Bumpy road to Trichy

After a quick stop in Tiruvannumalai we hired a car to drive us down to Trichy. After 5 hours of potholed national highways and state roads we were ready to do some walking around. First we checked our email to check in on things with all of you (please email us. tell us how you are!) and at the internet place we noticed that in the place of the usual indian swami or guru (or political figure, see photo of cool looking chap with the shades) there was a poster of Guru Gates. Being Mac people we did not make any offerings to the "great guru" and continued on our way. We wondered around through the markets where they were selling spices, dye, sugar cane, coconuts, and many fruits and vegetables. The cow seen in the photo is dining on a little street rubbish near the market and we thought to ourselves - is that the cow that produced our delicous sweet lassi? It is best not to think of the food chain just like in the US, but it is local and probably organic (aside from a few lingering pesticides). No big Combined Animal Feeding Operations here in India - cow and pig are sacred to the Hindus and Muslims respectively, so strict vegetarianism is generally the Indian way - fine by us as the food is amazingly yummy.