As mentioned earlier, Joshy had been a little strange yesterday but I think its really because his job is driving. He drives for the major tour operators, Cox & King, Audley Travel, Kuoni etc and usually has a strict agenda and local guides organised by the tour operators.
He is an excellent driver and very knowledgeable about the area (probably picked up quite a lot from the guides as well) but I think he was uncomfortable as he didn't really know this area/hotel too well and was worried we'd be unhappy.
Kumbakonam is known as the Temple City ... I did a quick internet check but lost the will to live when I realised just how many there are ... I lost count at 21. Most of these are very small, local ones. In addition the town is famous for silk sarees (cottage industries again) and for brass ornaments. The good thing about temple areas is that they can be relied upon to have some interesting side streets with market stalls and merchandise barrows to service the devotees.
We allowed Joshy to show us to the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram (near where we were staying at Kumbakonam). It is another Unesco Heritage site, an all stone temple built in the 12th century and devoted to Lord Shiva. We got there to find our friends from last night (Swiss man and Finnish wife) being shown around by their Cox & King guide. We know from our conversation with them that they, too, are 'templed out' so couldn't resist grinning at them as we whizzed past on our own and completed our tour whilst they were still standing at the first hurdle hearing about the history in minute detail. I do think the buildings are amazing and the fact they have survived for centuries is fantastic but my mind just wanders when I'm bombarded with too many facts and figures.
Just a few temple pics to prove we were there today
These pillars were pretty amazing ... all intricately carved
and, of course, being a temple devoted to Lord Shiva means that the faithful Nandi (bull) is waiting patiently outside dutifully facing towards his master
Outside the temple was a large grassy field and I could see some derelict buildings on the far side which I thought might be interesting .... they weren't! However, we did spot some lovely wildlife/bugs
A very large lizard
These stunning creatures ... I saw one on a leaf and thought it was a piece of jewellery - beautiful iridescent colours. Apparently they are true bugs (not beetles) and called Indian Jewel bugs or Lychee Shield Bugs. They fascinated me ... so much so that I stepped backwards into a wet boggy patch and had a wet foot for half an hour afterwards.
Photos don't really do them justice, their colour changed as they moved - varying from bright green to gold and red
and a pretty butterfly
Hoopoe
Peed off Hoopoe .. not happy with me stalking him!
He is an excellent driver and very knowledgeable about the area (probably picked up quite a lot from the guides as well) but I think he was uncomfortable as he didn't really know this area/hotel too well and was worried we'd be unhappy.
Kumbakonam is known as the Temple City ... I did a quick internet check but lost the will to live when I realised just how many there are ... I lost count at 21. Most of these are very small, local ones. In addition the town is famous for silk sarees (cottage industries again) and for brass ornaments. The good thing about temple areas is that they can be relied upon to have some interesting side streets with market stalls and merchandise barrows to service the devotees.
We allowed Joshy to show us to the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram (near where we were staying at Kumbakonam). It is another Unesco Heritage site, an all stone temple built in the 12th century and devoted to Lord Shiva. We got there to find our friends from last night (Swiss man and Finnish wife) being shown around by their Cox & King guide. We know from our conversation with them that they, too, are 'templed out' so couldn't resist grinning at them as we whizzed past on our own and completed our tour whilst they were still standing at the first hurdle hearing about the history in minute detail. I do think the buildings are amazing and the fact they have survived for centuries is fantastic but my mind just wanders when I'm bombarded with too many facts and figures.
Just a few temple pics to prove we were there today
These pillars were pretty amazing ... all intricately carved
and, of course, being a temple devoted to Lord Shiva means that the faithful Nandi (bull) is waiting patiently outside dutifully facing towards his master
Outside the temple was a large grassy field and I could see some derelict buildings on the far side which I thought might be interesting .... they weren't! However, we did spot some lovely wildlife/bugs
A very large lizard
These stunning creatures ... I saw one on a leaf and thought it was a piece of jewellery - beautiful iridescent colours. Apparently they are true bugs (not beetles) and called Indian Jewel bugs or Lychee Shield Bugs. They fascinated me ... so much so that I stepped backwards into a wet boggy patch and had a wet foot for half an hour afterwards.
Photos don't really do them justice, their colour changed as they moved - varying from bright green to gold and red
and a pretty butterfly
Hoopoe
Peed off Hoopoe .. not happy with me stalking him!
I do love the temples but as I'm only seeing a few photos I guess that makes them easier to like, the carvings are so good. The bug is just beautiful, what colours!
ReplyDeleteThe temples are overwhelming in their scale and workmanship. Its just that tour operators seem to think that's all visitors want to see/hear about. To an extent that's rubbed off on Joshy and although we set at outset we wouldn't be visiting many temples we seem to be fitting in rather a lot. With more than 30 temples in this town/area alone you can imagine how 'same-ish' it gets after a while.
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