Mahabalipuram

From Chennai I headed to Mahabalipuram, which was a great destination to start in.  It is a tourist town, with many guest houses, internet cafes and white people.  Normally all things I hope to keep to a minimum around me but I really needed a few days of comfort!  The area is famous for stone carvings, many people all over making small  and large ones, and then there are the very large 1000yr old ones!

This is carved right into a rock mountain! 

There was a priest on the street doing a puja to Hanuman, who is the monkey demi god seen later below, and I watched and got 'blessed'...for a few ruppes ofcourse!

There is a fellow mmaking beautiful art...it looks like he puts each drop of flour down one at a time, but whathe has, and has to sell are rollers, height of a toilet paper roll, but much skinnier with holes around it in a design...he fills it with colored flour and then rolls it on the ground!

Here is an old temple bythe beach...While there were many poeple swimming, after thailand this beach was very unappealing...one reason is that the locals use it as a toilet... Im also spoiled bywhite sand and aquamarine water!  (That seems like a funny expression, as if I am describing water twice with the word water... as if saying the pea was a greeny greenish green)

A funeral ceremony in town... I thought it might be a wedding, there were instuments and dancers in the small parade!

Another carved hillside at the 5 Rathas

Met some friends upa hill, they very badly wanted me to take their photo...

Just at the top of town a huge park filled with ancient carvings!

These elephants are lifesized...

Mahabalipuram has many yoga studios and massage parlors and I had one decent class there.... Just after I arrived most of the 'master' teachers headed to a certain region to celebrate a Shiva festival...so I realized I should head off...I was planning on going to Tiruvanamalai as there is a Shiva temple there but I got sidetracked!