Travel Tips

Touring Temples & Cultural Travel in Chennai, India

Locations in this article:  Los Angeles, CA Mumbai, India New Delhi, India

Travel in Mumbai and Chennai, IndiaWhen television producer Tammi Leader Fuller went to India recently to meet her daughter, a student on the floating university called Semester at Sea, she had a long list of sights to see, but not much time to see them.  

So where could they go to get a taste of the “real” India while enjoying the amenities of a comfortable vacation?  

Here’s her report…

When my daughter Chelsea invited me to meet her in India for five days, a pit stop on her voyage around the world, I never hesitated, not even for a moment. We had been in Italy last summer with my mom, all reading Eat, Pray, Love simultaneously, and India just seemed like a logical, and much deeper next step for us.

Saris on mannequinsChelsea had been sailing for two months, heading west from California. The ship had hit numerous ports in the Far and Near East. Along the way, she hiked up the Great Wall in China and now, couldn’t wait to get to India to see the Taj Mahal. When you’re 21 and trotting across the globe, it’s all about the stamps on your passport and crossing off places on the world’s Great Wonders Bucket List.

India did pose some challenges, if not for my daughter, then for me.

I remember all too well what happened during the bombings of Mumbai in November 2008, including the attacks on the Taj Hotel and Palace. But I decided early on that threats of terrorism weren’t going to stop me, despite the fears of some of my family and friends. Security has been visibly ramped up and that provided a win-win situation for me because a drop in tourism meant no waiting in long lines. I was in.

Get Peter’s take on the Mumbai bombings with Reflections on Mumbai and the Future of Indian Tourism.

I flew from Los Angeles to Newark on Continental, then changed planes in Newark for the marathon nonstop to Mumbai. Talk about an upgrade … this is the one flight you definitely appreciate the seats that turn into beds. I could literally dream of India while flying there.

Incredible India - tourism advertisementBut first, some background.

When I first accepted Chelsea’s invite, I did so on the grounds that we’d do India on my terms: safely and luxuriously. I also made a command decision: We were NOT going to go to Agra with the masses; we were going to intentionally miss the Taj Mahal.

I’ll admit it, as a network news producer, I’ve been spoiled when it comes to travel. I’ve stayed in my fair share of four-star hotels, and the word “pamper” is definitely high up in my lexicon.

But I had no idea of the extravagance that awaited me. Or of the graciousness of the Indian people, and the comfortable, inviting way they define luxury. From Mumbai to the southern regions of Chennai to Cochin, we experienced service and amenities I had never seen anywhere before. And it all started at the Taj hotels.

I was met in Mumbai by the Taj “airport concierge” who packed me up and sent me 20 minutes west to the waterfront Land’s End Hotel. Located right in the center of Bollywood this is where guards protect India’s rich and famous movie stars as gawkers hover.

Get to India for less with Cheap, “Secret” Intercontinental Flights for Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Security was tight. We were stopped at the hotel gate where the entire car was inspected, and a guard glided what looked like a mirrored dustpan under the perimeter of the car.

Taj Lands End LobbyNext we sent our bags and then ourselves through a metal detector. When the lobby doors opened, the dramatic three-story atrium was lit up with shops and open cafes.

I’d heard the crispy chicken at the Ming Yang restaurant was to die for, so I ordered it to my room and within 15 minutes I was dining in a bubble bath, overlooking the sleek city skyline. This is India? I took it all in, figuring it would all change once we got to the Chennai the next day, where I was to meet Chelsea at the port when the Semester at Sea ship docked. Chennai is India’s fourth largest city and mired in poverty.

I wanted to make this trip special for both of us, and I knew Chelsea was not going be thrilled to miss the “real” Taj, so the week before we were due to arrive, I began emailing Sricharan, the Taj Coromandel Hotel’s Concierge, asking for suggestions about what to do in and around Chennai.

Learn about local experiences with our Ask the Locals Travel Guides.

Every day he would write me back with a new itinerary and every day I would email him with questions and changes to his proposed plans for us.

Eating in IndiaI wanted us to experience India like a native, while enjoying the amenities of a five-star vacation. What an obvious contradiction. Impossible? Not necessarily.

Still I felt I had given him so many mixed messages I was almost embarrassed to meet him when we arrived. But he could not have been more gracious or accommodating. We would make an outlandish request, Sricharan would make it happen. He found us orphanages to visit, and turned us on to a nearby ashram that allowed us to practice yoga for just one day (many of India’s Ashrams require a week’s stay and a recommendation from someone who has been there). There we discovered the birthplace of Sivananda Yoga, and the feelings of peace and tranquility the yoga studios all over the U.S. aspire to create.

Our trusted Sricharan had plenty of decadent spas to recommend to us (including the magnificent one at the hotel) but when we wanted local ayurvedic medicine healers, he found them. There they would douse us in hot oil and do ayurvedic massage while we laid on a slab of sacred wood to help open our spiritual “third eye.” Then they rinsed us off in some pretty questionable bath water. Quite the Indian experience.

Indian flower sellerScrichran had found us drivers and brilliant guides to explore India’s rich history.  Each one was a 10 and each came with a surprise. One evening, as we inched our way through the streets in a crush of traffic, our driver stopped the car and jumped out to buy us flowers. We were floored. Such a nice man going out of his way to make us feel comfortable and welcome in his hometown.

But it was what Scrichran helped us discover off the brochure that helped make this the trip of a lifetime with my daughter.

He made an all day plan for us to go to Mahabalipuram, a town of gorgeous architectural antiquity that reminded me of a more modern and less city-like Pompeii. We strayed a little when we saw a bustling Hindu temple and asked to pull over to take a peek.

If you’re planning a trip to India, don’t miss our Off the Brochure Travel Guide to New Delhi, India.

Simple Temple - Chennai, IndiaIt was a classic case of right place-right time, a concept that Hindus deeply believe is more than coincidence. Today was a festival for Shiva, one that his followers celebrate once a year. And when she saw our excitement, the Coromandel’s personal guide invited us into her local temple. Clearly the only Westerners in sight, we were fascinated by the opportunity to witness the whole religious and cultural experience on this Hindu holy day.

We slid out of our shoes, as the locals do, paying a few rupees for coconuts and bananas that would be our offerings to the gold shell of the gods. I stopped to get blessed by a man who covered my forehead with ash-like substance in honor of the day.

On this day, we were Hindu for a few hours, and met with not a single glare of judgment, just looks of curiosity. More than a few worshipers asked our guide to tell them about us, bowing in our direction as they learned we were interested in their faith. We prayed alongside them, and the appreciation was mutually beneficial to each of us.

Find more great experiences in our Cultural Immersion section.

Indian TempleThen we returned to the plan and drove about two hours to reach Mahabalipuram, an outdoor museum of great caves, intricately carved rocks, and huge granite boulders. The pictures of the Krishna Mandapa carvings are in every India guide book, but it was truly remarkable to see how these early craftsmen visualized the monoliths that would serve as the blueprints for the construction of their holy Hindu temples.

Two thousand years ago, these elephants were perfectly etched into the granite, along with elaborate gods and worshipers and stories of faith and punishment, dharma and karma. But more incredible to us was the fact that these ancient people dedicated their lives to practicing their architecture and then hoped their children and grandchildren would continue to perfect their work. And they did. Talk about faith and trust.

A short walk down to the beach landed us in front of the 8th-century Dravidian Shore Temple, right at the edge of the Bay of Bengal. There is only one structure (now wrapped in scaffolding, as the salt water has eroded away much of the detail on the carvings) on the beach but the area still is called the Shore Temples because legend has it there are three temples submerged somewhere nearby, though no one has ever found them.

For an Indian adventure that’s closer to home, don’t miss America’s Gypsy: Discovering South Asia in New York’s Jackson Heights, Queens.

It was a fabulous day, especially after I found some gorgeous antique silver bangle bracelets in one of the shops there (gold is more common Southern India, so I got excited when I struck gold with the silver!), and some iron deities of the Dancing Shiva and Ganesh in the markets, where I honed my bargaining skills and Chelsea cried over all the children begging in the streets.

Henna tattoo - Chennai, IndiaIt was the first day we really felt like tourists, so we headed back to the hotel exhausted, but not too tired to take the mehndi (henna) tattoo appointments Sricharan had booked for us at a shop way off the beaten path. The local beautician was threading eyebrows when we arrived, and she welcomed us with mandala chai tea, which made us feel like Chennai locals once again. She carefully drew this ancient form of art up our arms, and we returned to our room to let the henna dry and rest up a bit.

But the concierge wasn’t letting up. We wanted to taste the local flavor of Chennai, and he was bringing it on. He had tracked down a world-renowned astrologer, who came knocking on our door. As I soon learned, astrology is much more than casual entertainment in India.  Parmiso is the guy considered to be the local mastermind at helping Indian parents arrange their children’s marriages through horoscope compatibility.

As he read our palms intently for more than two hours, Parmiso was eerily right-on with both of us. We got chills as we talked about our readings over dinner at the hotel’s Southern Spice restaurant, where dancers entertained us with their unique, mysterious Bharatanatyam native style. We love that the restaurants are open late here, and the vibrant colors of their costumes and the rhythmic music kept us entertained even as our eyes were closing.
Stay tuned for part two of Tammi’s adventures in India.

By Tammi Leader Fuller for PeterGreenberg.com.

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