The Eight Linghams
2nd June.
Mt Arunachaleswar is not high, only 800 metres above Tiruvannamali. Yet the 14km perimeter is walked by followers of Shiva as a sign of piety. We did it in an auto rickshaw in 2 hours. Along the way there are 8 Linghams and at least 3 ashrams that are worth stopping at. The Swami at the second lingham, a jolly 70 year old, walks the 14 kms every day. The Lingham is a Hindu phallic symbol
though the statues in the inner sanctuary were so covered with garlands it was hard to actually see what it was all about. We took their word for it. I wondered how Joan would react considering her strong Christian beliefs being blessed and anointed by the holy man who went through the whole gamut but she is very philosophical about it all. You have to be when you go through these countries.
We were dropped off at the Arunachaleswar temple afterwards. And spent an hour wandering through this amazing place. I hope my photo does it justice.
On reflection, we did the right thing stopping at Pondy the previous night, the hotel here was okay but not a scratch on Villa Helena and the onion dhosa & lemon juice would find the Prawn Creole and white wine hard to match.
Today was a t
ravelling day. We wanted to get to Mysore, a distance of about 320 kms. Not far normally but it meant going into Bangalore and heading south from there. When you consider the two cities of Chennai & Bangalore hold over the equivalent of ½ the population of Australia it gives you an idea of the size of the places. Both cities are well into the IT revolution but the road network is still sadly lacking. The road into Bangalore was dual lane but the amount of trucks and buses doing amazing things made travel on that stretch almost worse than the cities. From Bangalore to Mysore was 120 kms, also a dual carriageway but without the heavy vehicles. It was a great drive but you had to keep an eye out for the many speed humps that forced you to jam on your breaks, the odd truck coming in the wrong direction and a 
buffalo wagon in the fast lane.
2nd June.
Mt Arunachaleswar is not high, only 800 metres above Tiruvannamali. Yet the 14km perimeter is walked by followers of Shiva as a sign of piety. We did it in an auto rickshaw in 2 hours. Along the way there are 8 Linghams and at least 3 ashrams that are worth stopping at. The Swami at the second lingham, a jolly 70 year old, walks the 14 kms every day. The Lingham is a Hindu phallic symbol
though the statues in the inner sanctuary were so covered with garlands it was hard to actually see what it was all about. We took their word for it. I wondered how Joan would react considering her strong Christian beliefs being blessed and anointed by the holy man who went through the whole gamut but she is very philosophical about it all. You have to be when you go through these countries.We were dropped off at the Arunachaleswar temple afterwards. And spent an hour wandering through this amazing place. I hope my photo does it justice.
On reflection, we did the right thing stopping at Pondy the previous night, the hotel here was okay but not a scratch on Villa Helena and the onion dhosa & lemon juice would find the Prawn Creole and white wine hard to match.
Today was a t
ravelling day. We wanted to get to Mysore, a distance of about 320 kms. Not far normally but it meant going into Bangalore and heading south from there. When you consider the two cities of Chennai & Bangalore hold over the equivalent of ½ the population of Australia it gives you an idea of the size of the places. Both cities are well into the IT revolution but the road network is still sadly lacking. The road into Bangalore was dual lane but the amount of trucks and buses doing amazing things made travel on that stretch almost worse than the cities. From Bangalore to Mysore was 120 kms, also a dual carriageway but without the heavy vehicles. It was a great drive but you had to keep an eye out for the many speed humps that forced you to jam on your breaks, the odd truck coming in the wrong direction and a 
buffalo wagon in the fast lane. 
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