Madurai

We started on our journey very early in the morning, around 5:45, from our parking lot. With just one stop at the A2B restaurant in Krishnagiri, we arrived in Madurai at precisely 11:30 AM.

Afterward, we took some time to search for a decent hotel recommended by two friends - Royal Court, situated near the Madurai railway station. The hotel was clean and well-maintained, and the management was kind enough to upgrade our room to an executive suite since the original room had a lingering cigarette odor.

Madurai is a historic city, known for its vibrant culture and the stunning Meenakshi Temple. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Parvati and Lord Shiva, and it’s renowned for its intricate architecture and colorful sculptures.

Once we settled in, we indulged in a vegetarian South Indian lunch at the local market. After that, we took a well-deserved afternoon siesta before heading to the so-called religious hotspot – Meenakshi Temple. The temple has four entrances, and we entered through the South gate, leaving our shoes at the temple’s authorized shoe stand. The shops near the gates also offer to keep your shoes, but they usually expect you to make a purchase in return. A convenient feature is the city municipality’s provision of golf carts to transport visitors to any of the four gates they wish to enter. Similar to Tirupati, the temple offers a fast-track system where, if you purchase a more expensive ticket, you can bypass some of the queues. However, Santanu opted for the general path as the crowd wasn’t overwhelming. In just two hours, we had explored the temple.

For more details about the Meenakshi Temple, you might find this website quite informative, as the writer has provided a thorough explanation of the temple’s interiors.

By 7:30 PM, our visit was complete, and we were just about to return when heavy rain suddenly began, almost halting all activities. The entire street was flooded due to poor drainage. Since it was a one-way road, walking on our own was a bit challenging. We decided to hop into a cycle-rickshaw to return to our hotel. However, the rickshaw driver had to stop due to the downpour, which brought some relief from the humidity and heat.

We had dinner around 9:00 PM at the hotel since Santanu had packed some food from a nearby restaurant - Anna Meenakshi Restaurant.