TAMIL NADU is the biggest of the southern states, 10th overall in India, stretching from Chennai in the northeast, across the plains and into the hills of the Western Ghats, down to Kanniyakumari, India’s southern most point.
With over 70million people, it’s India’s 6th most populous state, and has more people than all but 14 countries.
Land of the Tamils, Tamil Nadu features an incredible array of religious monuments, as well as some interesting little cities.
Tamil Nadu was our entry-point for our three month southern India trip.
Generally hot, dry, crowded and chaotic, Tamil Nadu is home to tens of millions of people, and at times it felt like they were all walking down the same street or driving through one intersection.
Home to the Tamil people, the state is also where you will find endless cultural and historical sites.
It's home to India's best known of it's five French colonies, Pondicherry.
And- who knew- Denmark even had a slice of the pillaging at Tranquebar.
The Danish Fort is the largest relic of that forgotten outpost, a dusty drive away from Pondicherry. The Romans also had a trading city in the area.
History here, as in all India, predates the Danes, French, English and even the Romans by hundreds, often thousands of years.
Touring in Tamil Nadu can easily become a procession of temples, historic buildings and more temples.
Deciding what to see and what to skip is challenging. Mahabalipuram, not far from Chennai sounded next level, but the Five Rathas and Arjuna's Pennance (previous pic) were disappointing highlights.
The living culture is often more interesting than the historic, and was the case for Chennai.
I've forgotten anything about it's major temple, Kapaleeshwarar, except that it was hosting several colourful weddings at the time we visited.
Similarly, down the road at Pondicherry, we spent a long time watching he Ganesha festival, where -for a fee- young men would take worshipers' statues into the waves for merit.
The most obvious thing about Pondicherry is of course its Frenchness.
Cafes, menus, churches, street names, architecture all showed French influence.
But there is no getting away from this being an Indian city, with all that that entails.
With a set off wheels and a death wish, it's possible to make some day trips, like to the enormus Natarajar Temple in Chidambaram, where photography is restricted to outside structures only.
It was a long time until we experienced a larger city this pleasant.
We then made our way inland, to even hotter weather, to Thanjavur.
While the city boasts a museum (not visited) and some so-so palaces and more, there is really one big reason to visit the city.
Thanjavur Brihadeeswara, known colloquially as Thanjavur Big Temple.
Built in the first decade of the 1000s by the Chola Emperor Rajaraja, it is one of the largest Hindu temples anywhere.
Frescoes adorn the compound walls, which were added in the 16th century.
Ceremonial pools shows the marks of centuries of use.
Elephants guard the stairs to the central halls.
But this Shiva temple is all about the scale. It's huge. The figures on its gates and other features are just gigantic.
The granite vimana tower above the shrine is one of India's tallest, as are the Shiva linga and the colonnaded prakara (corridor).
It is worth coming at both dusk and again in the early morning to see different features in their best light. Walking barefoot in the midday heat can be dangerous, too!
The Chola Empire, which reached from the Malabar coast to Sri Lanka, must have had a shittonne of cash
Chola traded with faraway places like Egypt, Spain and Borneo, and invested in arts, literature, religion...
....and built some seriously big temples.
Close enough to Thanjavur to do by motorcycle are two big units from the Chola Empire.
Gangaikonda cholapuram meaning "one who conquered the Ganges" was establish in 1035 by Rajendra I.
And two centuries younger, Airavatesvara Temple near Kumbakonam, was established by Rajaraja II.
Together with Thanjavur, these temples are known as the Great Living Chola Temples, and are UNESCO listed.
Once central parts of one of the great Tamil powers, both of these temples are now in minor, country villages.
The "feature piece" of Gangaikonda cholapuram is the Nandi bull statue, of which few in the world are bigger.
At Kumbakonam, the Swiss Army Knife of mythical creatures, Yali features goat's horns and pig's ears on a elephant's head, and a lion's body with a cow's rump.
Our last lowland stop before heading for the hills was Madurai, a centre of Tamil culture and history.
Inhabited since at least 300BC, the city was ruled by various empires before the Nayaks, who ruled into the 1700s and built the once-grand Thirumalai Nayak Palace.
But everything in Madurai plays second fiddle to the dominant Meenakshi Amman temple, which unfortunately doesn't allow photography. This is the palace.
The once great kingdoms of the Tamils bequated the south an array of grand monuments.
With a few exceptions, once great cities have fallen, glory days faded and forgotten.
Towns and ports which grew rich serving the world now struggle to support themselves.
It would be foolish to not see at least some of these wonders, but it would be impossible not to see and feel the 21st century remnants of Tamil culture.