Breathe In The World

First cultural shock – Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

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Madurai… We started off the wrong foot, you and I.

You might know already that I am not a seasoned traveler. For various reasons, I had barely traveled outside of Europe before this trip – hence this long journey, to get a glimpse of other continents.

Madurai stroke me with one of my first cultural shocks. We arrived at 5:30am, after a very comfortable night bus trip from Kochi. Our 15min tuktuk ride to the hotel stroke quite an impression: an overall stink, bad mixture from little waste management and cows, goats, dogs, even horses roaming freely, wandering poor people and chaotic streets.

We had barely slept, our hotel was OK-ish, located in a busy street. After some hours of rest at the hotel, we wanted to shake off the odd feeling of the morning and went on with a city tour. Our driver spoke Tamil only, and drove us first to a flower market… in an alley littered with garbage.

Madurai’s flower market – quite something. Flowers are used in Hinduism as part of the overall stimulation of the senses, required to feel in true communion with the gods. The garlands as shown above are used for weddings.

Our afternoon was luckily saved by the arrival of an English-speaking guide and the mind-blowing viewings of the Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace and of the famous Meenakshi Amman Temple.

The lace-like roofs of the Thirumalai Nayakkar Palace, dating back to the XVIIth century
The gigantic Meenakshi Amman Temple, dedicated to Meenakshi / Parvati, supreme Hindu goddess, consort of Shiva, part of the Hindu supreme trinity. Impossible to take pictures inside, so let me describe it for you: it is so stunning, complex and lively that it made Dimitri and me questioned our respective faiths.

Still, when I laid down that night, after slaloming between the cars, the tuktuks, the bikes, the cows and the dogs to cross the potholed street to our hotel, I was ready to give up with India and to move on with the next country on our list.

New day, new spirits. Out with the Western prejudices, time to really open up and pass over some “logistics” aspects. Accept some basic facts and go with the flow.

This is my cue to share how kind, helpful and warm-hearted the people from the South are. Most of the people we met at local restaurants, cafés, shops and buses only knew a few English words, but they always tried to help us – with gestures or calling for reinforcements all their neighbours or colleagues. And we got to experience it first all, because we were often the only foreigners on site, thanks to the locals advice and to the magic of Google Maps.

And the food!… The food, my friends, the food! Absolutely delicious. Everything, from start to finish. I am trying to compile them into a “WikiDish”, not to forget about any of them…

Madurai, we got to experience your beauty a little late – but at least, we learnt!

See you in Puducherry, for our next stop…

Vegetarian Biryani at a local Madurai canteen. Eaten with the right hand, of course 😉

Comments

6 responses to “First cultural shock – Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India”

  1. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Hey Elise ! It’s wonderful to follow you through this astonishing project ! I’m travelling for work to India very regularly for years (as you certainly knows) but I lack those “from the street” views which we sadly don’t usually have enough time to enjoy. Can’t wait to read your posts about Chennai.

    I’m myself just back from a marvellous roadtrip through New Zealand and I’m pretty sure it might be part of your plans (and if it’s not, please change them !)

    François H.

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    1. Elise Avatar
      Elise

      Thank you so much for your warm message, François! We are in Puducherry right now, and we will move to Chennai in a few days. Our travel rhythm in India is (too much) paced, as we wanted to see so much in just a bit over a month…
      I sadly won’t have enough time or money to visit New Zealand this time around, but it is on the bucket list for sure!
      Elise

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  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    oh wow that looks great! I had not had Madurai on my India-list, but now I do! I enjoy reading your blog, Elise, and you are doing a great job in sharing context without overwhelming your audience. Hugs to wherever you are now! Susanne

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    1. Elise Avatar
      Elise

      Thank you, Susanne! It means a lot, coming from you! I confirm that Madurai is really worth the visit. 😉 We are in Hanoi, Vietnam, right now 🇻🇳 Looking forward to knowing more about your travel as well!
      Elise

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      1. Avatar
        Anonymous

        ah Vietnam 🙂 enjoy, that’s where I caught the uncurable travel bug and it was my favourite country for a long time, only overtaken by Myanmar later… Are you going to Sapa? I’ve been there 20 years ago with my mum and my then 5 year old daughter… I decided to kick off my u Asia trip right there, followed by a month in Laos, a bit of Cambodia, and then I want to tackle India from the North-East. I’ll fly out on the 22nd of September…

        On Vietnam: If you can, go see the Cham temples in MySon, they were totally ‘organised’ and easy to visit, but I found them amazing. And dive deep into the Mekong delta (not just the two day tourist pack).

        Xin Chao!

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      2. Elise Avatar
        Elise

        We’ll be in the north for the next days, doing the Ha Giang motorbike loop to capture the beautiful landscapes (despite the heavy rains 😬). After a month in Nepal, we have not planned on hiking in the region; but we are likely missing something! Noted for the Cham temples 📝
        I am excited in advance for your trip: I expect you to find different worlds, compared to what you knew!
        Elise

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