I LOVE Mahabalipuram!

I’m so glad I came here. While you only need 1 day to explore it, I highly recommend it to anyone traveling in India. There are more Westerners here than I’ve seen anywhere else, but I’m told there are even more in Goa. Surprisingly, none seem to be American however (they’re European).

I did some window shopping (the shopping here is better than other places I’ve been and the shopkeepers are very friendly) and then enjoyed a milk shake at Bob Marley Café, overlooking the beach and enjoying the relaxing breeze. No one “lays out” at the beach, but it’s fun to watch the children play and the fisherman in their colorful boats.

Afterwards I got my first ayurvetic massage. I actually don’t recommend that. It was sort of this oily mess. It smelled weird, incorporated a chest massage (that really tests how fast your reflexes are), didn’t include a top sheet (no room for modesty here) and gave me the heebie-jeebies because the table had the same type plastic tarp that I saw being used in the brothels! Still, I’m glad I tried it or else I would always wonder if it was good.

For dinner I splurged on awesome seafood at the “Blue Elephant” where I enjoyed the biggest, most amazing tiger prawns (shrimp) I’ve ever had – cooked in tomato, garlic and onion. (By splurge I mean $12, but this was double the cost of my quite comfortable room at the Siva Guest House). One funny thing was that I didn’t see beer on the menu (I’ve actually never seen it on the menu in India) so I ordered Diet Pepsi – which is RARE so I was happy to find it. When I saw everyone around me drinking beer, I finally realized (after 6 weeks in India) that just because beer is never on the menu doesn’t mean they don’t serve it. You just have to ask for it!

Later I moved to this cute, rooftop French place called “Le Yogi” that had cushions on the floor and colorful lanterns. There I had a delicious nutella and banana crepe and chai tea. Yum! It was a terrific place but it would have been even nicer had I not been traveling alone.

The next day I took a yoga class (on an open-air terrace overlooking a temple) and explored some of the famous rock carvings. This 1-day excursion was a wonderful treat!