"As a result of my sick state, I remember little of the 3 1/2 hour voyage, except having to get up about 4 tiimes to go to the loo, though the rest obviously helped to prepare me for the ordeal that was to follow. Instead of docking at a jetty, due to the shallowness of the water our ferry anchored about half a mile offshore, and a flotilla of small boats came out to ferry us to the beach. Getting into these boats was a scene of chaos with passengers struggling to climb down rope ladders hung over the side of the ferry, while baggage and small children were handed down to those already in the boats. Though I was starting to feel a little better by this time, I still found getting down the ladder with my heavy rucksack pretty exhausting. On reaching the beach we all had to wade ashore then queue in the midday heat to go through customs, ie a makeshift tent that looked as if it had just been set up for the one occasion. The process of going through customs seemed to go on forever, somehow, I again managed to find the strength to keep going, and once through was able to take a waiting rickshaw at the station. At this point things started to improve, and thanks to a bit of luck, despite another scene of chaos at the ticket office, I was able to get the last first class sleeping car on the overnight train to Madurai. I would like to have used the few hours I had to wait for the train to have a closer look at some of the impressive temples in the area, but in the event I was just glad to sit in a cafe, take it easy, and watch things happen from there.
 
Being able to have a good nights sleep on the train made all the difference, and by the time of my arrival in Madurai at 5:30 am, I was feeling a lot better, although still a bit weak and off food. In the fresh morning air I even enjoyed the mile of so walk to the government run tourist bungalow, where I was luckily able to find a room for £1.50 a night, and after getting cleaned up set off to see what I could of this interesting city before it got too hot.
 
Without any doubt, the main attraction in Madurai was the magnificent Hindu Temple to the Goddess Meenakshi. The temple's 9, tall, pyramidal gate towers (the largest being 160' high), could be seen from a fair distance standing majestically against the city's skyline. On closer inspection these towers revealed themselves to be embellished, with row upon row of carvings of gods, bull elephants, and an intricate mass of symbolic ornamentation, all coloured and guilded, a truly wondrous sight." - MH