On a day trip from Chennai, we visited the UNESCO heritage sites at Mahabalipuram. We got a good deal on a hop on - hop off bus with a 'guide' who just told you when to get off...helpful!

The Five Rathas were really impressive. There were five Temples carved out of stone, each of which represented a different God. Each was guarded by the animal they rode on - Elephants, Lions and Rats! We wandered around the Shore Temple and the town, where there were carvings in the stones and Temples for every God everywhere! The funniest one was Krishna's butter ball....it probably has lots of significance, but for us...it just looked like a big boulder waiting to roll down the hill!

Stopped off at the Tiger Cave where the guide told us about his experience of the 2004 tsunami, where he climbed to the top of one of the ancient boulders to avoid the wave. He had to stay there for 2 days! We also went to a Crocodile Park on the way home, which is a lot like the one we visited with Emma in SA - but no baby meerkats.