An Ancient Heat

It's 103 degrees in the ancient city of Madurai, where one of the oldest continuously used temples on planet Earth is the main attraction. People have been coming here to pray since the time of the Romans! But even ancient temples have a schedule, so while we wait for it to open we stagger through the heat and explore the old city. The main roads are as polluted, loud, noisy and exhausting as anywhere in India. Stepping into the back streets is a lot more fun. People live back here. Women work on their steps, line up to fill water buckets, and children are everywhere, hanging out and playing cricket in the narrow alleyways. And it turns out there are still kids in India who still ask tourists for “school pens”. Ooops! We thought that didn't happen much anymore. But they love seeing their pictures on the screen of our cameras.
 
Near the spectacular gopuram towers of the temple, we develop a sudden interest in every single product in a large air-conditioned clothing store. It takes an entire twenty minutes to cool down - err, I mean check out the shop. Next door to that is one of the most amazing markets I've seen anywhere, housed in a huge ancient multi-pillared hall that used to house pilgrims for the temple. Now its carved columns look over hundreds of vendors and tailors. One of them tells us there is still tension with the temple, who'd rather have full use of the structure. But his “father and his father and his father” have all been tailors in this very place.
 

After an air-conditioned nap at the hotel, we head back to the temple, hand over our shoes to the shoe attendant and go in. The crowds are everywhere, and many families with bald-headed children who have come to offer the child's hair from their first haircut. An elephant greets us on the way in, offering blessings with a touch of his trunk. I just look at his eyes and wonder what he thinks about all this. But I bet he comes from a long line of temple elephants! 

Dinner is at a rooftop restaurant; the view is better then the food (isn't that always true?).

And finally a kitchsy stop at a place suggested by our guidebook, the space-themed Apollo 96 bar ("A Customers paradise, it would make you take the next flight to Venus!"). The AC makes it freezing inside, which is the only space-related detail they got right. Otherwise the décor is straight out of your local high-school's production of Star Trek, The Musical...