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After a fantastic week in Rajapalayam, I left for Madurai with Gokul and Aishwarya. I visited the famous Meenakshi temple and was shown round by a driver who works for Gokul. Simply put, it was awesome. A vast network of shrines and statues mainly dedicated to the god Meenakshi. Despite the vast numbers of people walking around, the Hindu chants that echoed around the temple made you feel that you had entered an almost unworldly place. The detail both inside and outside the temple was extraordinary. It was here that I finally met Divya, Gokul's sister. Divya had arranged my week at the school so it was great to meet after a year of organising my placement by email.
After the temple, the driver took me to a cafe near the bus station. I was served rice with a dhosa and various curried vegetables on a banana leaf. I've never had a meal quite like it so got quite a few stares from the locals as I took a photo. After lunch I hopped on a bus to Kanyakumari. With my baggage loaded and Jimmy Hendrix's greatest hits playing on my iPod, I then began my six hour bus journey to the end of India.
After arriving in Kanyakumari around 7pm, I checked into a hotel with great seafront views. In Kanyakumari you can watch the sun rise and set over three oceans at once so a room with a balcony is ideal. My room ticked all the boxes until I found a cockroach or two scurrying around. Upon this discovery I swiftly moved rooms. Though the hotel porter looked confused as to why I had an issue after showing him the two resident guests already in my room. He also had the nerve to ask for tip after moving my bag to the new room. After a brief moment of awkwardness I decided to tip him in the end. Two rupees. One for each nasty. He demanded more but told him to collect the rest from my friends in the previous room.
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Angie Make sure he doesn't put 'em in yer dinner Jake! C