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Southern India - Dec. 29, 2007 - Jan. 17, 2008 - ($2,800 USD from Chennai)
DATE   ACTIVITY NIGHT
Dec. 29 S Gather at Hotel Ambassador in Chennai Chennai
30 S After breakfast to Kanchipuram, one of India’s sacred cities. Early temple architecture, temples.
After lunch: city tour, National Museum, Marina Beach.
Chennai
31 M By our coach to Pondicherry, founded by the French; many vestiges of their presence remains. Stop at Mamallapuram for the beautiful rock carvings and the Shore Temple. Afternoon city tour. Pondicherry
Jan. 1 T Our bus to (Tanjore) Thanjavur. Dravidian architecture in Chidambaram with the great temple of Nataraja and the dancing Shiva. The thousand pillared hall and other marvels. Interesting villages. Traditional dance program in the hotel. Tanjore
2 W Morning: tour of the city : Brihadishwara Temple and Fort, built in 1010 – a spectacular place. Also silk, pottery, copper, brass, silver. Later on to Trichy and Madurai. Rock Fort Temple in Trichy. Madurai
3 Th Morning: tour Meenakshi Temple, a riotously baroque example of Dravidian architecture. Attracts pilgrims from all over the world.
Afternoon free: interesting markets, bookshops, museum, craft shops.
Madurai
4 F Short ride to Munnar. Beautiful landscapes, hill top villages, tea plantations, cardamom groves. After lunch to tea gardens, tea processing. Munnar
5 S A short ride in our coach down the mountains to Kochi (Cochin) on the Kerala coast. After lunch we tour the city. Oldest churches and synagogues in India. Dutch, English and Portuguese architecture. Mattancherry Palace and murals. Kochi
6 S After breakfast to Alappuzha (Alleppey) for a boat cruise through the backwaters of Kerala. Small farms, fishing villages, cashews, copra, coir.
Evening: Kathakali dance performance in town.
Kochi
7 M To Udhagamandalam (Ooty), through beautiful countryside, mountains, and tribal villages. Previously a British hill station. Visit Tribal Research Center, museum. Udhagamandalam
8 T Short ride to Mysore. City tour, Chamundeswari Temple, the Devaraja fruit and vegetable market, perhaps the most colorful market in India. Mysore
9 W Tour in and south of town. Maharaja’s palace, villages south of town, to Chamundi Hill and it’s Durga (Kali temple). Folklore Museum.
Late afternoon: free.
Evening: barbeque at hotel.
Mysore
10 Th To Srirangapatnam (Port of the Lord of the World) on an island in the Cauvery River, then on to Hassan. After lunch a city tour and the gothic carvings in two Hindu temples. Hassan
11 F Travel through varied countryside, stop at villages, lunch at Chitradurga. Walking tour of Hospet. Hospet
12 S Day tour of nearby Hampi. Once a great city and capital of a large empire. Hampi was involved in an unfortunate was in 1565 and was destroyed. Spectacular ruins and monuments… but only 1000 or so residents. Hospet
13 S After breakfast by road to Aihole : rock carvings and an interesting village. At Pattadakal see carved renditions of the Ramayana.
Afternoon: to the stunning cave temples of Badami.
Badami
14 M By coach to Goa. Mountains, villages, and then the coastal area. Portuguese settlements. Goa
15 T Tour of city, beaches, fishing village.
Afternoon free: craft shops, swimming, etc.
Goa
16 W After lunch fly to Mumbai (Bombay). City tour, dinner at hotel near airport. End of tour. (SEE BELOW) Depart

Almost three weeks in spectacular, bustling southern India. Perfect weather, wonderful food, and interesting places. We begin in Chennai (Madras) and end in Mumbai (Bombay), visiting the sites, villages, and people on the way.

The cost of $2,800 includes all hotels in India and all meals December 30 – January 16, internal flights, guides, ground transport. Single supplement is $905.

It does not include the visa, laundry, camera fees, tips, personal taxi, airport tax.

A $600 deposit reserves a place; final payment by October 1. First paid, first accepted. Registration forms can be downloaded from the website or from Mekong Tours. Those signing up will be sent information on money, the visa, clothing, hotels, etc.

Those wanting to leave the tour in Goa to remain there or to fly directly to the States or elsewhere will pay $136 less, the cost of the Goa – Mumbai flight.

To make a reservation, please print the tour registration form, fill in all blanks and mail with a $600 deposit to:

Robert Phillips

Mekong Tours

7135 Fawcett Creek Road

Tillamook, OR 97141

 

(503) 842-7198

MekongTour1@Hotmail.com

www.MekongTours.com

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