South India, Madurai, Periyar, Kerala
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We arrived in Chennai late at night, and the next evening boarded an
overnight train with Chino and Vasantha
bound for Madurai, with its magnificent temples.
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We visited Madurai on an "auspicious" day, which meant that many
weddings were happening.
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The Madurai temple is huge, many acres, several towers, large
courtyards, and endless corridors.
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After a bouncing drive across the Western Ghat, our next stop was
in the Periyar wildlife preserve, on the slopes
of the mountains.
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The preserve has elephants and tigers, which we didn't see. There were
lots of not very wild monkeys.
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And quite a few wild boars (also not very wild -- they hung out at the
hotel and were interested in watching us.)
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I think the Periyar Wildlife Preserve is old, and has not been logged or
otherwise exploited.
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We stayed in a former royal hunting lodge called
the Lake Palace. Beautiful, quiet, very relaxed.
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Here we have arrived in the "backwaters" area of Kerala, where we stayed
one night on a houseboat.
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This is an area where life is lived on the water.
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Orchids bloom profusely, clinging to the palm trees.
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The backwaters are kitchen, laundry, bathroom sink.
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It is an agricultural community, and would have looked
the same 1000 years ago.
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Commuting to work in the rice paddies.
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Herding ducks. They know where to go, which pen is their home.
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Peaceful place. Beautiful skies, and no light pollution. Just the full moon over the backwaters.
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On the road again, to Cochin for our train to Bangalore. Trucks in India are
painted and decorated. A nice touch.