A Trip to A Remote Temple in South India - Thanjavur

This photo only courtesy of www.indiaexploring.com.

I am at the southernmost end of east India; a virtual tailend of India's land mass.

But I am here to visit one of the few UNESCO World Heritage Sites - the Brihadishwara Temple! Unlike most of the other sites in Trichy that were unconsciously exagerrated as "great" by the Lonely Planet, Thanjavur's temple is deservingly spectacular and worth all the trouble of getting there. Plus it doesnt ask for exorbitant entrance fees from its visitors. I got there straight from the New Bus Station. I then hired a tuktuk at 70 rupees (though LP suggested it should cost around 150 rupees).

After visiting Thanjavur's 2nd most important site - Thanjavur Palace, I decided to hop into another bus taking me further to remote Thiruvaiyaru to visit Thyagararajaswami Temple at the bank of its river. It was an adventure getting there, and even more so finding it, but finding the riverine ghat - where folks bathe and washed clothes - was, errr...a refreshing sight.

Once back in Thanjavur (aka Tanjore), I had to find Bus 74 which shuttles among the 3 bus terminals in the city. I didn't want to pay 150 or 70 rupees just to take me to the New Bus Station, but I found a tuktuk to take me there - at just 4 rupees. These are little triumphs of "saving" money for me. I will always cherish little victories like this.

This is the Eye in the Sky tired but ebullient after a great day visiting remote places in remote south India - where people have gorgeously dark skin and they hardly speak a word of English.

This photo only courtesy of www.oddjams.com and rajandhayalan.googlepages.com.