Mamallapuram, India

After landing and spending two nights in Chennai, India, I hired a driver to take me 1.5 hours south to the village Mamallapuram. I hadn't worked up the courage yet to take the bus as my lonely planet guidebook described the bus station in Chennai as 'insanely chaotic'. I like it here as it is more laid back with a population of 12,000 compared to Chennai's 6.6 million and I don't fear for my life when I cross the road. It is a beachy town with several temples to see. My favorite was the Shore Temple, which (according to lonely planet) was built in the 7th century by the Pallava kings, and was later rebuilt by Narasimhavarman II. I hadn't realized before arriving here that this area was hit hard by the 2004 tsunami (if I remember right the news seemed to focus on thailand), but you wouldn't know it as a visitor today.