Indian archaeology tour finished

Posted On: Jun 17th, 2014 at 11:03

My two-month, whirlwind tour of Central and Southern India is over, and now I can incorporate those experiences into the new book. I visited many places in India, but the main focus was seeing some of the most important archaeological sites. Unfortunately, due to the heat, the trip was cut short after visiting the Ellora site, near the city of Aurangabad. The plan was to head north after this, to the Khajuraho temples and then on to the Taj Mahal, but the Indian summer was at its height and temperatures soared. In Aurangabad it was 40 degrees and the heat was beginning to take effect. It was a struggle to get around Ellora, and out of the 30-or-so temples that are there, the dreadful heat meant that we only saw three of them – it was just too hot to walk around. So, when I checked the weather and found that Khajuraho was 47 degrees, the decision was made to turn back and head south again. It’s not an exaggeration to say that these temperatures are life-threatening, especially to someone who is not used to these temperatures. I have learned that 40 degrees is the maximum I can personally handle, and that’s a great thing to know for the future! I did get to see some of the most amazing sites and temples in India – the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai; the astonishing site of Hampi, a 26-square km area containing some of Hinduisms best temples; Aihole; Badami; Pattadakal; and also Ellora. Although the story for the book I am now writing is already in my head, I needed to visit the locations listed above as the sites will find their way into the story… and as the story is set in India, I need to be here to write it! So, apologies for my lack of writing in the last two months and more – I have had limited Internet access and have been very busy town-hopping around India. Now the follow-up to The Evolution has already started. I am already four chapters in, and I hope to get a first draft completed by the end of July.