Here you are. Before anybody gets critical, they're just crappy snaps, mostly unprocessed, pulled out to illustrate things to see. As most don't have addresses or precise locations that I can give, I suggest you print any that interest you to illustrate where you want a tuk tuk driver to take you. You can even probably find them on google sat photos.
When your day off comes around, find yourself an amenable tuk tuk driver (the yellow 3-wheelers - there's millions of them) and have him for the day. As most journeys on them cost something like the equivalent of 10 or 20p, work out a daily rate that would make him happy. I had the same driver every day (apart from the couple of days I was puking) but I can't remember what I gave him. I was only out for half days because of the heat (and that was in a March). Five or ten quid for a day is a lot of money to them and he'll do what it takes to please you. My driver arranged some out of town trips. One in his tuk tuk - 50 miles each way (!!!!). One in a friend's Austin Ambassador taxi, and a train ride a couple of hours or so away. The Ambassador trip was about 80 miles each way, a whole day, and I gave him something like £30 - he only asked for around £20. The train ride was to his home town where I got even more attention than Chennai because he said that I was the first white person that most, if not all, had seen. He even took me back to his very small one-roomed home to meet his wife and children.
If you're going to be in a tuk tuk all day then get some ear plugs. The noise of the traffic - horns constantly being used - will take its toll. He may have his own suggestions on where to go. Just get him to drive around aimlessly when you've seen everything on your list.
Anyway, show the driver the pictures and ask him to take you there. Get him to drive around relatively slowly, down little side roads etc and start snapping away (shutter speed appropriate for the movement obviously). Even hidden under the canopy of a tuk tuk you'll get noticed, lots of smiles and waves. Obviously he'll stop when you ask him to.
So, on to the touristy snaps
This is one of the temples. I have no idea why I didn't get any more and better pictures of the outside. It was my first day out and I was just being led at that stage, I think. Be prepared to have to remove your shoes to enter some of them. So wear good socks.
Although it looks similar, this is a different temple. If you only manage to go to one, then make sure it's this one. Very 'ornate'. I seem to remember a small extra charge to be allowed to take photos.
Same temple, inside courtyard
And another view of this one
This is a monument to some politician. It's on the beach road
The beach. Yes, there's a nice beach and one of the widest anywhere. You'll get lots of pictures of the locals paddling. And for some strange reason policemen walking along shooing them back on to land, then it's back in when they've passed by. This beach claimed the lives of a large number of children in the 2004 tsunami.
Further along northwards you'll find a small fishing harbour, probably with some boats sunk from the tsunami still around.
Turning around to look back toward the land (I was on a pier), in this crappy picture, you'll see a little slum village. My driver parked up and took me around it on foot - something I would have been too wary of doing alone. In fact, despite the appearance of squalor, it wasn't too bad and the residents were exceptionally friendly and welcoming. I'd thoroughly recommend you try and get someone to take you round somwhere like this. Make sure you give them some money. As you may be surrounded by a large number of mostly children clamouring for money, I found it best to identify an adult 'leader' to give the bulk of it to, and perhaps one or two coins to satisfy the children.
These are some of the residents
And some of the cute little kids therein
More next post.................................
Badger
) or else shooting in the dark!!