the contest and with brillant colors, and earned its place in the top 10 best sunsets ever. In the dark we were left to the mercy of horns and headlights on an ever busy roadway. Thankfully we made it back safely and returned the bikes before heading to dinner. That was the only time I got Julie to rent bikes in India.
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