And We're Off

 A good one for my collection of T-shirts with interesting sayings.

 Rianne and Euan.

 Most trucks have this one the back, and people oblige.

A small market in a town.

 Working the fields.

 The cab of the truck was full, so the rest go here.

 Rural life, it might be poor, but at least it is cleaner, quieter and has better views.

We stopped for a chai here.

 Our truck gets lots of stares.

 The Sri Kalahashi Temple.

 Selling souvenirs to pilgrims.

 The top of one of the temples in the complex.

 Traffic chaos.

Begging for food.

Friday, March 30^th.

What a difference from Jaisalmer, where it was desert. Driving north from Chennai is very lush and green even just ahead of the monsoon season. Euan drove us through and out of the city on our truck. Everyone stares at it, as it is very different from anything here. Driving it through the narrow streets with the chaotic traffic is a challenge, but at least they all eventually give way to the biggest vehicle.

After about an hour we turned off the highway and headed inland into rural India. I felt my spirits lift as we drove past little towns, farmer’s fields and some big hills. We were out of the smelly, noisy city and into the country where there was open space, personal space, fairly clean air and country smells and a lot fewer horns. A big improvement.

We stopped for a pee and a chai at a little row of shops. That is where I got the photo of the guys in the back of the truck and the woman by the hut.

The itinerary said that we were supposed to stop at a temple, but Euan had heard that there were four hours waits to get into it, so he took us to another one, called The Sri Kalahashi Temple. The temperature when we got there was very hot and we walked along a road lined with shops to the temple entrance. Euan bought our tickets and we joined the queue for entrance. There was a long line of people and we wound up shoulder to shoulder with the devotees. They had to wear traditional clothes, we had to cover our shoulders and wear pants and we were not allowed cameras or phones. The line was painfully slow and wound around the inside of the temple, which was dark, austere and similar to others I had seen. People were jostling and pushing as the guards herded us through the maze of fences and gates like sheep. After about 45 minutes we got to the inner sanctum and there was statue of Lord Shiva, and then we were quickly ushered past and out the exit. I would happily not go through that experience again. It boggles the mind how devoted these people are to their religion, but I can’t understand how the experience I just had was spiritually rewarding for anyone who was there.

We decided to leave and give the other temples in the complex a miss. We walked back to the truck to fetch our cameras and then back to the temple area where we found a little restaurant. We had lunch and then Nico and I went to get some photos of the outside of the temple and the lane with the pilgrim souvenirs.

After lunch we got back on the truck and drove for another hour and a half to the town of Tirupati and the Bliss Hotel, where the air conditioning in the lobby felt like the Arctic. Nico and I are sharing a room, so we settled in.

There was a pool there but it was full of kids so I opted to chill in the room and get the blog done. We met up at 7:00 and went for dinner together and back to the room for an early night as we have a long day of driving tomorrow.

We will have wi-fi tomorrow, but after that we will probably not have it for a week. Just letting everyone know so that if I disappear you’ll know why.