Photos of the streets in Mamallapuram

Mamallapuram is an Indian town in the state of Tamil Nadu and completely different than any town I've ever seen.

Walking through the streets of Mamallapuram you don't know where to look and its a strange blend of new images, smells and sounds. As we walk we encounter plastic eating cows making their way through town, kids running around barefooted wearing their Unicef rucksacks, scratching dogs licking their wounds and people heading to the loacal markets.

Fruit markets in..

Mamallapuram is known for its rocks carvings and monolithic sculptures and everywhere you come either you hear the sound of the workers carving their sculptures or people turn up wanting you to visit their shop to sell you their finest art. Of course we had to see for ourselves and we even bought some nice souvenirs.

The roads are the worst we have seen in India and driving around you have to avoid the huge craters to make sure you survive the ride. Alongside the road people dump all kinds of rubbish and even human feces!

We ask a little boy if he will show us his schoolbook and withing two seconds we're surrounded by kids wanting to show us what they have learned this week. Unfortunately the writing is in Tamil, the main language of the Tamil Nadu region, so we can't understand it all.

We also visited some temples and everybody we meet is interested in who we are and why we are in Mamallapuram. Of course they also want us to buy as much as possibile and we return to the hotel with more than we stuff our bags with.

Market stand and bananas in..

The food is very spicy and something you have to get used to. We tried all kinds of bites and dishes and everything is served with rice. We decided to eat at the better restaurants first before heading to the street stands to avoid undesired stomach aches. Of course every menu is a complete mystery but everything we order is tasty and we're even getting used to the Indian spices!