Mamallapuram

Capucine and Diva at a 6th-century temple on the outskirts of town.The day after Pondicherry, fifteen or so of us piled into a rickety old bus headed for Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram), an excursion Tobias had very kindly organized. It was darn hot, so we took a stroll through the surf and ended up at a beachside restaurant for cool drinks before visiting the Shore Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site dating to the early 8th century. (It's itty bitty in the beach photo below.)A few shots of the Shore Temple:

Catherine and Tobias.Later on we visited the other thing Mamallapuram is known for, a series of 'caves'--rock cut temples, with intricate bas reliefs--inside a public park. They were carved mostly in the 7th and 8th centuries.And of course, some of us had to go and feed the monkeys:These elephants are probably the most photographed thing in Mamallapuram. They are awesome.Then we went back to a friend's house for a snack before the bumpy two (or was it three?)-hour ride back to Sadhana Forest. I've got one more batch of photos to share from Sadhana, so I'll post that next.