Crocodile Bank

So another fun touristy thing to do near Chennai is Crocodile Bank. This place doesn't look like much on the outside but once you get inside it is a zoo like atmosphere and pretty large, housing every kind of crocodile in existence. There are also exhibits of snakes (including cobras) and other venomous creatures that i had no desire to go near. It was closed when we went, which I was happy about, but Miles wants to get back to see these snakes up close. Crazy Dude!

Some of the pens holding these crocodiles held up to 500 crocodiles. 500! There was a large mote around the perimeter of the sloped walls but it we figured they could have still put greater distance between us as and those crazy, hungry looking crocodiles. IKES! We were so close.

We did not know it at the time, but many of the crocodiles had their mouths open like this looking as if at any moment they would jump out and bite you, however this was their way of "cooling off" and regulating their body temperatures in the high heat.

They still were scary with their mouths closed.

Look at how many crocs are in here! They were all piled on top of each other and many sleeping like that or merely walking over each other to get to the other side of the pen.

These two looked like they were buds.

This was the good ol' American Crocodile. Bigger than any of the others from other parts of the world. He was mean. But we got in close (used a zoom lens) to take a picture of our native land's own beast! He was not wanting any part of being friends.

Look at all his teeth! Being silly with the husband.India never ceases to amaze us. There have been lots of amazing things to do and see and we are finding it very fun to explore around.

Temple Ruins

Mahabalapuram. It is probably our 3rd time in this city but today we went to actually see the temple ruins. We knew it would be an all day event and there was so much terrirory to discover and explore around so we left early. The temples and ruins were amazing being so old (as early as 7th Century) and here we are walking through them and touching walls that existed from so long ago. The detail in the rock left over all this time was incredible. Many of these monuments were carved from one massive rock. (how the heck is that possible?)

There were stunning details carved into the rock face.

These school children were on a field trip for class that day. They were so excited to pose with Miles. See the sweet giggles on their faces? So cute!

I got "mobbed" as well with lots of "hello's and handshakes. These sweet girls made me smile.

This is Krishna's Butter Ball, We have mentioned this huge ball before. We are still unsure what holds this rock in pace. ? It is balancing so precariously on this cliff face. We had to do the trourist thing and stand underneath it and pretent to hold up the rock. We laughed at oursleves because we have so far just made fun of those who did as we were worried about this giant thing rolling off the cliff crushing the dumb tourists standing and posing as we did beneath this massive rock. Oh my!

Look Mom, one foot!

This video is of school kids sliding down the slippery rock. It has been slid down down so much that the face of the rock is incredibly smooth as you will see, incredibly fun to slide down on your bum.

Can you see the fish face? There was a litle boy who was taking us on a tour around these parts to practice his English and he told us that the carving of the fish face was never finsihed do to unrest in the area "war" (lots of years ago).

And oh yes, we saw many monkey! Lots of monkeys. Oh it was fabulous! They were so close and came right up to us. They are very familiar with tourists and are often fed fresh fruit from the vendors set up all over the area. These monkeys bascically have the run of the place.

This little baby monkey was very fascinated with me. He looked very closely into my eyes, staring me down. It was so cute! I have never been so close to monkeys before as my experience has been monkey who are locked up in cages in a zoo.

I love this shot. This little monkey followed us around for a while and got very thirsty before heading up one of the walls. He had a spectacular view I am sure. A friend of mine, Elissa commented on my Facebook post of this picture that it reminded her of Jungle Book and King Louie's Palace. It is so true.

These tiny baby newborn monkeys certainly put on a show for us. They tacked eachother over and over again and played. We were mezmerized for a long time.

This elephant was carved so perfectly and precicely it really did look real! I was very impressed.

This little boy was so excited to pose with Miles. The rest of his group was well on their way to leaving to another site but he had to stay and have his picture taken.

This was such an interesting day.

Marina Beach

This beach is about 7 kilometers from our place and is called Marina Beach. This is one of the longest beaches in the world. It is a popular hot spot for locals to "get away" from the poluted air of the city and come and relax with family or friends. On Sundays we have heard that this beach is so crowded there is not place to sit let alone walk though, however we went on a Saturday (which is a workday here in Tamil Nadu) and there were not too many people. We enjoyed the ones we did see and the colors and textures and perfect temperatures (much cooler) here along the Bay of Bengal. Enjoy!

This is one of our favorite shots of a couple leaning up against a fishing boat having a sweet moment together amidst the textures and colors of the fishing nets.

I love this shot! Just as it started to rain this couple with their small son had an umbrella handy. The rain would not keep them from this precious familoy moment. I thought it was so sweet and the color of the salwar kameez she is wearing just added to the drama of it all. I like what Carissa Krause said about this picture on Miles' Facebook: "Family is family in every culture around the world." Beautifully said.

This little girl could not have been more excited to be at the beach. She was running around wild and crazy way ahead of her family. She would run ahead in circles and then back again. Her family was not getting to the beach fast enough!. The sheer glee on her face made us laugh.

This is a fresh sqeezed sugar cane juice stand. They are loud as the sugar cane is run through a mill that squeezes out all the juices. They are very popular here although we have yet to try it. Sometime I am sure!

Everyone warned us that this beach was filthy dirty and contaminated and we were so happily surprised that the sand was not at all dirty and there were several places to sit and enjoy the scenery teeming with culture around us. It is beautiuful and definitely a place we will frequent often as it is so close. We even bought a frisbee to play on the beach. Life- it is so good!