Madurai
Madurai – 21st – 23rd August, 2008
The ancient town of Madurai is today a fairly busy tier 2 town with large industries, markets and other economic activities around. For a detailed history of Madurai, follow this link (which calls Madurai the cultural capital of southern Tamil Nadu).
Spent couple of days in Madurai on work. The now-trained habit of mixing work and pleasure while travelling enabled me to see new sights.
The most recognisable and famous icon of Madurai is the Meenakshi Temple
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| See the Full Album Meenakshi Temple Madurai |
When we went there, the famous gopurams were all covered, probably to protect against the rain. The temple is always busy and full of people. There is much said, published and available on this temple on the internet and various travel books. So one shall stop.
I stayed at the Taj Garden Retreat, formerly the bungalow of the CEO of Coats Viyella, way back in the 19th century. It is a huge property on top of a hill, overlooking the entire Madurai town and surrounding landscape.
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| See The Full Album Taj Garden Retreat, Madurai |
The main reception block surrounded by green trees. Going from one block to another was a major trekking exercise – climbing up steps, going down steps, walking up hill, then downhill and so on.
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| See The Full Album Taj Garden Retreat, Madurai |
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| See The Full Album Taj Garden Retreat, Madurai |
The view of the Madurai landscape from the hotel – the gopurams of the Meenakshi temple can be seen clearly in the foggy distance.
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| See The Full Album Taj Garden Retreat, Madurai |
The hotel peacock decided to perform at the opportune moment.
Getting There
Madurai is well connected with Chennai through air, road and rail.
Things to do
For history buffs, the religious types and the culture seekers, Madurai offers many things. Check this site for more ideas.
Madurai is also the roadhead to go to Kodaikanal, one of the best hillstations in India. Kodaikanal is to the west of Madurai.
South east of Madurai is Rameshwaram (now called Ramanathapuram). Extreme south is Kankaykumari.
I have stayed in Madurai for more than 2 years. It’s really a sleepy 1 mn pop strata town. But what I loved about the place are its people and food. There is a simplicity about the place which a lot of cities are losing.
Nice pics of the temple and yes Taj really has the best property. The next time that you are there, try the souffle