In January, 2008 I took a trip to South India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala). I didn't have much of an agenda, just a guide book and a map with too many places circled in red ink. In the end, I headed southeast to Tiruvannamalai.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Blessed by the temple elephant
Arunachaleswar Temple
Sir Ramana Ashram is also here and offers an oasis of calm. I was not prepared (though I'm from NYC) for the (apparent) chaos of even small Hindu cities.There are no traffic lights, stop signs, or rules really of any kind. A driver communicates his intentions by constantly tapping his horn. It all seems to work pretty well, but the noise is exhausting.
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Gingee is a very nice side trip from Tiruvannamali.
View from the Queens Fort to the Kings Fort
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If you are in or around Tiruvannamalai and need transportationI can highly recommend Anand Kumar. He drives a tuk tuk in town and will be your driver for the day, he charges very reasonable rates. He also has a Tata Ambassador (the standard taxi in India) very good for longer distance, I hired his taxi for a week with anexcellent driver (very important). anandaramana@india.com
Tel 944-241-6444
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A small temple on the road from Tiruvannamalai
to Chidambaram
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Chidambaram
Nataraja Temple and tank
Temple sweeper
