Temples, goats and potholes – Ride along from Pondicherry to Thanjavur

admin — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 04:57:24 +0000

Leaving the cyclone behind, day 2 on the Rickshaw Challenge took us away from the coast into deep Tamil Nadu, into the mysical world of ancient temples, goats that eat everything, friendly locals, terrible roads and of course, more breakdowns.
Day 2, Pondicherry to Thanjavur
After a night of partying, most of our teams slumped in the hotel lobby nursing a hangover during the briefing. While the ride to Pondicherry might have had its challenges, our teams had no idea just what the country roads of inland Tamil Nadu had to offer for the day.
The teams sped through Pondicherry’s labyrinthine streets over to the seafront for the flag off from the Gandhi statue, although, the event wasn’t without chaos. Amidst the members of the Indian press and our participants, street salesmen flocked over with mini chess sets and statues of Ganesh, shaking things up a bit. In the pandemonium, South African team Hakuna Matatu lost the keys to their rickshaw. They must have found them though, since next we heard from them they were making friends with locals who helped them during a breakdown.

“It’s the mayoral send-off at the beach front and team Hakuna Matata has lost its keys…” photo by Mandy Ramsden from team Hakuna Matatu

On the road to Thanjavur, we stopped off in two towns famous for their temples. I ran into some of the teams having lunch in Chidambaram in what looked like a converted garage covered with a corrugated roof and simple tables and chairs. The food came served up on a banana leaf, a delicious mix of rice, vegetarian curries and hot pickles, and made us forget the dodgy look of the place. It was packed with locals, which as a rule of thumb means the food is good and less likely to incur the infamous “Delhi Belly”.

Chidambaram – The Temple of the Dancing God

The Nataraja Temple, dedicated to Shiva as the Dancing God, was unfortunately closed until 4pm, however, we managed to catch a glimpse of the towering gopurams, gateway towers leading into the temple. We had to make do with snapping photos through the bars barricading the brightly coloured Dravidian structure. Then at the small market area outside the temple, a goat dragged a string of flower garlands off one of the tables, only to have the owner chase after the goat to get them back. This, however, was not the only flower-hungry goat encountered on the Rickshaw Challenge Classic Run 2015, but the Bavarian Barbarians also snapped a photo of a goat eating more flower garlands off the Wacky Racer’s rickshaw!

“Of course you can eat the decoration…” photo by Martin Schmidmaier from the Bavarian Barbarians

Our next port of call was the mystical town of Kumbakonam famed for its temples and fortune tellers. It might look like any other local junction town, but it was once a seat of medieval power, and has a number of spectacular temples. At the entrance of one of the temples, some of the women stopped us, pointing to our shoes, indicating we had to take them off and leave them at the steps.

The Kumbeshwara Temple in Kumbakonam.

I braved leaving my shoes and peeked inside the temple. Wandering around, it’s hard to gauge just how vast the complex is, where pilgrims sleep under the colonnade and a group of women in sparkling red saris disappear down the candle lit corridors. It was only after leaving, when I heard from one of my team members that the corridors lead to a huge lake, where the women went to bathe in their garments.
After a swig of coconut water, I hopped into the Ambassador car to trail the teams back to Thanjavur. We broke down somewhere in the country side about 15km outside the city, pushed the car for about half a kilometer before getting towed into town by a truck with a motorbike, a TV and a guy sitting in the back.

“Back street surgery…” photo by Mandy Ramsden from team Hakuna Matatu.

We only broke down once, but most of our rickshaw drivers reported a breakdown count of more then 20! Eat My Shawdust got lost on the way to Thanjavur, and Princely had to go and rescue them. Game of Horns made it back late, since they turned into a taxi service for the locals en route, and so did the Christmas themed Aussies Mighty Mouse and the Triangle, who tipped their rickshaw not far from the hotel. Fortunately a big crowd gathered around and tipped them back upright – an event worthy of a feature in the local newspaper.

Group selfie on the road! Photo by The Trashbags

We all made it to Thanjavur safely, some later than others, but we’re hoping the road to Madurai will be a smoother journey.
Check out who is in the lead to be the winner of the Rickshaw Challenge Classic Run 2015!

Tamil Nadu’s Top 10 Temples

admin — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 15:05:08 +0000

Tamil Nadu is famed for its temples, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re in a metropolis like Chennai or in rural South India, you’ll find some of India’s most spectacular temples here.

Photo by Vinayaraj

From towering and colorful gopurams to the rock cut caves in Malamllapuram, Tamil Nadu’s temples will never stop wowing you.
Here’s the top 10 you should check out!

Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Chennai

CC-by-sa PlaneMad/Wikimedia

As one of Chennai’s most famous sites, the Kapaleeshwarar Temple dates back to the 7th century. This temple in Chennai’s Mylapore district houses numerous shrines and many halls, but its colorful structures on the 120ft high gopuram (gateway tower) are what make this temple so famous. Often vibrant and crowded, with numerous festivals and events going on in and around the temple, this is one of Chennai’s must see attractions.
Curious fact, even though the original temple dates back to the 7th century, it was destroyed by the Portuguese and rebuilt in the 16th century.

Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur

Photo by Abhikanil

The temple complex in Thanjavur is one of India’s largest temples and is also one of the most prized architectural sites in the whole country. Wearing its UNESCO World Heritage Site badge with pride, the Brihadeeswarar Temple is also known as the Great Living Chola Temple in praise of its beauty and 1000 year heritage.
The entire temple is made out of granite, and adorned with giant sculptures both inside and out.

Meenakshi Sundareswarar, Madurai

Photo by Surajram

When your temple makes the shortlist for the “7 New Wonders of the World”, you know you’ve got something good. This historic Hindu temple on the bank of the Vaigai River in Madurai, a city famed for its temples, is dedicated to Parvati and her consort Shiva.
This temple is engraved into Madurai’s history, evening features in Tamil literature, and of course its iconic status brings in 15,000-25,000 visitors per day. There are about 14 gopurams going up to 50 meters in height and 33,000 sculptures in the temple, making it one of India’s must see sites.

The Cave Temples of

Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra

Up on the hill overlooking the Bay of Bengal these rock-cut sanctuaries and temples are one of Tamil Nadu’s most spectacular sites. These carved carves, known as mandapas, have their roots in the Buddist and Jain faiths. Many of these date back to the 7th century and admired for their sculptures, art and friezes, most notably the Mahsisuramardhini Cave Temple, which is considered by many as a masterpiece in Indian art.

Nagaraja Temple, Nagercoil

Photo by Infocaster

At India’s most southern tip, the temple at Nagercoil has quite a few Keralan traditions, being on Tamil Nadu’s edge, where male devotees have to remove their shirt or vest. This temple is dedicated to the god Nagaraja and is full of images representing snakes. The temple is famous for its vast pond in the middle, which sets this ancient temple apart. There is no record or evidence to point to the origins or age of the temple although it does go back to the region’s legendary times.

Kumari Amman Temple, Kanyakumari

Photo by Adam Jones

Set right on India’s tip bridging the Bay of Bengal with the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. This temple dedicated to the Goddess Kumari is 3000 years old and has even had a starring mention in the Ramayana, Mahabaraha and Purananooru.

Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple, Kanchipuram

Photo by Keshav Mukund Kandhadai

This Dravidian temple the oldest structure in Kanchipuram. It was built in dedication to the god Shiva in the late 7th century but the ruler of the Pallava Dynasty out of sandstone. This temple is renowned for its Dravidian carvings depicting half-animal deities.

Jambukeswarar Temple, Thiruvanaikaval

Photo by Richard Mortel

This temple is one of the five major Shiva Temples of Tamil Nadu, and represents the element of water. It is also one of the Early Cholas built around 1800 years ago, and filled with inscriptions dating back to the era.
Inside the temple there are five enclosures, where the outer wall is vast and stretches for over a mile, up 25 feet high and is more than two feet thick.

Annamalaiyar Temple, Thiruvannamalai

Photo by KARTY JazZ

Dedicated to Shiva, the temple at the base of the Annamalai hills has quite a following. It is one of the temples in South India associated with the five elements, which is fire in this case. It is one of India’s largest complexes, spreading over 10 hectares, with four gopurams, where the highest stretches up toe 66 meters, easily India’s highest temple tower!

Ramanathaswamy Temple, Rameswaram Island

Photo by Vensatry

Set on Rameswaram Island, this 12th century temple boasts the longest corridor among all of India’s Hindu temples. It sees thousands coming to the island in pilgrimage. It’s a stunning temple, with corridors running in total over 3000 feet make this complex a stunning site to visit.
Discover Tamil Nadu’s temples and wonders on the back of a rickshaw. Our Classic Run from Chennai to Trivandrum has been carefully crafted to show you the best Tamil Nadu has to offer, including its spectacular highlights. So if you’re in the mood for an adventure, then check out the Rickshaw Challenge!

Tamil Nadu temples – Rickshaw Challenge