Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok, and what’s impressive when you get inside is that you find the reclining Buddha statue inside is almost as big as the building itself.
The Giant Swing is a Bangkok attraction, and is graphically memorable. It was used in a Bhramin ceremony, where people would swing to fetch a pot of gold, but it was discontinued following several fatalities. The Giant Swing is located in front of Wat Suthat.
The monuments we visited in Mahabalipuram are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The impressive part about those is that they are monolithic and have been sculpted in situ.
One part of the town seems to be dedicated for tourists: there you only find shops, guest houses and restaurants. The upside is that it’s very clean.
After many several one-day stop (with 4 to 6 hours of bus or train in between), Pondicherry was a relaxing change, as we stayed there 4 days. It’s also a more european city, with many reminders of its french past. Just north of the city lies the utopian city/society of Auroville with its impressive Matrimandir building.
Originally we planned to go to Tiruchirappalli after Madurai. But after discussing with some indians and fellow tourists we decided to change plans and go to Thanjavur. In Thanjavur, is located Brihadeeswara Temple, built by the Cholas and a UNESCO World Heritage site. More than a thousand years old, its foundations were laid by the Emperor Rajaraja Chola I.
At the entrance of the temple we were blessed by an elephant (in exchange of a small fee).
Rajaraja Chola I
The trip from Madurai was the first long bus section: 6 hours.
The main attraction in Madurai is the Meenakshi Amman Temple.
We took an Express train from Kanyakumari to Madurai, so it took only 5 hours to cover the 250km between the cities. This gave us plenty of time to meet some interesting people.
