Blog 95

Feeling like we stuck out like a sore thumb; after just 3.5 hours I'd bought myself a jingly 20p 'silver' anklet and we'd been to visit a market tailor and had our newly made Indian style shirt dressy things on! Feeling like we'd been travelling forever again now that we looked the part and the tans are on the way back.

So Madurai was an unexpected gem of culture. The real reason we went there?...Cheapest flights.

In the heart of this frantic little town sits a complex of Hindu temples which are said to be the Taj Mahal of the south. Walking around it at night was really cool. We sat for a while under the west temple, people watching and chatting until 'fat pudding' needed some dinner.

Our first Indian museum was a blast of English hatred, but the museum guides were as friendly as out despite them realising we were Brits. Thank goodness a few years has passed since then. Reading about Gandhi's life and assassination was a good introduction to India and the film is now downloading on the tablet for more Indian 'education'. The highlight of the museum was being able to see Gandhi's blood stained dhoti which he was wearing when he was assassinated!

Our final day here was spent roomless as we nervously waited for our first Indian night train which left at 11pm. Straight onto sleeper class (lowest) didn't help the nerves. Maybe we should have eased ourselves in a bit? Anyway the day was spent buying a second set of Indian clothes, made by the our favourite 80yr old tailor in the market, exploring the Hindu temples and charging the tablet for a potentially sleepless night.

Love Jo x