Madurai Traditional, colorful and lively The visit took me back to Madurai India in a more traditional, less affected by Western civilization, and also poorer. The city of one million inhabitants is very busy, traffic and the noise is intense. Small Hindu temples are hidden in every corner, little brothers of the huge Sri Meenakshi Temple, No. 1 attraction
the city. Madurai is the temple built around 16th century inspired by the Dravidian architecture. The British East India Company - definitely everywhere - the old fort was demolished in 1840 and built 4 major streets forming a square around the temple and delimiting the old city. So, it's pretty easy to spot in the center Madurai, convenient for exploring the many markets: flowers, spices, vegetables, but also a market for kitchen utensils, books and fabrics housed in a temple. Small narrow galleries lined with stalls run through the main hall of the temple, the Hindu deities carved ceilings and mix with shops. In the lanes to the fabric, the designers at work are aligned, focused on their machine. Here the seam is a people business.
Sri Meenakshi temple has a dozen laps in the story called "Gopurams" up to 50m high and covers an area 6 ha: so that it
plenty to do when the visit. In the complex, except those towers finely carved, painted in every color, there is a tank room "with a thousand columns" housing a museum and many galleries with ceilings painted bright colors. The faithful are very numerous, and parts for worship are forbidden to foreigners: /
As in Hampi, a sacred elephant harvest tickets of Rs 10 in his trunk. Upon leaving, I told myself that I would have done so to take a guide, I'm sure I missed a few rooms given the sheer size the monument ... In the surrounding streets, beggars and harassers are numerous. Some children threaten tourists with a kind of whip rope snapped on the ground that they are hoping to scare them and collect a few rupees. Needless to say it did not have the desired effect on me: p
Madurai also has a 17th century palace, the Tirumalai Nayak Palace, built
by the ruler of the moment. There are only a few rooms, of which the main hall, the dance hall (serving here as a small museum) and a courtyard surrounded by a gallery with huge columns. The building has a few domes and ceilings painted quite impressive. But the majority of visitors were interested in something else: in the courtyard, shooting was coming. The assistants were trying to install rails cameras, lights and any other equipment. I walked out in a small half-hour to reach a large square tank called Mariamman Tank. is the venue of the Float Festival in late January. Pray for the faithful make a boat at the center of the tank where a temple is located. In normal times, the tank is empty and serves as a cricket ground ...
The next step is the southern most point of the Indian subcontinent, Kanyakumari. 6 o'clock bus from Madurai lead me tomorrow.
Excepted its geographical location, Kanyakumari, the southernmost town of India, has not much interest. That does not prevent the cohorts of tourists and many Western Indians to go: it's true that it's still funny to say that was really all across the country. Some come from afar to this: a father explaining to me by example that came to Delhi with her children, or nearly 40 hours by train, just for that reason. Well there is not really anything either: some churches (including one under renovation, scaffolding Indian support), a small temple dedicated to Devi, and especially the 40-meter statue of a poet Tamil. Conducted in 2000, it stands on a small island opposite the port. It required the collaboration of 5000 workers. A small ferry made the crossing every 10 minutes is barely 400 meters from the coast. Besides, another tiny island that was built a memorial to Indian philosopher of the late 19th century, named Swami Vivekananda (unknown to the battalion in my case ...). Coincidentally, I found my hotel in the Dutch with whom I had a few days hiking in Karnataka, as what the world of Western tourists is small. The picture is taken from my hotel room. 
the evening I went to see Sunset Point the sun setting over the Arabian Sea, alongside hundreds of Indians. As soon as the sun disappears, and while the colors are still wonderful, all the Indians evacuated the area quickly. I was one of the few to enjoy until the end ... I'd be gone as well see the sunrise this morning but it soon, too soon. Anyway I had a bus at 7:30. So I did 9 hours of bus today, towards Rameswaram. This city is located on an island just across Sri Lanka. It is connected to India by a large bridge. It is a place believed to have been important in 
the Ramayana, hence the high number of pilgrims who travel. I had to make a dozen hotels before finding a room available. Along the way, in the plain of Tamil Nadu, we met many salt marshes, as in Gujarat. In the area of poverty is particularly acute, the 3 / 4 of the houses are woven palm, although precarious. I understand better why tsunamis are so much havoc in the region: / I'll try to rent a bike tomorrow to go to the tip of the island where, according to the guide, is a superb beach. Anyway, for the bus, the water looked almost transparent, it promises:) 
