Resort Scene

Okay. I know you are all wondering.  Is there a resort scene in India? As it turns out, yes.  We are staying at the loveliest resort in Mamallapuram.  We stayed at other resorts in the north but they only played at being resorts - very basic, stark even, though always clean.  This one could be anywhere in the world which feels actually quite good at this point in our trip. The only big difference between this and any other resort is the incredible service one gets in India.  They are very good at service in the north but they truly excel here in the south.  They are almost too polite.  They could train the world's service organizations, they are that good at this.  Indians bring out the best in us -- at least in Cameron and me -- it seems almost churlish not to be polite back.

We are at Temple Bay Resort which is about 1/2 a kilometre from the Shore Temple.  We can see it from our bungalow.  This whole area was badly hit by the 2004 Tsunami but the Shore Temple kept on standing.  About 7000 people all along this coast were killed in that Tsunami but one bright spot, if one wants to look for it, occurred when the giant wave drew all the water back as it approached shore.  The receding water showed new temples, like the Shore Temple, that had never been seen before and whose existence had only been suspected.  As a result, there are new archeological sites being excavated underwater.