We visited the Chatikona Market, a weekly highlight for the Dongria Kondh tribe, before continuing through the hills to the village of Muniguda. On arrival we were welcomed by the New Hope Charitable Trust (a local NGO helping to uplift the poor and disadvantaged); we actually stayed the night in a very basic room on their grounds. We were given a cooking demonstration before spending time with the children and the elderly people of the New Hope Trust.
We had a guided walk through the countryside around Goudaguda (an Adivasi village) visiting the neighbouring Mahali, Paraja, and Kondh tribal villages. There seem to be only three sources of income in this region: agriculture, pottery, and government support. I learned new games and enjoyed playing them with the local children. As much as I enjoyed spending time in the villages and catching a glimpse of life in the rural tribal areas, it was good to be able to return to the clean facilities and food provided by Leon and "the girls". Happy Valentine's Day!
We had an early start from Visakhapatnam so that we could arrive in the small village of Goudaguda in time to visit the Monday markets. Beautiful earthen pottery is skillfully produced in this area. Today was our first in the rarely-visited Odisha (formerly Orissa) Tribal Region. The hinterlands of Odisha are home to more than 60 different tribal communities, all with their own distinct indigenous cultural traditions. We are staying in a local guesthouse which has been styled on local
tribal houses. The founder is from Australia and maintains western standards, including serving coffee, bruschetta, pizza, and pie. Today we continued our journey through the back roads of Andra Pradesh to the costal town of Visakhapatnam. Our hotel is directly across from Ramakrishna Beach and its pedestrian promenade.
After having driven for much of the day yesterday, Lisa and I decided to skip driving for several more hours in order to stand in long claustrophobic lines (contained by cage walls) in barefeet to join the enormous crowds at the Sri Venkateswara Temple pilgrimage site. Instead, we spent a relaxing afternoon in Bliss (Hotel Bliss). As of this morning, we are spending the next few days overlanding
through Andhra Pradesh, one of the least developed states in India. We had a long day of driving to reach Vijayawada, with no scheduled sightseeing. Happily, the crew took my suggestion of making a stop to see the four storey Undavalli Cave Temples and their reclining Vishnu. Chennai (previously known as Madras) was the site of the first major settlement of the East India Company in 1639, and is now the fourth largest city in India. The town grew up around Fort St. George and along Mount Road, and some interesting historic buildings can be seen here. It's true that it is busy, noisy and often extremely hot, but in many ways it is a surprisingly efficient and orderly place. Chennai's 13km-long Marina Beach is the country's longest urban beach. When we visited the enormous beach in the morning, it was nearly abandoned (accept for the homeless who live there), but it showed plenty of evidence of the sad carnival it must be during the evening. There are dozens of dilapidated, pathetic rides, countless food and vending stalls, and ubiquitous litter. The promenade features several monuments and permanent memorials.
Mahabalipuram was the second capital and seaport of the Pallava Dynasty of Kanchipuram, a medieval kingdom that ruled the area between the 6th and 9th centuries. It is famous for its granite Shore Temples that overlook the Bay of Bengal, and the ‘Descent of Ganges’, a very detailed relief carved on a vast rock surface. Mahabalipuram is a small but very pleasant and easy-going village, consisting mainly of two main streets. It stands at the foot of a low lying, boulder-strewn hill where most of the temples and rock carvings are located. Measuring 96 by 43 feet, this giant open-air rock relief is carved on two monolithic rock boulders. The legend depicted in the bas-relief is the story of the descent of the sacred river Ganges to earth from the heavens led by Bhagiratha. The waters of the Ganges are believed to possess supernatural powers. The descent of the Ganges and Arjuna's Penance are portrayed in stone at the Pallava heritage site. It is one of the Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram that were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. At the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, the crocodiles are obviously the star attraction, but the poison venom extraction was interesting, too. We made it to Chennai!
We spent the morning wandering around Pondicherry with Jyoti & Jitesh from Toronto. We once again paid homage to the Mahatma and strolled the seafront. We spent some time visiting in a French bakery, sought out more donuts and a proper baguette. The afternoon was even more relaxing with down-time using the Ram Guesthouse's wifi. The highlight of the day, however, was the Manakkula Vinayagar Temple and its blessing elephant. This in no way diminishes the greatness of eating Subway sandwiches followed by gelato, or buying cheap liquor both for consumption within India and to bring back home to Canada.
We had our first mechanical delay of the trip when the fuel lines needed to be purged of air. The united territories of Pondicherry are unmistakably and charmingly French, complete with an hotel de ville, French consulate and police who wear red 'kepis' hats and belts. The town enjoys duty-free status and is known for its leather goods and hand-made paper products - with its French influence, many of the shops have a distinctly European feel. I knew of Pondicherry only as the place Gandhi illegally gathered salt from the ocean when protesting British colonial oppression. Pondicherry has cheap liquor prices, proper bakeries, and real donuts!
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