chennai/mamallapuram.

we made it to INDIA!!!

we were pretty exhausted when we finally got to chennai yesterday, so we spent the rest of the day resting, eating, and playing apples to apples...or apps to apps if you're a fan of abbreves. you're welcome. we stayed at the ymca--not terrible, but not awesome...just fine.

we woke up this morning and went to st. andrew's church in chennai. very english and formal--such a stark contrast to its surroundings, but such an indicator of former british control. singing "holy, holy, holy" with a congregation of indians was just about worth the entire trip for me. sidenote: st. andrew's is home to one of only three pipe organs in the entire country of india. first baptist longview would be so proud.

after church, we spent the afternoon touring around chennai. we went to a museum of hindu gods and i officially decided that nataraja is my favorite. she's the master of dance and has long curly hair. clearly, she wins. we also went to st. thomas' basilica. supposedly st. thomas (the apostle) came to india back in the day and then ended up being killed here...so this church was built on top of his tomb. i'm typically a skeptic when it comes to these things, but thomas was the doubting disciple, so i guess i'm in good company, huh?

we took about a 30 minute bus ride to mamallapuram...lots of cows on the side of the road (thank you, hinduism), lots of poverty, lots of beautiful saris...kinda crazy. we made it to mamallapuram and checked into a RESORT. seriously. who knew stroope had this little surprise up his sleeve? they greeted us with flower necklaces and gave us all bendis (red dot on your forehead). when we got inside they gave us all cookies and fresh lime soda. what?! SO fun!!

we just took about a 45 minute walk on the beach...sunset on our right, bay of bengal on our left. pretty unbelievable. i was slightly overwhelmed actually. looking out at the ocean always makes me feel small, but being in a place i've never been before and will probably never be again is so crazy. i'm trying to love every single minute of it.

tomorrow we'll see several temples and ancient architectural structures around mamallapuram, then on tuesday we'll head to hyderabad. is this real life? i'm in INDIA!!!!