In late July 2018, severe flooding affected Kerala state in India due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. Kerala's worst floods in nearly a century, over 373 people died within a fortnight, while at least 280,679 people were evacuated, with all 14 districts of the state placed on high alert.

35 our of the 42 dams within the State were opened for the first time in history and all five overflow gates of the Idukki Dam were opened at the same time after a gap of 26 years. Heavy rains in Wayanad and Idukki had caused severe landslides and left the hilly districts isolated

The option to return north or go east across country were no longer available to us. We booked a train to Madurai but taking the long route of going round the very southern tip of India and returning up along the east coast into the state of Tamil Nadu - The trip was scheduled for 8 hours …….. It took 12 hours and we arrived in Madurai at 3am in the morning.

Madurai was a two-night stopover, limited activity because many places were closed due to the funeral of an ex-Prime Minister, who hailed from Tamil Nadu. However, we managed a quick tuk-tuk ride to see the banana market, Ghandi Memorial Museum which was unfortunately shut, the palace (also shut), and St Mary's Cathedral.

The centrepiece of the town is the vast temple complex of Meenakshi (the fish-eyed Goddess) temple, which in southern India carries similar significance to the Taj Mahal in the North. The complex has 12 gateway towers carved with Gods, Goddesses, Demons and Heroes which are painted every 12 years. It is a major pilgrimage destination, attracting tens of thousands of visitors a day and although it was very impressive and we witnessed a number of elaborate ceremonies, including an Elephant and cow led parade ….. for us The Taj still had a certain unique magic.

For dinner Heather had read about a "restaurant" called Murugan Idly Shop so we made a pilgrimage of our own to find it. Idly's are south Indian soft and fluffy steamed cakes of rice and are low fat - Heather had taken a great liking to these. A wander around town to see the city at night and walk off our dinner before an early night for the journey tomorrow.