Sunday fun

Sunday morning we went for a visit to the temple in Madurai- the second biggest Hindu temple in the world. Entering the gates, I personally (and im sure other members of the team as well) was shocked at the sight of so many stalls selling everything from toys to bracelets to souvenirs. We had expected it to be quite a holy, reverent place but the initial sight was not promising

Further into the temple, the sense of faith and religion got stronger, with many people lying face down on the ground praying, or bowing at one of the thousands of statues carved into the temple. Also inside we met an elephant and its handler, but again there was a sense of monetary concern over spiritual. The elephant was trained so that when you placed a coin in its trunk, it would reach up and tap you on the head before giving the coin to the handler. Although it was fascinating to see, it was still slightly unsettling to witness what was effectively a money-making operation in a place where so many people were worshiping.

Outside the temple (and fending off the attentions of the very persistent beggars and street traders) we went to a local bazaar, in which you could climb to the roof and get a great view of the temple. The sheer scale of it was boggling, and the amount of time it must of taken to carve the intricate figures was surely only possible through faith in these stone gods.

Returning down the stairs, Hazel decided to stop in the shop for a quick spot of shopping...typical woman! (call me sexist all you want, doesn't make it any less true...) This prompted a large number of the rest of the team to start a shopping spree as well, and a number of the boys got very good at haggling with the shop owners!

After luch we went to a local palace, cue yet another flood of beggars and traders assaulting us. The palace itself was wonderful to look at, but contained very little of interest and simply gave Craig and Nathan a place to play chasees...around 8th Century stone carvings....

The night included a trip to the American College nearby, where there is a Methodist church service in English. The service itself was very ritualised and caused some boredom, but the sermon was the opposite- the minister was a good, enthusiastic preacher who spoke about the plurality of the world, and how mankind seems to naturally seek multiple beliefs and morals. This really impacted considering what we had seen that morning in the temple, with so many people worshipping such a huge pantheon of gods.

So that was our "day of rest" (HA!), only 1 week left. The boys are still all keeping well and eating like horses, with seemingly an endless supply of naan bread at the hotel....

thank you all for your continued support and prayers, every member of the team appreciates it immensely.

we also havent had a moments rest from Simon since England won the Ashes......

And Hearts lost to Rangers....not that i was expecting anything spectacular, but Peter and Richard have had a smug grin on their baeks since it...life is tough as a Jambo...