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Past the sprawling settlement of Chaguanas - the birthplace of the Nobel Prize winner V.S. Naipaul and site of the annual Phagwa celebration - and onto the Southern Main Road, you'll pass a selection of small settlements and grandiose, crumbling estate houses. About a kilometre south of Chase Village, Orange Field Road cuts west off the Southern Main Road through the Orange Valley Estate to join the signposted Waterloo Road down to the sea. This superb drive through sugarcane plantations culminates half a kilometre down the road where, as you emerge at the sea, you'll be greeted by a remarkable scene. The gleaming white, onion-domed Waterloo Temple stands on a pier overlooking the waters of the Gulf of Paria at high tide, or extensive mudflats at low tide. The funeral pyres at the water's edge and the flags ( jhandes ) flapping in the breeze all contribute to the impression that you are standing by the River Ganges rather than on a Caribbean island. Built in 1947 by Seedas Sadhu , an Indian labourer, the temple is a testament to one man's struggle against colonial bureaucracy; refused planning permission on land, he decided to build in the sea, using his bicycle to carry the foundation rocks into the water. Anyone can enter the temple, provided they remove their shoes first. Opening hours are Saturday and Sunday from 7am to 7pm, though the grounds are open daily between 7am and 7pm. To get to the temple by public transport , take a route taxi from Chaguanas to the start of Orange Field Road (TT$2-3), where you pick up another taxi (TT$3) to the temple.
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