Coimbatore

   As the day progressed, we had to slowly make our way towards the railway station, where our train to Coimbatore would depart. Waiting in the station's a/c lounge for a while at the hottest part of the day was a pleasant passtime. We just had time for a little nap. Because,while everything is very beautiful, we do fill our days with a lot of impressions. You are "switched on" all day, to not miss anything that passes by, to understand what is being said and to be able to react to what is happening around you. Occasionally taking a break is necessary.

   Simon had already picked a nice hotel to stay at, in Coimbatore, . A 4-star hotel with rooftop pool and a nightclub. Unfortunately, the pool was already closed on arrival. But after a nice meal, we went into the nightclub. The music was loud and monotonous, the place was virtually empty (except for too many staff), but Simon's whiskey and my cocktail tasted delicious. I had a mint julep, which I only knew by name from films, especially about colonial England. It's a mix of whiskey with lime and mint, and lots of ice. After almost two months without it, this also satisfied our thirst for alcohol for the time being.

Friday

   In the morning, we of coursewanted to try out the pool had. It wasn't very big, but it did have some glass walls, which gave it a highly luxurious feel. Like almost everything else about this hotel, really. Including the massively extensive breakfast buffet we could enjoy after swimming.
Since the temperature was still quite bearable in the morning, we decided to go to the botanical garden created by the British 100 years ago, after breakfast.
Like many old sites we've seen, it's a bit of faded glory. Not quite well maintained, and the water features were almost all dry. But it was lovely walking in the shade under the trees. And even though it was holiday time, there were students busy growing various plants. We had a great time there in any case. There was a tree house and we went hunting for the peacock that wandered around (butunfortunately it hid from us).
   Around midday, when the park temporarily closed for lunch, we went to the Brookfields shopping centre, to eat lunch in the air-conditioned place. We ended up walking around there for a couple of hours. On the top floor was a winter wonderland with real snow (!), which,  we did not take advantage of. What we did do was sit with our feet in the fish-spa, where dozens of tiny fish nibble on the epidermis of your feet. At first it tickled like crazy, Later, the feeling turned into a slight tingling of your foot. And there was a Spar supermarket! But it was much more extensive than any Spar I have ever seen in the Netherlands (or England).
   With some trousers for Simon and a pair of new slippers for me, we headed back to the hotel. Early in the evening, we headed out again. There was a rickshaw in front of the hotel, and we decided to ask this driver to drive us past several temples that I had marked on the map of Coimbatore. The good man spoke virtually no English, and asked the hotel porter for help. For an agreed price, he would drive us around for a few hours. We wanted to see temples. He had understood that, and the first temple he drove us to was.... a Roman Catholic church. After that, we took matters into our own hands, and told him which temple to go to next. The Sree Ayyappan temple, dedicated to the god of truth and righteousness, son of the female form of the god Shiva and the god Vishnu. We then drove to the Ramar temple, which is famous because Rama (the seventh incarnation of Vishnu) and his wife Sita (known for her loyalty and self-sacrifice) face each other there and look at each other lovingly. The temple is much visited by couples who are about to get married, to ask for blessings on their marriage.

A kind priest explained this to us, and also explained the red powder he gave us, a sip of holy water and a leaf we had to chew on. It was supposed to cleanse body and soul, so we obediently took the sip and ate the green.
   We also wanted to look for a big statue of Nehru, India's first prime minister, which was supposed to be in Nehru Park (makes sense). But when the driver drove in a completely different direction than Google-maps told me, and he was very sure we were going to Nehru Park, we just let ourselves be surprised. And surprised we were, when we arrived at Nehru Park. A lively place full of people. It was also teeming with big bats. The park had some illuminated buildings, a big fountain and dino statues. Families were strolling there, or buying food from the stalls.

Adiyogi

   Next day, we were up early as we were supposed to take the rickshaw to a temple that was on my wish list. But well, after swimming and eating first, it turned out the rickshaw driver had gone for another ride. Not to worry: we ordered an Uber for a few hours, to drive us to some places outside the city.
Our first stop was the Sri Perur Pateeswarar temple. A magnificent building that has stood for almost 2,000 years. All stone, including the ceiling, and completed decorated with paint on the inside. Not a single piece of stone of the pillars had been left unfinished. The deity of this temple is Shiva, along with his wife Parvati. Shiva is one of the three aspects of the divine trinity that exist in Hinduism. He represents destruction. This sounds very disastrous, but only means that everything is finite. Together with Parvati, he symbolises male and female power, lingam and yoni, yin and yang, creation and destruction.
After this, we went on to our actual destination: Adiyogi, a steel bust of Shiva that measures 34 x 45x25 metres. Here, it is claimed, was the origin of yoga, and 15,000 years ago Shiva was the first teacher to teach yoga to his disciples. Behind the statue is a modern temple complex, built in 2016/2017 designed in such a way it should remain standing for at least 5,000 years.

   By ox cart, we went to the Dhyanalinga temple. The place was bustling with people. Curious tourists, but mostly believers from all over the world, who were diving into the experience out of sheer conviction.

   At the temple itself, we learned that we had to hand in all our devices. So: no camera, no phone, no (hand) bag were allowed inside. For a moment we hesitated: shall we? But quickly the decision was made: now that we are here, we go all the way!

   We went barefoot across the hot stones, in the shade as much as possible to spare our untrained feet. The floor was hot under the blazing sun. The first building we came across,  turned out to be a bathhouse. The Seeryakund, for men only. For the mere sum of 20 rupees, a man can take a dip in the high-energy water here. A dhoti and a shower included. The women's pool was closer to the temple. Since we were going to go all the way, this is where our paths parted. While Simon prepared to dive into the bath, I walked on, looking for the Chandrakund, the women's bath. In doing so, I passed another house of worship, but I decided to hold off on that and possibly visit it later, together with Simon.

   When I reached the bath, it was explained to me what I had to do, in a whisper. Indeed, everywhere there were devotees, believers, volunteering at the complex in exchange for the spiritual experience, with signs saying "Please remain silent".

The bathing ritual for women was as follows: Fully undress, shower (everything had to be wet, including the hair completely), then put on the dress provided and shower again until the shapeless rag was soaked. Then you were allowed down the long stairs into the bath. Not knowing what exactly to do, in the bath I just imitated the other ladies. I walked a few times around the symbol of feminine power that gave the water its energy, dived headfirst in a few times, and stood under the waterfall for a while. If it hadn't given me divine energy, at least I had cooled down nicely.

   After bathing, we went on to the real shrine: The Dhyanalingha temple. A large linga -the abstract symbol for Shiva- is located in the middle of a large dome. This dome is an architectural feat, though. Without any supporting pillars and built of bricks. All visitors were asked to sit on the floor in silence, look at the linga for about two minutes, and then close their eyes. And to sit like that until the bell rang, after about 15 minutes.

Being quiet and closing the eyes was no problem. However, sitting on the floor in cross-legged position is something we have really become far too stiff for by now! Getting up after the bell was more difficult than sitting down.

   Refreshed after this experience, we walked towards the exit, to collect our shoes and then our other belongings. The taxi driver had tried to call me repeatedly in the meantime. We had far exceeded the reserved time! So we decided to skip the other places we had wanted to visit and return to the hotel. There, we compensated the driverfor his time, tipping him handsomely on top of the amount Uber had calculated for him. And again later, when he had to come back because Simon had left his sunglasses in the car. His grumpy behaviour from the return trip had by then completely turned around.

(As we could not and were not allowed to take photos in the temple itself, we used some pictures from the Internet.)