Temple touring - onwards to Kumbakonam and Thanjuvur

 

Brihadeeswara Temple in Thanjuvur

We left Pondicherry with a mix of sadness (for what we were leaving behind) and excitement as to what lay ahead. We were heading inland towards Kumbakonam and Thanjuvur - temple territory - with three consecutive days cycling to reach Kumbakonam and then a rest day before pressing on to Thanjuvur. 

Our early morning trip to Auroville meant that we didn't set off from Pondicherry until around lunchtime by which time the heat was pretty fierce. It was a 35 mile ride, not huge but longer than any we'd done so far, and coupled with the fact that we hadn't been on the bike for over a week I guessed it was going to be a bit of a slog 😅

It was very busy as we made our way out of Pondicherry. It felt as if people were emerging after the storm to catch up on life! Once we reached the outer suburbs we were routed onto a series of side roads through a number of small villages and settlements. We had to double back on ourselves to divert back onto the main highway a couple of times due to residual flooding that had completely blocked some of these smaller side roads and surrounding areas. At times even the locals seemed slightly bewildered by the scale of the flooding. It's hard to imagine the level of inconvenience it brings to these small communities and yet they still managed to greet us with an abundance of friendly smiles and waves 🥰

Eventually we found ourselves back on the pleasant tree lined B roads. The shade which those trees provide is always welcome and all the many friendly, and often humorous, little interactions with the pedestrians and motor cyclists we meet along the way help enormously, especially when the going starts to get a little tough 😀 

We finally arrived at our hotel for the night, the Merrytale in Valadur, greeted by a welcome committee. I must have counted at least five people helping us to unload the bike 🤣🤣. The head honcho was a very forthright (some might even say bossy) lady who seemed to bark orders at her staff who, not surprisingly, seemed more than a little miserable in her presence. The hotel was fine, not a patch on Mel Ville but it would adequately serve us for one night. After showering we ventured out to find something to eat. Valadur didn't seem like a particularly large town but as we returned to the main road it was very hectic, as if everyone had descended upon town for a big night out. We were looking for a vegetarian restaurant with very good reviews on google but as the map directed us down a series of ever dimishing narrow side roads I started to doubt we'd find it (and worse, that we might get lost and fail to emerge 🫣). With the help of a friendly stall holder though we did manage to find it - a very basic cafe - and, after a moment of slight hesitation, we took the plunge. There didn't seem to be a menu but we put our trust in the very welcoming old man who, despite speaking very little English, was able to offer freshly cooked dosas (for Max) and chapatis (for me) with tasty coconut and tomato chutneys and a delicious sambar. It was basic but freshly cooked food served with such a friendly smile. What's not to like 💁‍♀️. Back at the hotel we watched tv for a bit but it wasn't long before we were both fast asleep! 

The next morning after breakfast (a rather basic takeaway that was delivered to our room) we loaded up the bike while bossy lady was firmly telling us that we absolutely MUST visit a famous local temple before leaving. To her credit that turned out to be a good shout and better still it was on our exact route which meant no deviation was required 👍. As soon as we stopped we were surrounded by locals, many of whom were keen to tell us about the temple - particularly the fact that for over 150 years it has maintained a tradition of offering free food daily to anyone wanting it. I'm guessing that it's main recipients are the homeless people we saw camped in the extensive surrounding grounds but also suspect, from the google reviews I've since read, that we would have been equally welcomed 😍.

After a brief stop we were on our way and soon found ourselves on a lovely long and winding country road with fabulous views of lush green fields on either side and lines of coconut trees marking the horizon. Lots of motorcyclists pulled alongside us - all wanting to know where we're from and where we're heading. Often they want a selfie - which they manage to take, phone in one hand still navigating the road with the other. I can barely take a decent selfie while stationary 🫣

About halfway into the ride, as we were cycling into another small town, we agreed we'd try to find a suitable stop for a cold drink. When a young guy on a motor bike pulled alongside us I siezed the moment and asked him where we could get a cold drink. He kindly escourted us to a tiny cafe, one I doubt we would have otherwise found, and there we enjoyed the most welcome cup of cold fresh orange juice I think I've ever had. It was so good Max went straight back and got us both another one 😂. This set us up for the second half of the ride which continued in a similar vein - lovely tree lined roads and lots of friendly locals. I'm loving the colourful buses and trucks we've seen so far on the trip and am becoming a little obsessed with them (just like I did with the colourful lanterns in Vietnam). They seem to have inspirational/witty one liners sprawled across the side and at night some of them have flashing lights and play music. I've just got to capture that on video before the end of the trip 😉

We reached the town of Mayiladuthurai, and our guest house for the night, around 5pm. It seemed very nice, a friendly host, a large well equipped room and lovely housekeeping lady who kindly washed our cycle gear for us and hung it outside in the sun to dry - what a result 😀.  After a shower we took a 20 minute walk to find the restaurant with best google reviews. Once inside we struggled to order - partly due to a bit of language barrier but also bumping into the rules - what food is available at what time - we'd experienced back in Chennai. Still, we ate well and I managed to get a nice milky coffee afterwards so we were happy enough. We wandered back to the guest house with a short detour via the river to visit a large Bull Statue in the middle. 

We enjoyed breakfast the next morning at another highly recommended little restaurant, just round the corner from our guest house. Though both restaurants were very good I preferred this experience - in terms of both the food and the service 👍. We set off around 10am noticing that the town was much quieter than the night before. 

The ride out initially took us down some narrow winding streets with very small mud huts adjacent to the river. Max navigated it all brilliantly as usual. We had quite a few amusing encounters with people again and picked up a few travel tips for the days ahead 👍. One guy who Max befriended bought us a drink - we must have looked exceptionally frazzled 🤣. 

As we approached Kumbokanham we were clearly heading into serious temple territory; we'd already cycled past several by the time we arrived at our hotel around lunchtime. Some of the older sites are again reminiscent of Angkor Wat. A quick google search explained why -  because it's the same Chola architecture, albeit  built by different dynasties within India and Cambodia respectively.  

We were back in the lap of luxury at our destination, the Lilac Hotel - perfect pillows and a shower for me, a huge TV screen for Max  - and with a day off the bike I was feeling quite jubilant 🥳 .  The hotel staff were very welcoming and enthusiastic and even constructed a washing line at the side of the hotel for us to dry our hand washed cycle gear. After a quick shower we wandered out late afternoon to briefly explore the area; it seemed quite chaotic and, since we hadn't identified any highly rated restaurants close by,  we opted for dinner in the hotel. It was certainly very tasty but the dining room was virtually empty, so lacking any atmosphere and the waiters were perhaps a little too enthusiastic and barely left us alone to eat. 

For our rest day we opted for another spa experience followed by a mini temple tour to see just a couple of the most famous ones.  The spa was fabulous (reflexology and a head massage for me and the usual pummelling for Max 😂). The first temple we visited - Dharasouram Sri Airavatesvara - is probably the most famous and popular site in the area. It's a beautiful setting with a large open park area outside the temple where there were young boys playing cricket and families picnicking. It was late afternoon and I was hoping to catch a decent sunset photo while we were here. The temple itself was pretty impressive - again resembling some of the sites we'd seen at Angkor Wat.  You can't help but marvel at the human effort that would have been required to construct these beautiful buildings 🤩. Next stop was a working temple, the more colourful style and right in the centre of town. It's good to see the contrasting styles - I definitely prefer the ancient Chola - but two temples was our limit for the day and we were happy to head back for dinner in the hotel and catch up on some tv before bed. 

The next day we set off late morning for a relatively short/easy ride to Thanjuvur.  Another pleasant ride - passing through a few small villages before reaching the open road flanked by lush green views on both sides. Plenty of friendly interactions - at one point, having stopped for quick break, a lovely old lady stopped and asked us to take her photo 😍. 

As we approached Thanjuvur the cacophony of sound and the general hustle and bustle we've come to expect ensued. As I've already mentioned, I've become slightly obsessed with the colourful buses and trucks - but oh my, the sound of their horns blasting is enough to make me jump right out of my skin 😂😂

We arrived at our hotel around 1.30pm - after some confusion because there are two hotels with the same name but only one showing on google maps which, typically, was the wrong one 🙄. When we arrived a few minutes later at the right hotel we were greeted by the chef from the cafe below the hotel. Quite a funny exchange ensued (Max likened it afterwards to a scene from Open All Hours) because Max was trying to check us in and this guy ushered him to leave the bike and follow him (naturally he thought the guy was helping him to check in). Next thing he was seated in the cafe and was handed a menu. Lord knows what that guy thought I was going to be doing, standing outside the hotel propping up the tandem, while Max sat down to eat 🤣 .

Max managed to extract himself and soon after we'd checked in, showered and done our washing. With the help of a lovely housekeeping lady I found a sunny spot on the rooftop to hang the washing out to dry. When I went back up to collect it later on I was treated to a great sunset view with a beautiful old clock tower in the foreground 🤩. 

All our chores done we were ready to eat and had found somewhere nearby that seemed to get very good reviews - a restaurant called Sri Ariyas Bevan which looked like it might be part of a chain. It was late afternoon and we were in luck - Max ordered a fabulous thali and I had the tastiest gobi masala I've had so far. Followed by a really nice Indian style coffee - which I'm also becoming quite partial to 😉. 

We'd been told by several people that, while in Thanjuvur, a visit to the Brihadeeswara Temple (also known as Big Temple) was a must. We've found that the best time to visit is late afternoon - the heat of the day is subsiding and the temple can be seen first in daylight and then beautifully illuminated once darkness falls. We arrived at the gate and Max went over to a guy at the tourist information desk just to check if his shorts would pass the attire rules. Next thing I knew we'd bagged ourselves a tour guide 😂. He was a very nice man, very knowledgeable and, given this was another Unesco heritage site, it was definitely worthwhile. We learnt alot, not just about this temple but about the Chola architecture and Hinduism and the gods more generally. He was very amiable and we chatted about all manner of things and life in general. It was a very engaging hour and a half and we only had to briefly swerve a soft sell on a trip to a bronze statue making factory 😂. 

After the tour we went back to the same restaurant for dinner - we do know a good thing when we see it 😂  - and again it was delicious 😋.  We wandered around afterwards and by chance stumbled across a fabulous roadside lassi stall - which turned out to be extremely popular with lots of discerning locals. We stood at the roadside table, just as they did, sipping our very tasty lassis and watched the stall holder as he continued to serve a variety of very colourful drinks.  The most popular seemed to be a warm bright yellow drink called badam milk which I've since established is made from almond, cardamom, saffron, milk and sugar. 

It was a great little authentic experience to round off our brief stay in Thanjuvur and to mark the end of the temple section of our trip 😉

This was the first flooded road we faced on leaving Pondicherry 

Workers in the fields waving to us 

The first of many colourful bus photos 

They were very keen to have their photo taken 😂

Beautiful scenery 🤩

Couldn't resist this one! 

Reflections on the river at Mayiladuthurai 

Showcasing the Indian flag 😄

My very tasty breakfast in Mayiladuthurai 

My favourite photo of the day 😍

A little roadside pitstop 

Max asked me to take this photo - apparently I was supposed to walk round and take it from the other side 🫣🫣

The morning shift 

The first of many temple sightings on the way to Kumbakonam

Another huge temple we cycled right past 

Max ordered halwa for dessert but it wasn't a patch on the one Mehak made 😕 

The Dharasouram Sri Airavatesvara temple in Kumbakonam 

Sunset outside afterwards 

Enjoying the best cold orange juice ever 😂

Beautiful reflections on the water 

Another insistent photo shoot 😄

Another colourful bus 😂

Max very happy with his Thali in Thanjuvur

The beautiful clock tower from the rooftop of our hotel in Thanjuvur 

The lovely housekeeping lady who helped me hang my washing up there 😍

I do love a colourful market stall 🤩

Brihadeeswara Temple in Thanjuvur 

Just inside the temple 

Max busy interrogating our guide 😂

Beautifully illuminated 

The fabulous roadside lassi stall we found in Thanjuvur 😍