In my few days post Dolly, we went to the arrival party - really great fun in a beautiful setting and a fantastic night, catching up with all the other Rickshaw Runners - everyone had stories to tell about their adventures! I came across an elephant at a temple which, for only one rupee, touched the top of your head with its trunk would bless you. Well, I just had to pay up!! Teams started leaving at a steady rate, so we decided to head back up the coast and since then, I have just been having the most relaxing time now that I am back in Mamallapuram. We certainly travelled here in style. In complete contrast to how we have become accustomed to travelling, we hired an air conditioned Ambassador taxi - and it was a world away from the hot, noisy, bumpy method of travel we have employed the last few weeks! Here in Mamallapuram, I seem to have completely forgotten how to use my brain, this place is incredibly chilled, it is off season so very quiet, but the locals are very friendly, and there are actually still a number of Rickshaw Runners about, so the party has just moved up the coast 100km. I haven't really been doing an awful lot, strolling around the shops, even the vendors aren't that bothered about making sales due to it being off season, so they are happy just to let you look, or chat without any of the usual sales pressure you would normally get. I got a dress made for me, from choosing the material to having a final fitting took around 20 hours. It's very exciting, as I don't wear dresses very often; although it is very casual, I still feel quite dressed up in it, so now will have to find an occasion to wear it. And shoes, and accessories! I managed to do a little sightseeing. Mamallapuram is famous throughout India for its ancient rock carvings, and the town itself (although its population is now around 12,000) was once the second capital. The town, and surrounding area was affected by the 2004 tsunami (there are before and after photos in some of the beach restaurants we went to, and in fact, all along the stretch of coast betwen Mamallapuram and Pondicherry were signs such as Tsunami Rehabilitation Project and the like). Amazingly, a small stone temple which was originally constructed around the middle of the 7th century survived the tsunami despite no apparent protection from the elements. The Shore Temple is really stunning and the detail still visible today is quite incredible given its age, Hopefully the newly constructed sea wall will continue to protect it for many years to come. Long before I left Britain, I tried to set up a visit to a children's school in Chennai and to take colouring pencils, felt pens, that sort of thing. Unfortunately, that fell through, and as the trip is nearing an end, I was thinking of sending what I had to a contact in Kathmandu, who I had only heard from after I left. Then fate intervened.... I was heading back to the lodge we were staying at when a man on a scooter stopped and said hi, much like has happened countless times on the trip already. We got chatting and he mentioned he ran a children's orphanage - and asked me if I would like to come and visit. For me, it was too great an opportunity to turn down, so we arranged to meet the following day. He took me along to his house, which served as an office for the orphanage before I jumped back onto his scooter (needless to say, without helmet) and he took me the 10km or so out to orphanage, to meet the kids. They must have been told I was going to be visiting, and presumably they heard the scooter's arrival. As I walked in, the children were all singing The Alphabet Song, though when they saw me, most seemed to become far les interested in singing and paid a lot more attention to the new arrival! I was led into a room just off the main one and the kids, who had all been sitting round in a circle, sneaked over to the doorway to try and get a better look at this white skinned person! I had such a lovely morning in their company. They danced, sang, performed various action games, and tried to get me to join in, and then insisted that I teach them a song. It never even occurred to me that I might be asked such a thing - and I just about froze at the thought of singing in front of all these kids. There was nothing to be done, however, than to just get stuck in, so I launched into Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes - which the kids knew, but I varied is slightly - after the round, we only mouthed 'heads' and paused, before repeating the rest of it as quickly as possible. Caught the kids out every time - and they loved it! I think the only other song I know that we could all join in was Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush - and again, they all loved doing the actions - washing their face, brushing their teeth, walking to school etc. I was shown round the building - one main room with several much smaller ones off it: the office, the girls' room, the 'cloakroom', the girls' bathroom, the kitchen and storeroom. Then I was shown admittance records for all the children - and it was heartbreaking. There were three set of siblings there, and the children were either orphans, from poor families which couldn't manage to raise them, or abandoned. They were ages roughly 5 - 13, with a mix of about 13 girls to 6 boys. And yet these children were all neatly dressed - albeit in very poorly fitting clothes - and seemed happy. They kept playing with my hair, posing for photos, wanting me to watch a game they playing, or join in with a dance, or a song, or a game, including karom, an Indian game, played by people of all ages (and seen taking place with the board set up on many pavements) which is almost like billiards in that you have to sink a piece (rather like a jumbo tiddleywink) into a hole in the corners of the board. Pieces are moving round by flicking them so they bounce off each other. I was absolutely useless!! I was really saddened to have to leave, especially as I had been awaiting a hard sell about finance from the manager, and to my shame, it never arrived. His son (probably only about 10 years old) did give me a piece of paper with their bank details on it, but I said I could make no guarantees about being able to provide such support (much as I would like to) and it was not mentioned again. One promise I did make, which I do hope to be able to keep, is to try and send clothes for the kids. If you have enjoyed reading this, and have any old kids clothes (any condition, and probably fairly small sizes), perhaps you will consider donating them so that I can pass them on to these utterly deserving children. My last day was spent in the company of Team Cross Country Kiwi, as Sharon's flight left a day before mine. We went to a crocodile farm en route to Chennai, and although it wasn't quite what I imagined I would do, we had a city tour which took in the cathedral and numerous shops and a shopping mall before we all headed out to the airport. So diffictult to believe that this amazing adventure was coming almost at an end. I absolutely had the most fantastic time imaginable - it truly surpassed my wildest dreams. India, and Nepal to a lesser extent, but only through having spent less time there, has left an indelibel mark on my consciousness and I cannot wait until the time comes when I can return to explore them further.