We pulled up to the lotus and entered the busy entrance gate
We walked a path in and turning to the left through the manicured and spacious grounds up to the temple entrance.
We took off our shoes and one of your party is ushered down to the shoe check while the rest cross over it and wait at the other side. There are 2 small palm trees near the entrance. One on each side of the path. There was a puppy hanging out underneath the shade of the tree in the mud.
(one pose from our glamour shots photo session)
You are greeted by a person reminding you that inside it is complete silence.
As you can see the building is JUST COOL! The inside is also incredible. Where you see the dark triangular spaces are windows. Inside is very spacious. We were met with a wonderful energy upon entering that seemed to strike me as clean and crisp as we sat on marble seat and wood backed benches. The Lotus sits higher then the ground around it so you see mostly sky as you sit. Hard to believe not THAT far away are busy streets with constant honking horns. Going up from the windows is a slant as it comes together in a crossing patter to meet at the top where there is a 9 pointed lotus/star with small gold lights in the middle. We were not allowed to take pictures of the inside much to my sadness. The silence was observed well for a while. Then a cell phone went off and it seemed a scattering of people calling to others and children’s voices. Any sound has quite an echo. The acoustics ROCK!! It would be a BLAST to sing in!
At noon 3 singers sang 1 song each and spoke a short message; Some in English, but mostly not. This lasted for only about 5-10 minutes.
As we left we walked down the steps leading below the building by the pool. There are 9 pools that surround the temple. These are not only there cuz they look super cool, they are also part of the cooling system for the temple.
As we left the puppy that was under the tree on the entrance side had moved to the exit side tree. I’m fully convinced waiting for me to say good-bye.
This picture is from the steps at the entrance.
As you can see the building is JUST COOL! The inside is also incredible. Where you see the dark triangular spaces are windows. Inside is very spacious. We were met with a wonderful energy upon entering that seemed to strike me as clean and crisp as we sat on marble seat and wood backed benches. The Lotus sits higher then the ground around it so you see mostly sky as you sit. Hard to believe not THAT far away are busy streets with constant honking horns. Going up from the windows is a slant as it comes together in a crossing patter to meet at the top where there is a 9 pointed lotus/star with small gold lights in the middle. We were not allowed to take pictures of the inside much to my sadness. The silence was observed well for a while. Then a cell phone went off and it seemed a scattering of people calling to others and children’s voices. Any sound has quite an echo. The acoustics ROCK!! It would be a BLAST to sing in!
At noon 3 singers sang 1 song each and spoke a short message; Some in English, but mostly not. This lasted for only about 5-10 minutes.
As we left we walked down the steps leading below the building by the pool. There are 9 pools that surround the temple. These are not only there cuz they look super cool, they are also part of the cooling system for the temple.
As we left the puppy that was under the tree on the entrance side had moved to the exit side tree. I’m fully convinced waiting for me to say good-bye.
This picture is from the steps at the entrance.
The area near the bottom above the white ledge where you see it is wider and in the ground. This is the place where you go down, deposit your shoes and come back up to the main path.
We plan to go back in the evening again to see it when it is lit up at night.
A very ener way to start the day!
A very ener way to start the day!
And now for something completely different...
Here are street signs in India.
So we headed off to lunch at
Yup, TGI Fridays! OK this was weird, because it was like a sort of time, well, mostly space or place warp. This TGI Fridays is of course a cookie cutter down to America. Minus here there are only waiters and no waitresses, and it seemed that like 3 people were assigned to visit our table for orders, etc. The menu was a bit different. Imported ribs were $30. I was REALLY craving a salad and he was wanting pasta. One thing that is pretty common for restaurants here is the dedication to leisure time. No pressure on ordering quickly. You order your main meal after you have eaten your appetizers. Good service, but just taking the eating slow. TGI Fridays kept the American, get your food quick type atmosphere. The dishes seem smaller, but I totally think I get more full on less food here.
One last random cow story and then I'll be done.... for today.
Yup, TGI Fridays! OK this was weird, because it was like a sort of time, well, mostly space or place warp. This TGI Fridays is of course a cookie cutter down to America. Minus here there are only waiters and no waitresses, and it seemed that like 3 people were assigned to visit our table for orders, etc. The menu was a bit different. Imported ribs were $30. I was REALLY craving a salad and he was wanting pasta. One thing that is pretty common for restaurants here is the dedication to leisure time. No pressure on ordering quickly. You order your main meal after you have eaten your appetizers. Good service, but just taking the eating slow. TGI Fridays kept the American, get your food quick type atmosphere. The dishes seem smaller, but I totally think I get more full on less food here.
One last random cow story and then I'll be done.... for today.
This is my friend the bull. I was taking pictures of him and he just kept walking right at me. I was beginning to wonder if he was going to totally bonk me in the stomach, but he veered at the last second.
Ta ta for now all!
Be well!
Judy
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