Thanjavur to Mahabalipuram

It was a long drive, but we got to see a number of interesting sights along the way.

It's been several years without much monsoon rain, and the rivers are mostly dry:

We traveled through some of the most productive agricultural land in India. The rice harvest was in full swing and sharing the road with vehicles (of all sorts) over-loaded with rice was a very tight squeeze.

This oxcart was hauling sand, but it gives you a feel for the traffic on the narrow roads.

Vehicles loaded with rice in the fields. How it stays on the vehicle is beyond me.

Other sights:

Making salt along the Bay of Bengal.

There are two birds I'll have to identify once I get home and have my Indian bird book at hand:

This bird was diving and skimming the surface of the water looking for fish.
If this were Virginia, I'd say this was a bald eagle (but lacking the white tail).
[I have since identified this as a Brahminy Kite.]

At first glance this bird resembled a woodpecker -- but now I think it's something different -- the beak looks too delicate for hammering at wood. [The bird is a "hoopoe", pronounced "hoopoo".]

Finally, we're staying at a beach resort tonight and tomorrow.

The view from our hotel room.

On the beach. You can tell that we didn't bring any beach clothes!