Bikaner is on the edge of the Thar Desert, less than 100Km from the border with Pakistan, and is far less visited than some other Rajasthan cities, with tourists seeking the desert-city experience usually opting for Jaisalmer instead. We are doing both as we have the luxury of time and Bikaner was a convenient mid-way stop between Delhi and Jaisalmer. There are 2 must-see attractions here; the Fort and the Rat Temple. We decided to give the latter a…
Nope, we still can’t pronounce it, but apparently it’s simply ‘Mahabs’ (former name was Mahabalipuram) to those in the know – a small seaside town, stone carving centre and UNESCO World Heritage site. A couple of hours North of Puducherry, on the way to Chennai Airport, and in Rough Guide to India’s 30 Places Not To Miss – it’d have been rude to have passed by without stopping. The scruffy town actually turned out to be far nicer than…
Thanjavur is not on most Indian tourist itineraries and we didn’t see very many Western faces there – but it’s featured in Rough Guide and Lonely Planet so is not that obscure. There are 2 main attractions – the breathtaking Brihadishwara Temple (signposted Thanjavur Big Temple), Tamil Nadu’s most awesome Chola monument, and the world’s finest Chola Bronze collection (even after the British Museum and various American museums, galleries & collectors have pilfered some).