>Here’s some pictures from our trip to Thanjavur and Trichy. We visited a temple and a maharajah’s palace in Thanjavur and the largest active temple in Asia in Trichy.
On the way, we stopped at a roadside roasted-cashew stand. An undergrad student back at Columbia was from this area, and his family exported cashews (which explains why he could afford Columbia!) This was a decidedly lower-scale operation. I think I had never seen a lamb before, because I was surprise how small they were. Cute, huh?
The temple elephant (again). He’s there to collect donations with his trunk. 
This a view of the main temple at Thanjavur. It was built in 1010 by the chola kings. Everybody goes shoeless inside the temple, and we were able to see the shrine inside but not take pictures. The man in the foreground was our driver for the day.
I visited these sights with Dr. Bernd Speiser (left) and Dr. R. Chandrasekaran (right) They are standing at the entrance to the Thanjavur Royal Palace.
A detail of a beautiful mural at the palace.
The truck in front of us urged our driver to honk his horn. He obliged frequently.
A group of ladies at the Trichy temple. Many women wear these very colorful outfits every day.
This is a newer temple at Trichy (finished in 1987). It’s the tallest temple tower in all of Asia. In the forground you can see the temple market, where you can buy (in principle) almost anything.
Let’s try another movie of activity in the market:
>those are really cool pictures. the cashew shack reminds me of pakistan. I love all of the colors – such a contrast to mid michigan in february! I love the movie. it reminded me of a calmer version of the Indiana Jones movie.
>Those are great pictures. I really like the video — What a beautiful experience. I’ve watched it a few times and each time I notice something different. You’ll have stories to tell your girls (all five of them).