Hi,

So we caught the overnight train to Chennai. The train wasn't bad at all - I got chatting to a nice family that was in our compartment, then made my bed and went to sleep! The only issue was that I had to go to the toilet in the middle of the night and couldn't find my shoes (a small problem only! At least I wasn't groped by the train manager like last year!).

We arrive in Chennai to find it a very dirty city. We stopped somewhere for breakfast - and I thought you have got to be joking - fortunately the inside was semi clean and the food tasted good. I was please that we weren't staying any longer there!

On the drive from Chennai to Mahabalipuram we went along the beach. It was interesting to see people get on with their daily lives. It was also quite sad - a lot of the buildings along the beach had been damaged by the tsunami a few years ago. Apparently the goverment has given the fishermen who lived in the houses land to build new homes, however, they are fishermen so want to stay by the sea. This means that they are living in tents along the beach (they looked pretty filthy).

Once in Mahablipuram we had the day to ourselves. Christine and I went on a walk around which turned into a very successful shopping trip! I bought some bags and a bracelet and necklace. It is a coastal resort so we also walked along the beach, but it was too hot so we had to head back to the hotel.

The next day we got up early to do a cycle tour of the temples of Mahablipuram. It was great fun. The bikes were very old, and it is amazing I didn't fall off, but I enjoyed it a lot! The temples were nice too. They were very old and made of sandstone (pics to follow).

Mahablipuram was also good for sea food. I had jumbo prawns two night running! Yummy!

Our next stop was Tanjore......

L x.