Apr 13 - 17
April presented a lovely option in front of us – take 1 day off & get a 5 day long weekend. How can we miss that! The decision on the trip, however, was taken just 2 days before the vacation & hence we were left with limited options. Hot weather in April narrowed down our options further. Coorg it was and we were going to drive down all the way from Chennai!! Mode of journey was the toughest decision since we were just 2 of us with only one knowing to manipulate the wheels & about 10 hr journey (about 600 km) one-way. But yea, we took the plunge & there was no looking back. We booked “Serene Homes” home-stay (near Poojakal, Kutta) for the next 3 days.
Apr 13
We hit the Chennai-Bangalore highway with Ilaiyaraja songs and Google maps for company. Quick breakfast at Vellore Saravana Bhavan and driver-friendly roads ensured that we didn’t have to stop for lunch until we were half-way thru the Bangalore-Mysore highway. It was almost 3.00 pm when we reached Mysore. Our home-stay was in South Coorg and we had to take a deviation in route via Nagerhole sanctuary to reach the place. The last 10 hours of continuous driving was getting into us and we just wanted to reach asap. I initially thought that we would be driving around the sanctuary, but nah, we were gonna drive through it. As we entered the Nagerhole sanctuary, our spirits suddenly rose coz we had no idea what was in store. Over the next 30 kms, we encountered herds of deer, an elephant and a wild pig, all in their natural surroundings. The elephant especially was just some 10 meters away from us casually exploring the bushes. It’s a wonderful feeling to see the ‘mighty’ living being in its natural habitat. We took a gutsy call to stop the car and enjoy it for more time. We dare not step out of the vehicle, of course. Slight drizzles had brought down temperatures and the animals did not mind stepping out of the forest area to give us beautiful sights to relish. It was a wonderful start for our memorable trip.
The homestay was just a few kms away from the sanctuary and we reached Kutta by 5.30 pm. We drove through narrow paths (not qualified enuf to term them “roads”) amidst coffee plantations to reach our destination. Coffee plantations are not as pretty / picturesque as tea plantations but the plants are tall and strong making the ambience feel very warm & cosy. The home-stay was sweet and clean; our hosts (Prakash & Navya) warm & food delicious. After a short walk in the backyard of the place leading to a stream, we called it a day!
Apr 14
We started our trip with a visit to Iruppu waterfalls – about 7 kms away from our place. People – waterflow ratio was disproportionate with the former in higher numbers but most of them were happy washing their feet in the stream and enjoying the place from afar. We loved the chill water and were refreshed for the morning. After another yummy dose of lunch, we headed to Nagerhole sanctuary for the safari. After the experience of driving through the sanctuary I was mighty excited about this – so inspite of his apprehensions Karthik tagged along. I couldn’t have been more wrong; the safari fell way below expectations – we sighted deers, deers & more deers, a few wild buffaloes and not even an elephant. The hot weather added to the disappointment.
Evening turned pleasant once again with mild showers. Our day ended with a long walk around the plantations surrounding our home-stay. April is dry at Coorg and the elephants often venture out of the forests into the residential plantations in the night for water / jackfruits / mangoes. We did spot few elephant marks in the surroundings. People staying near the forest area have guns at home to scare the wild animals in case of major ruckus.
Apr 15
Information online told us that the hills around Coorg offered exciting spots for sight-seeing but were laden with leeches which was a BIG turn-off for both of us. Also, most trekking spots are reserved and one needs permission from forest authorities (Mysore office) to explore those. Anyway, we broached this topic with our hosts and were in for good news – 1. Coorg was mainly dry in April & were devoid of leeches; 2. Apr 15th was Vishu holiday & hence a security guard from a nearby plantation could take us on a trek around a small hill (part of Brahmagiri forest) in the area. The trek looked quite funky coz the guard walked with a huge rifle on his shoulder & there was another person accompanying him with a sickle to remove thorny branches on our way. This trek was very different from the ones we have done before. The hill is not one of the usually trekked one and so there was absolutely no clear path. It was full of bushes, dry leaves, huge trees and continuously humming insects / birds. The hill is often visited by elephants and tiger and so we were quite watchful and conscious of the different sounds. This was a pretty short trek and we finished it less than 3 hours.
Post freshening up, on advice from our hosts, we crossed into Kerala (Wayanad district) to visit Kuruva Island & Banasura Sagar dam. The day was hot & most of Kuruva island seemed overrated; however, our mood totally changed when we encountered a beautiful stream… we spent a good amount of time letting the water sweep past our feet while we were comfortably seated on dry rocks. Ah, wat joy! We moved on to our next destination – Banasura dam (largest earth dam in India). Rain gods took mercy again and made the atmosphere romantic with light showers & lot of breeze. The just-finished-rains, late-evening-gloom lit sky, vast area of water and excellent picturesque just overwhelmed us and by far, this is one of the best places we have ever been. The dam was crowded but the large space ensured that one could be left undisturbed to enjoy the scene. The water reservoir had a speed boat service attached & we had a jolly ride around the water body too! From Coorg, this place is quite far off (especially if you stay up north); but it’s a good outing for Wayanad visitors.
Apr 16
After some yummy breakfast, we checked out of the home-stay and bid farewell to our hosts. It’s worth mentioning about our hosts especially the land lady Navya. But for her, we would not have gone to such wonderful places of great natural surrounding and feel. In fact, she pushed us to visit the dam and vouched for the experience. We decided to visit Talakaveri before heading out to Mysore. Talakaveri was towards northern Coorg and a lonnnnnng drive from Kutta. For people from Coorg, it is a very holy place – strictly not touristy. We expected a stream flowing around but were surprised when we saw the place – the temple is built around the point where Kaveri river originates. Except for a pool of water in an enclosed space, there wasn’t much. By the time we drove down to Madikeri and had lunch, it was 3 pm. On our way to Mysore, we stopped at Kushalnagar Buddhist Monastery. After visiting multiple monasteries earlier, could not help being unimpressed by the structure & the place. However, was a good break from our long drive & the pleasant weather helped us relax!
We reached Mysore only around 8 pm – unfortunately, we missed the fully-lit view of the palace!
Apr 17
Refreshed from the overnight stay and a long drive ahead, we started our day with the Mysore Palace. Mysore was hotter & drained a lot of energy from us. The insides of the palace were cool and I always like imagining those days when this palace would’ve been inhabited. After driving continuously for the last 4 days, the final day was a challenge – I seemed more tired than Karthik though he drove non-stop for the next 9 hrs.
Driving for such long hours is definitely tiring… but that’s what made the trip super special. The thrill & comfort is unmatched!!
Overall rating:
Priya’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Karthik’s rating: 8.0 / 10
Tips & Tricks
1. For ignorant souls like us, Coorg is not a town / city – it is a district and hence there is a lot of travel involved while sight-seeing.
2. Coorg can be best enjoyed in home-stays / resorts basis one’s budget. Better home-stays with reviews online don’t come cheap but we were very happy with our choice. Most places except Madikeri do not have lot of food joints and food served in-house is the savior. Karthik was not too convinced about the idea of home-stay but then felt very happy we chose one, thanks to the customized & delicious food offerings. Would recommend Serene Homes!
3. If you are planning to visit Coorg over a weekend, it is recommended that you book your stay in advance. We could book this place at the last moment only cos we were travelling on weekdays.
4. Though I heard from people that staying in Madikeri / north Coorg is better, I felt southern part of the district was much more un-touched and non commercialized. We had not visited Dubare elephant camp & few other viewpoints around northern Coorg. If these places are really good, then staying in the north makes more sense.
5. Cafe Robusta coffee that we brought back as souveniers got rave feedback from our near & dear. So dont miss it!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
The Hills again!
Mar 11 – 13, 2011
This trip to Coonoor was planned about 3 months ahead of the journey – truly an anomaly!! I had also booked my company guest house ahead of time. However, its also strange that the people who prompted such early planning dropped out of the trip at the last moment :) The gang of 5.5 (inclusive of a 1.5 year old baby) people started off our train journey with some yummy puris (courtesy Seetha), dosas n curd rice in true Madrasi fashion. Post Dec 2009, the gang of Shiv, Seetha, Navya, JK, Karthik & I once again joined in for a memorable trip.
Mar 11
We headed to Mettupalayam from where we were to hop on to the Toy Train or Heritage Train that plies between Mettupalayam n Ooty. It is not too much of an exaggeration if I claim that if he had trekked our entire journey, we would have reached earlier than the train. What was supposed to be a 3.5 hr journey extended to 6.5 hrs with us being totally famished towards the end. The first few stops led to Kodak moments but slowly changed into frustrating moments 2 hrs into the journey.
Thanks to our lovely cooks at the guest house, we got yummy lunch as soon as we reached. Like all other hillstations, our options for sight-seeing at Coonoor were a bunch of viewpoints. We visited a couple - Dolphin’s nose, Lamb’s rock. Both the places that we visited were devoid of crowd thanks to the late afternoon visits and enthusiasm of our driver who showed different facets of the location. We spent a good amount of time walking around, exploring, relaxing, clicking, singing (ahem… ), chatting at each of the viewpoints. I can still remember the bright purple flowers at Dolphin’s nose…
Night had set in by the time we were back for some hot onion bajji & egg bhurji. Its always nice catching up with old friends … there’s so much to talk and you don’t feel that its been ages since we connected. Our night melted away thus – talking!
Mar 12
JK, Karthik, myself & our driver (who backed up as the guide) set on a trekking expedition amidst some beautiful tea gardens. I can bet that the tea gardens offered the best pictures in a long time! The path was well laid out for most of our trek and we climbed up & down some hills before we reached the pinnacle. The intense, cold and gushing wind assured that we were up above the sea level truly in the arms of nature. We had carried a pack of sandwiches and munched on happily with the breeze for company. Traversing along the trekking path was easy but we covered a lot of distance and were totally exhausted. We left at 7.30 am and reached back for a late lunch around 2.00 pm… While we were busy trekking, Shiv & family went for a leisure visit to Sims Park; Navya was super thrilled with the flowers, trees and water around.
World Cup Cricket match between India & SA would engage us for the reminder of the day. Putting aside the exhaustion from the trek, we huddled up cheering and fearing for the men in blue. Navya offered the other dose of entertainment with her constant innocent acts. It was sad that we lost the match finally… but thankfully it dint bog us down much n we resumed into snacking + chatting for the night.
Just a week before our journey, JK had decided to shed his singlehood status…. and reinforced it time & again through his sudden escapades for hours together. His mobile escaped bursting out from the heat, thanks to the Coonoor cool weather.
Mar 13
I have never stayed in Coonoor in all my trips to Ooty and post this trip can vouch for the fact that Coonoor is a heaven compared to Ooty. Its sparsely populated yet has access to almost everything required; but most importantly, the weather is very pleasant. Coonoor is beautiful, with tea gardens enveloping the hills soothing your eyes as you move about. We had our return train in the evening and planned a quick trip to Ooty. On our way, we crossed Wellington – the army cantonment area and the locales looked majestic!!
We had little time in which we visited Pykara lake, Rose Garden and Botanical Garden. Boating at Pykara was fun; though we did not get to see the lake brimming with water thanks to our visit as late as March. Trust the place is lot prettier post monsoons. Rose Garden gave a new dimension to us this time. Rose garden was everything complete except roses. Suddenly they make you realize that your garden grasses are more pleasant than those dwarfed thorny bunch of dry sticks. What a difference the roses give them when they blossom. Life cannot be better understood! Botanical Garden was good but the crowd and time constraint ensured that we couldn’t enjoy it all. The mercury level at Ooty was significantly higher than Coonoor and the charm of the hillstation is lost. Trust the place has been commercialized beyond limits by now.
If you are in the southern part of the country and looking for a relaxed vacation, head to Coonoor – I recommend!!
Overall rating:
Priya’s rating: 6.5 / 10
Karthik’s rating: 7 / 10
Tips & Tricks:
1. If you ever want to try the Toy train for travel, ensure that you are loaded with snacks, books, cards and other means of entertainment.
2. Coonoor / Ooty temperatures are much more favorable in Oct – Feb; am sure the place is a treat to watch post monsoons
This trip to Coonoor was planned about 3 months ahead of the journey – truly an anomaly!! I had also booked my company guest house ahead of time. However, its also strange that the people who prompted such early planning dropped out of the trip at the last moment :) The gang of 5.5 (inclusive of a 1.5 year old baby) people started off our train journey with some yummy puris (courtesy Seetha), dosas n curd rice in true Madrasi fashion. Post Dec 2009, the gang of Shiv, Seetha, Navya, JK, Karthik & I once again joined in for a memorable trip.
Mar 11
We headed to Mettupalayam from where we were to hop on to the Toy Train or Heritage Train that plies between Mettupalayam n Ooty. It is not too much of an exaggeration if I claim that if he had trekked our entire journey, we would have reached earlier than the train. What was supposed to be a 3.5 hr journey extended to 6.5 hrs with us being totally famished towards the end. The first few stops led to Kodak moments but slowly changed into frustrating moments 2 hrs into the journey.
Thanks to our lovely cooks at the guest house, we got yummy lunch as soon as we reached. Like all other hillstations, our options for sight-seeing at Coonoor were a bunch of viewpoints. We visited a couple - Dolphin’s nose, Lamb’s rock. Both the places that we visited were devoid of crowd thanks to the late afternoon visits and enthusiasm of our driver who showed different facets of the location. We spent a good amount of time walking around, exploring, relaxing, clicking, singing (ahem… ), chatting at each of the viewpoints. I can still remember the bright purple flowers at Dolphin’s nose…
Night had set in by the time we were back for some hot onion bajji & egg bhurji. Its always nice catching up with old friends … there’s so much to talk and you don’t feel that its been ages since we connected. Our night melted away thus – talking!
Mar 12
JK, Karthik, myself & our driver (who backed up as the guide) set on a trekking expedition amidst some beautiful tea gardens. I can bet that the tea gardens offered the best pictures in a long time! The path was well laid out for most of our trek and we climbed up & down some hills before we reached the pinnacle. The intense, cold and gushing wind assured that we were up above the sea level truly in the arms of nature. We had carried a pack of sandwiches and munched on happily with the breeze for company. Traversing along the trekking path was easy but we covered a lot of distance and were totally exhausted. We left at 7.30 am and reached back for a late lunch around 2.00 pm… While we were busy trekking, Shiv & family went for a leisure visit to Sims Park; Navya was super thrilled with the flowers, trees and water around.
World Cup Cricket match between India & SA would engage us for the reminder of the day. Putting aside the exhaustion from the trek, we huddled up cheering and fearing for the men in blue. Navya offered the other dose of entertainment with her constant innocent acts. It was sad that we lost the match finally… but thankfully it dint bog us down much n we resumed into snacking + chatting for the night.
Just a week before our journey, JK had decided to shed his singlehood status…. and reinforced it time & again through his sudden escapades for hours together. His mobile escaped bursting out from the heat, thanks to the Coonoor cool weather.
Mar 13
I have never stayed in Coonoor in all my trips to Ooty and post this trip can vouch for the fact that Coonoor is a heaven compared to Ooty. Its sparsely populated yet has access to almost everything required; but most importantly, the weather is very pleasant. Coonoor is beautiful, with tea gardens enveloping the hills soothing your eyes as you move about. We had our return train in the evening and planned a quick trip to Ooty. On our way, we crossed Wellington – the army cantonment area and the locales looked majestic!!
We had little time in which we visited Pykara lake, Rose Garden and Botanical Garden. Boating at Pykara was fun; though we did not get to see the lake brimming with water thanks to our visit as late as March. Trust the place is lot prettier post monsoons. Rose Garden gave a new dimension to us this time. Rose garden was everything complete except roses. Suddenly they make you realize that your garden grasses are more pleasant than those dwarfed thorny bunch of dry sticks. What a difference the roses give them when they blossom. Life cannot be better understood! Botanical Garden was good but the crowd and time constraint ensured that we couldn’t enjoy it all. The mercury level at Ooty was significantly higher than Coonoor and the charm of the hillstation is lost. Trust the place has been commercialized beyond limits by now.
If you are in the southern part of the country and looking for a relaxed vacation, head to Coonoor – I recommend!!
Overall rating:
Priya’s rating: 6.5 / 10
Karthik’s rating: 7 / 10
Tips & Tricks:
1. If you ever want to try the Toy train for travel, ensure that you are loaded with snacks, books, cards and other means of entertainment.
2. Coonoor / Ooty temperatures are much more favorable in Oct – Feb; am sure the place is a treat to watch post monsoons
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Kodai!
Karthik’s company decided on Kodai for their Annual employee + spouse trip for 3 days and we happily hopped on. I have been to Kodai a couple of times earlier with my parents… all I could remember was few view points & boating on the lake. We were excited about getting some time off to enjoy the lovely weather.
Day 1
I slept through the train and bus journey, until we reached the Sterling Resorts. The resort at Kodai was pretty good and in comparison to the Yercaud one, the rooms were awesome. Day 1 was regular affair – we visited Coaker’s Walk, Pine Tree forest, 4 Pillar rock, Guna caves and some shopping spots. None of these were exciting; however, Pine Tree forest is a good place to spend time walking & talking… too bad our guide dint allow us more than 20 mins here. Also, we walked all the way from 4 Pillar rock to Guna caves in a rocky terrain which made for a good trek. By the time we got back for lunch, it was about 4 pm. Evening was pleasant with some music & dance for company.
Day 2
An early morning walk at hill-stations is a must-do and we thoroughly enjoyed walking through random streets with a cup of chai!
We learnt that, on the previous day 2-3 people stayed away from the larger group and opted for a trek up a hill instead. The guide had chalked out visit to the lake & shopping for the day which totally dint excite us. So we dropped off from the larger group and preferred joining the trekkers instead. With loads of energy and a bottle of water, the 4 of us started out on Saturday morning. Our target was the hill we could see behind our resort. With the help of few locals we found the way and started the uphill journey. The climb up took about 2.5 hours with 60% journey on defined paths and the remaining on self-discovered routes. One of us was a seasoned trekker and he helped out in choosing the best possible route while we were at crossroads. On our way, we relished on fresh plums straight from the orchids around and also managed to fill our pockets without being caught. We also came across a hut where eucalyptus oil was being extracted – the hut was steaming hot and the strong aroma filled all our senses. I was also stumped by few beautiful houses and guest houses on our way – the stone like walls and the tiled roofs were a pretty sight. After conquering the peak (!!!), we rested relishing the scenery around and feasting on our plums resource.
With the help of a local shepherd, we figured an easier path downhill. This journey was much more scenic & relaxed – we crossed a water-less valley, pine forests, a small stream and some locals on our way. As we reached the resort, immense satisfaction, hunger & sleep were all that was left. Me & Karthik also caught up on some good movies on TV as we relaxed that evening.
Day 3
It was pack up day and post our morning walk, we just lazed around. A pack of cards and enthused players kept us until the buses towed us away. We also visited the Madurai Meenakshi temple before calling it a day!
Happy to have explored a different dimension of Kodai this time – also gave us ideas for our next trip! Yaayy – am going to Ooty in March!!
Our rating:
Priya’s rating: 7/10
Karthik’s rating: 7/10
Day 1
I slept through the train and bus journey, until we reached the Sterling Resorts. The resort at Kodai was pretty good and in comparison to the Yercaud one, the rooms were awesome. Day 1 was regular affair – we visited Coaker’s Walk, Pine Tree forest, 4 Pillar rock, Guna caves and some shopping spots. None of these were exciting; however, Pine Tree forest is a good place to spend time walking & talking… too bad our guide dint allow us more than 20 mins here. Also, we walked all the way from 4 Pillar rock to Guna caves in a rocky terrain which made for a good trek. By the time we got back for lunch, it was about 4 pm. Evening was pleasant with some music & dance for company.
Day 2
An early morning walk at hill-stations is a must-do and we thoroughly enjoyed walking through random streets with a cup of chai!
We learnt that, on the previous day 2-3 people stayed away from the larger group and opted for a trek up a hill instead. The guide had chalked out visit to the lake & shopping for the day which totally dint excite us. So we dropped off from the larger group and preferred joining the trekkers instead. With loads of energy and a bottle of water, the 4 of us started out on Saturday morning. Our target was the hill we could see behind our resort. With the help of few locals we found the way and started the uphill journey. The climb up took about 2.5 hours with 60% journey on defined paths and the remaining on self-discovered routes. One of us was a seasoned trekker and he helped out in choosing the best possible route while we were at crossroads. On our way, we relished on fresh plums straight from the orchids around and also managed to fill our pockets without being caught. We also came across a hut where eucalyptus oil was being extracted – the hut was steaming hot and the strong aroma filled all our senses. I was also stumped by few beautiful houses and guest houses on our way – the stone like walls and the tiled roofs were a pretty sight. After conquering the peak (!!!), we rested relishing the scenery around and feasting on our plums resource.
With the help of a local shepherd, we figured an easier path downhill. This journey was much more scenic & relaxed – we crossed a water-less valley, pine forests, a small stream and some locals on our way. As we reached the resort, immense satisfaction, hunger & sleep were all that was left. Me & Karthik also caught up on some good movies on TV as we relaxed that evening.
Day 3
It was pack up day and post our morning walk, we just lazed around. A pack of cards and enthused players kept us until the buses towed us away. We also visited the Madurai Meenakshi temple before calling it a day!
Happy to have explored a different dimension of Kodai this time – also gave us ideas for our next trip! Yaayy – am going to Ooty in March!!
Our rating:
Priya’s rating: 7/10
Karthik’s rating: 7/10
Christmas @ Pondicherry!!
24-26 Dec
This is probably the longest I ve stayed away from this page since I started blogging – too bad that I don’t update it often enough. Trying to get this page up-to-date but my memory seems to be failing me. Lemme test my memory and give my best attempt at re-production!!
Did a half a day Pichavaram trip once again mid Dec – this time with parents & hubby dear. But this post is dedicated to the French colony - Pondicherry...
Christmas beckoned tourists all over and so few of my friends from Hyderabad came over along with their friends to Pondicherry! I never understood the hype around this place – my aunt used to live at Pondicherry and I used to frequent as a kid for shopping & time-pass. Never really explored the French settlement areas n heard rave reviews from few friends earlier. Due to last minute confirmations couldn’t find a good place to stay and had to settle for a hotel that was just enough for sleeping over.
So finally took off from work early - Karthik, Shiv, Seetha, Navya & I drove down to join the rest of the gang on 24th evening. We dined at Rendevous which sounded like a French restaurant but had better Indian food than continental. Our best moments were spent chilling out on the beach post dinner. Pondy doesn’t really have a beach but has lots of rocks to sit over and enjoy the sight / sound of the ruffian sea waves. The lovely breeze and the buzzing place was heavenly post sunset. We would hang out on the beach until the cops would drive us away at midnight. I dozed off – but a bunch of guys revisited the cops-free beach at 3 am and vouched that it was even better!
25th Dec
The gang was 24 member strong and one can imagine the efforts that would go into getting all of them up & ready for any outing. So it wasn’t surprising that by the time we shook off our beauty sleep, got ready and left for breakfast it was 11.30 am. We finally settled for lunch at a café and set out to Chunnabar beach which was about 7 kms from Pondicherry. Chunnabar was a popular boating spot and was flooded with people on 25th! When we had to choose between waiting for 2 hours to ride on the boat and ditching the place, we chose the latter.
I never knew Pondicherry actually had beaches. Thanks to someone who had visited earlier, we headed to the beach on ECR near Auroville. Apparently the Auroville beach is much better but since it’s a private beach, only guests of Auroville guest house could enjoy the beauty J The beach on ECR behind Surya Resorts was not bad at all – decent crowd, good weather & enthusiastic company had us dancing to the tunes of the ocean. For the night, we headed to Asian House to party & dine. The men were very excited knowing that there was a female DJ from Netherlands playing that night. The DJ + songs were quite a let down but it was good to shake some legs and catch up with friends. We repeated the post-dinner beach walk ritual and it was splendid again.
26th Dec
We left Pondicherry early in the afternoon after a good south Indian breakfast at Hotel Surguru. Yet to explore Auroville – Matri Mandir – good French restaurants/places – shopping at Pondicherry.. need to wait for the next time! Though not crazy about Pondicherry yet, overjoyed to have seen a new face of the place and looking forward to more trips.
I am skipping the rating part since it was too short a trip to comment on. Overall, it’s a good weekend getaway for visitors from Chennai / Bangalore.
This is probably the longest I ve stayed away from this page since I started blogging – too bad that I don’t update it often enough. Trying to get this page up-to-date but my memory seems to be failing me. Lemme test my memory and give my best attempt at re-production!!
Did a half a day Pichavaram trip once again mid Dec – this time with parents & hubby dear. But this post is dedicated to the French colony - Pondicherry...
Christmas beckoned tourists all over and so few of my friends from Hyderabad came over along with their friends to Pondicherry! I never understood the hype around this place – my aunt used to live at Pondicherry and I used to frequent as a kid for shopping & time-pass. Never really explored the French settlement areas n heard rave reviews from few friends earlier. Due to last minute confirmations couldn’t find a good place to stay and had to settle for a hotel that was just enough for sleeping over.
So finally took off from work early - Karthik, Shiv, Seetha, Navya & I drove down to join the rest of the gang on 24th evening. We dined at Rendevous which sounded like a French restaurant but had better Indian food than continental. Our best moments were spent chilling out on the beach post dinner. Pondy doesn’t really have a beach but has lots of rocks to sit over and enjoy the sight / sound of the ruffian sea waves. The lovely breeze and the buzzing place was heavenly post sunset. We would hang out on the beach until the cops would drive us away at midnight. I dozed off – but a bunch of guys revisited the cops-free beach at 3 am and vouched that it was even better!
25th Dec
The gang was 24 member strong and one can imagine the efforts that would go into getting all of them up & ready for any outing. So it wasn’t surprising that by the time we shook off our beauty sleep, got ready and left for breakfast it was 11.30 am. We finally settled for lunch at a café and set out to Chunnabar beach which was about 7 kms from Pondicherry. Chunnabar was a popular boating spot and was flooded with people on 25th! When we had to choose between waiting for 2 hours to ride on the boat and ditching the place, we chose the latter.
I never knew Pondicherry actually had beaches. Thanks to someone who had visited earlier, we headed to the beach on ECR near Auroville. Apparently the Auroville beach is much better but since it’s a private beach, only guests of Auroville guest house could enjoy the beauty J The beach on ECR behind Surya Resorts was not bad at all – decent crowd, good weather & enthusiastic company had us dancing to the tunes of the ocean. For the night, we headed to Asian House to party & dine. The men were very excited knowing that there was a female DJ from Netherlands playing that night. The DJ + songs were quite a let down but it was good to shake some legs and catch up with friends. We repeated the post-dinner beach walk ritual and it was splendid again.
26th Dec
We left Pondicherry early in the afternoon after a good south Indian breakfast at Hotel Surguru. Yet to explore Auroville – Matri Mandir – good French restaurants/places – shopping at Pondicherry.. need to wait for the next time! Though not crazy about Pondicherry yet, overjoyed to have seen a new face of the place and looking forward to more trips.
I am skipping the rating part since it was too short a trip to comment on. Overall, it’s a good weekend getaway for visitors from Chennai / Bangalore.
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