San Thome Basilica and Mamallapuram

12/10
This morning was lovely because I got to wake up early and enjoy the wonderful luxury of wifi on my computer and iphone. Considering I haven’t had internet in a week I was more than happy to wake up and catch up on all my emails and such, but a week away from the cyber world left for a lot of reading and blog posting!
We started our day by seeing the San Thome Basillica, which is one of only 3 places in the world where saints are buried underneath the ground (The Vatican is one of the others). It was cool to finally see what a church looked like in India; I always like comparing the different churches wherever I go since they’re so common throughout the world. The architecture was what you would expect from a catholic church and it was interesting to see where Saint Thomas was believed to be buried in 72 AD.
After that we went to an artisan market where I got a bunch of stuff like necklaces and these really cool palm leaf carvings. The crafts were very reasonably priced here too, which was nice because haggling gets so exhausting!
Finally we arrived at our next hotel called the Sea Breeze in Mamallapuram, where we will be spending the next 2 days. This is like a little break in the trip that we definitely all need. After finding my room I was determined to find a bathing suite since I forgot to pack one, and lucky enough I found a 2 piece in a shop down the road from the hotel. I was so happy to find a bathing suite I would’ve taken anything, and the funniest part is that it is a kids XXL size (this was the biggest size they had… lets just say I could’ve used a bigger top!) I also bought some tunics at this place because all my clothes are way too heavy for the heat in this location. I hung around the pool for the rest of the day, which was extremely relaxing.
After taking a much needed nap, we all met for dinner by a bonfire. There was a lunar eclipse at the time too, which was awesome to see. For dinner we had some kind of fish, some chicken, shrimp and a few other side dishes. This was such a good meal, and the best part was that it wasn’t drenched in sauce like we’ve been having in Rajasthan. I’m looking forward to the food on the rest of the trip because tonight’s meal was delicious. Tomorrow we’re going out on a boat early in the morning which should be beautiful, seeing some temples, and of course lounging by the pool and beach some more. Hopefully I can soak up some rays for my return to the Tundra that I’m sure NY will be on my arrival next week!