Famous for its stonemasons, rock carvings and temples dedicated either to Shiva or Vishnu, the pleasant small Mahabalipuram is situated some 50 km south of Chennai. The little village wakes up every day to the hammering sound of working sculptors chipping away pieces of granite, as stone carving is still very much a living craft here.
A walk between the different temples, the sunset seen from a lighthouse and the mythical story of the River Ganges carved onto a 30m long rock were some of the highlights of this place. Amidst the temples, we liked the natural, nearly round stone called Krishna’s Butter Ball, which apparently the Hindu deity himself dropped while eating butter 
The pallava kings tried to move the boulder with elephants, but were not able to do that.
India is a kaleidoscope of many diverse religions and beliefs with hundreds of temples, mosques, churches and shrines. It is for sure a spiritual blend, and making money with sacred cities and places of worship seems to be quite normal here. To be quite honest, we were not impressed by the Five Rathas and the Shore Temple in Mahabalipuram, although the oldest stone temple in India has been given World Heritage listing (that explains the healthy entrance fee) and is the most photographed monument in southern India.
At our next stop in Pondycherry, a former French colony founded in the 18th century, we were hoping to experience some French culture, food and language by the sea. However, Pondy, as the Indians call it, was nearly as Indian as anywhere else.
There was the usual amazing variety of smells that lies in the air, reaching from the stench of garbage, fouling remains of food, excrement, mixed with the nice aroma of freshly cut jasmine flowers, herbs and vegetables sold on a marketplace and the sweet perfume Indian people apply.
While struggling through the heat in Pondy’s noisy traffic with the continuous senseless horn-honking, it was nearly impossible for us to melt into the crowd. The unrelenting stares, mostly at the blond hair and fair skin, reminded us constantly of our being different.
Shopkeepers, beggars and rikshaw drivers permanently approached us trying to make some money. All this makes India not an easy country to travel, but we are still keen to find out more and see the south-western part, especially the state of Kerala, and the north.
