Landing in Chennai and ...

Hey,

Within one month I will be landing in Chennai at 05.00 am after about 17 hours of travelling (incl. waiting time at the airports). I was thinking of leaving the city straight away and take a local bus to Mamallapuram. What do you think ? Is this easy doable, or should I better stay one night in Chennai ? Can I just take a pre-paid taxi to the new bus-station or are there any caveats ?

Also, since I will leave again from Chennai I will be able to explore the city the last couple of days that i'm in india.

Thanks !

piece of cake to get to mahaballipuram. you could even have a car take you there directly from the airport and not mess with the bus at all. it's a short trip. perhaps someone else here could give you a good idea how much it should ideally cost. i know i got really ripped off, as i had no clue what was going on. i found chennai to be a bit overwhelming and exhausting when i arrived in india (a lovely 36 hour journey for me from the west coast of the us). getting to mahabs was a relief.

ericd:You can hire car,from airport to Mahabalipuram must be 60km.
check this thread

Thanks !

Hi Ericd,

I agree with Aether and Radz. Best thing you can do is going directly by car to Mahabalipuram. There is a Highway and will take lesss than an hour.

You should discuss to get a good price for the taxi/car, and probably someone else will be going too to Mahabalipuram, the you can share the car.

In my opinion there is nothing to do in Madras/Chennai. There are plenty of nice and interesting places in Tamil Nadu. So, don't spend your time in Madras.

Jorge

Hey! There's lots to do in Chennai!

For starters it is the cultural capital of Southern India.
In Decmber/January, the main 'season' there will be a choice of dozens of concerts and dance performances to see every day.

Rest of the year there will be some most days. It's amazing how many people travel Southern India without even registering the existence of Carnatic (South Indian classical) music! Do give it a chance!

It's a nice place to shop: the big sari shops of T. Nagar are worth a visit, even if you're not buying.

It's generally a gentle city, with olde worlde charm, if not great tourist sites like huge temples, palaces etc.

Hey Nick,

I'm planning to visit Chennai, since I will be leaving from there again. Since I definitly want to be in time to catch my flight I will be there the last couple of days and that's why I don't want to spend my first day there.

This is my current (rough) planning :

02/11 Chennai -> Mallalapuram
03/11 Mallalapuram
04/11 Mallalapuram
05/11 Mallalapuram + Kancheepuram (Kanchee)
06/11 Pondicherry
07/11 Pondicherry + Auroville
08/11 Pondicherry ( + Kumbakonam ? )
09/11 Tiruchirappalli
10/11 Tiruchirappalli
11/11 Tiruchirappalli -> Madurai (Train)
12/11 Madurai
13/11 Madurai
14/11 Kumily
15/11 Kumily (Periyar National Park)
16/11 Backwaters Kerala
17/11 Varkala (Train)
18/11 Kochi (Cochin)
19/11 Kochi (Cochin)
20/11 Kovalam
21/11 Kovalam
22/11 Kovalam
23/11 Mysore
24/11 Mysore
25/11 Mysore ( Stop in Ooty? )
26/11 Hampi
27/11 Hampi
28/11 Hampi -> (Bangalore?) -> Chennai
29/11 Chennai
30/11 Chennai

What do you guys think, too busy and undoable or not ? What would you leave out or parse in ?

Thanks!

I wouldn't spend so much time in Mamallapuram, unless you are looking to recover from jet lag. You can see the sites in an afternoon. The place really isn't that interesting. It's a stonecutters showroom and not really a pilgrimage site, though pilgrims do show up.

Spend some more time in Madurai. There's more to it than just the Meenakshi temple. There are some marvelous temples in the countryside, and the nearby villages are wonderful. It's real Tamil heartland.

You can also go to Kodaikanal (mountains) or Rameswaram (island) easily from Madurai (five hours or so to either one).

Hi,

Nick H., understand there is a lot of thinks to do in Chennai as in all big cities. But if I must decide where to go in TN, Chennai is not my first choice.

I know and enjoy Carnatic music and I've seen quite a lot of performances here and there (even in Spain), but is not ennough reason to spend my time in Chennai. An for sarees you are going to Kancheepuram, so, you are in the right place. Pondicherry is not interesting a part Auroville if you are not interested in french colonial history

I agree with Merchant about Mahabalipuram, is nice to stay there to have a rest and see the temples. Trichy is only interestinting for Sriramgan and perhaps the fort, avoid the rest.

Try to visit in your way down to Madurai, Gangakondacholapuram, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram and especially Thanjavur (probably best temple town in South India).

Between Mysore and Hampi you should visit Belur and Halebid and if interested in Jain art you can have a look at Sraravenagola.

is Tiruvannamali, which is the site of one of indias most famous holy mountains: Arunachala. This was the seat of the famous sage Ramana Maharshi

some pictures of Tiruvannamali temple here
http://www.angelfire.com/realm/bodhisattva/ramana.html

http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/.../mountain.html

Celebrated time: On the full moon day of the month of Kartigai November-December) which falls on the ascension of the Kritigai star, the Hindus celebrate the Kartigai Deepam. It is on this day that the huge beacon is lit on the holy hill Arunachala in South India.

http://www.ammas.com/ar/home.cfm?r=va&tid=66964&bid=0

it's Rs800 as of last July. By all means, be sure to book your taxi at the fixed rate office, which is on the left as you finally get past customs. Ask the customs people where it is if you get lost. Do NOT try to negotiate your own fare.
Relax, it isn't anything near as bad as the taxi scams at IG in Delhi.

BTW, the monsoon here in Bangalore seems to definitely be over. It's pleasant and even a bit hot in the afternoon, with nary a cloud in the sky, making it bloody hard to remain at work-and not quit early for a nice afternoon! Further south in Tamil Nadu, the rains will continue into December.