Pondicherry 17th-18th March 2007
Team: Shaonli, Jaina, Anika and Me
Whoever said that whenever girls travel it is totally planned and organized and doesn’t involve any adventure is a FOOL. Our journey to Pondy was, to start with, very very unorganized. We had decided about going to this place about three months in advance but if something has to go wrong…then do anything….it will definitely go wrong...Murphy uncle has to play his role…
I reserved two hotel rooms in Annamalai about 10 days in advance (we didn’t want to go there without hotel reservation like we did in Mysore). Now was travel booking…how are we gonna go there…bus of course… so on the weekend just before when we decided to go, me and Jaina struggled to find 4 tickets to Pondy…we would have gone to more than 20 travel agents (from Jayanagar to JP Nagar to BTM to Silk board) but we got only one answer “tickets for 16th….no way”…Shaonli’s dad too went to Majestic…but no luck ….Finally Jaina got the tickets on Sunday and we heaved a sigh of relief….So now that we had the bus tickets and the hotel reservations what can go wrong….but we were absolutely mistaken.
The day of Journey…bus was at 9:30 pm…we reached the bus stand well before time…got into the bus…all the four of us were really excited…going to Pondy with friends was really a thrilling thought specially when we had given up about the tickets…Anyways at around 9:40 pm, I thought I will check up with the hotel about our booking confirmation and so I dialed the number….and crash…my dream was broken….first the receptionist said “ we will be able to give you the room only after 11:00am” and “there is booking for only one room and the full hotel is booked….no more rooms available”….my heart almost skipped a beat….however after a couple of more phone calls to the hotel, they said that they will give one room in the morning at 7 but didn’t promise about the second room….huh... at least we would have one room…
Next day morning at around 6:30, we reached Pondy…took a rick and reached Hotel Annamalai….we were in such a tattered state (what would you expect 6.30 in the morning after a hectic week)…and
were amused when the auto driver said “madam….very costly hotel...I will show you another hotel” anyways, we got the key to the room…by 10 am we were all ready…we had already booked a cab…the only decision which we had to make now was “kahaan jaana hai”…we had some handouts about the place so at around10:30 we started for Pichavaram (we reached Pichavaram at around noon)… Pichavaram is on the mouth of the three rivers. The water throughout is just one meter deep and there were no dangerous sea animals (except snakes). It has cluster of over 50 tiny islands amidst more than 4000 canals in the mangrove forest. 4 kms in the backwaters and you are right into the sea. The sight of mangroves and the canals were really awesome. For an additional 100 bucks, the boat fellow took us through two natural canals…we were amidst dense 
mangroves…even at 12 in the afternoon, the place was really mesmerizing. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that if it wouldn’t be Pichavaram, we wouldn’t have enjoyed this trip as much as we actually did.
After Pichavaram, we went to Chidambaram which is around a couple of kms from Pichavaram…we were not very keen to go there but our cabbie insisted that the temple was really good and that we should go and visit the place. So we went to Chidambaram…but as our luck wasn’t with us in this trip…the temple was closed in the afternoon…so we had a lunch at a restaurant …..lunch….huh…it was really a “once in a lifetime” experience…the hotel didn’t have much to offer…so I guess we were stuck with one south Indian thali and a plate of Fried rice and of course, how can I forget….fresh lime sweet soda…when that person brought the fresh lime soda…we didn’t have anything to say….just looked at each other and said “Yeh Kya Hai”…what we got was some squeezed lemons in the glasses….a bowl of sugar…bottles of soda….in short “Yeh saamaan hai….khud hee bana lo”….needless to say that the lunch was horrible.
Anyways on the way back to Pondy, we stopped at Chunnambar backwaters but the place was closed and we couldn’t go to the island. We decided to come back to this place the next day…so with this at around 5:30, we reached the Rock Beach and we cleared the cab’s bills….the sea looked
beautiful…we couldn’t resist ourselves from going into the water…it is a superb experience to sit on the rocks while the waves hit you from behind…And here I realized that the what a fun it is to have an ice cream after a dip into the sea….yummy...
After a couple of hours at the Rock Beach we returned to the hotel where we got the good news that our second room was also available now....so within half an hour we all got ready (although all of us were dead tired)…we went to a restaurant called “Promenade” and I must say it was one of the best hotels which I have visited…the food was also very good…authentic north Indian stuff with north Indian taste (we were actually very amazed since none of us expected such good food at Pondy….
Back to Hotel at around 9…we were tired to the core…just sat for a while…chatted about the next days’s plan and was off to bed….we were supposed to get up at 6 in the morning and go for a French walk
Day 2: Was supposed to get up at 6….I couldn’t…so Jaina, Shaonli and Anika got up and went for French walk…After having breakfast at around 9, we vacated one room and dumped all the belongings in the other
and we started for Auroville….A beautiful place…a place wherein an urn is kept which has sand of some hundreds of nations. We started for that particular place but were too tired to walk thru the place…so we ended there and went to Auro Beach…. we were there for around 1 hour….Shaonli and Anika had a great time in the sea…me and Jaina enjoyed at the beach…..clicking photos and collecting sea-shells.
Pondy was earlier a French colony. We had heard a lot about French food….so we wanted to taste that at an authentic French restaurant… So we headed towards Rendezvous….After wandering around the streets for around half an hour we finally managed to trace this place…..FINALLY….we ordered the food…. the food was served after a long wait….we still had the good memories of last night’s dinner, fresh in our minds…but DHAD…..when the waiter got the food….our dreams shattered…..me and Jaina looked at each other….couldn’t manage to utter a single word…just thought “every day is not a Sunday”.
Somehow we managed to finish our lunch….and went to Chunnambar backwaters….we were a bit disappointed initially as we compared it with Pichavaram backwaters…with a boat ride we went to an island…this was Paradise beach…and as the name suggests….it actually was a paradise…since this beach could be accessed only by a boat, there were a very limited number of people and the water was very clear….the sand was so fine that we were not able to hold the same in our hands
After spending a couple of hours there we headed towards Aurobindo Ashram…This ashram is basically an old age home. There are a variety of beautiful flowers and you will find a lot of people praying here. The atmosphere is very calm and quite. After about 10 minutes we headed back to our hotel…drenched and totally tired….we desperately wanted to just jump on the beds and sleep….but no….we had to check out….do some shopping, have dinner and then back to our bus to Bangalore.
Shopping….we did…some chocos and watch from the duty paid shop….I was in search of the shop from where I bought those beautiful pot-pourie….and after searching god knows how may streets, I found it….I felt a sense of achievement…..but it was closed ….cant help it….we had our dinner at A2B….how can a trip to south end without having south Indian food???? So here we were…having masala dosas and juice…from there we went again to Rock Beach….hundreds of people at the beach….the scene was beautiful….tiny shimmering lights in the midst of a large black sea….if we had more time and a book….what a lovely feeling it would have been to sit at the beachside read till the mid-night and enjoy.
Coming back to reality, we headed straight to the bus stand…our bus came at around 11 and our holiday ended….the journey back home was horrible….it was so cool and there was this aunty who was not ready to close her window….we had to go twice there to her to shut it finally when she did it was too late….by the time it happened it was already 4….we reached Bangalore at around 5.30…..All in all a lovely holiday….I had been to Pondy many times before on official trips but never liked the place I was hell bent not to go to this place….but I am happy that we went there and after some of initial hiccups….it turned out to be a lovely HOLIDAY...
I reserved two hotel rooms in Annamalai about 10 days in advance (we didn’t want to go there without hotel reservation like we did in Mysore). Now was travel booking…how are we gonna go there…bus of course… so on the weekend just before when we decided to go, me and Jaina struggled to find 4 tickets to Pondy…we would have gone to more than 20 travel agents (from Jayanagar to JP Nagar to BTM to Silk board) but we got only one answer “tickets for 16th….no way”…Shaonli’s dad too went to Majestic…but no luck ….Finally Jaina got the tickets on Sunday and we heaved a sigh of relief….So now that we had the bus tickets and the hotel reservations what can go wrong….but we were absolutely mistaken.
The day of Journey…bus was at 9:30 pm…we reached the bus stand well before time…got into the bus…all the four of us were really excited…going to Pondy with friends was really a thrilling thought specially when we had given up about the tickets…Anyways at around 9:40 pm, I thought I will check up with the hotel about our booking confirmation and so I dialed the number….and crash…my dream was broken….first the receptionist said “ we will be able to give you the room only after 11:00am” and “there is booking for only one room and the full hotel is booked….no more rooms available”….my heart almost skipped a beat….however after a couple of more phone calls to the hotel, they said that they will give one room in the morning at 7 but didn’t promise about the second room….huh... at least we would have one room…
Next day morning at around 6:30, we reached Pondy…took a rick and reached Hotel Annamalai….we were in such a tattered state (what would you expect 6.30 in the morning after a hectic week)…and
were amused when the auto driver said “madam….very costly hotel...I will show you another hotel” anyways, we got the key to the room…by 10 am we were all ready…we had already booked a cab…the only decision which we had to make now was “kahaan jaana hai”…we had some handouts about the place so at around10:30 we started for Pichavaram (we reached Pichavaram at around noon)… Pichavaram is on the mouth of the three rivers. The water throughout is just one meter deep and there were no dangerous sea animals (except snakes). It has cluster of over 50 tiny islands amidst more than 4000 canals in the mangrove forest. 4 kms in the backwaters and you are right into the sea. The sight of mangroves and the canals were really awesome. For an additional 100 bucks, the boat fellow took us through two natural canals…we were amidst dense 
mangroves…even at 12 in the afternoon, the place was really mesmerizing. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that if it wouldn’t be Pichavaram, we wouldn’t have enjoyed this trip as much as we actually did.After Pichavaram, we went to Chidambaram which is around a couple of kms from Pichavaram…we were not very keen to go there but our cabbie insisted that the temple was really good and that we should go and visit the place. So we went to Chidambaram…but as our luck wasn’t with us in this trip…the temple was closed in the afternoon…so we had a lunch at a restaurant …..lunch….huh…it was really a “once in a lifetime” experience…the hotel didn’t have much to offer…so I guess we were stuck with one south Indian thali and a plate of Fried rice and of course, how can I forget….fresh lime sweet soda…when that person brought the fresh lime soda…we didn’t have anything to say….just looked at each other and said “Yeh Kya Hai”…what we got was some squeezed lemons in the glasses….a bowl of sugar…bottles of soda….in short “Yeh saamaan hai….khud hee bana lo”….needless to say that the lunch was horrible.
Anyways on the way back to Pondy, we stopped at Chunnambar backwaters but the place was closed and we couldn’t go to the island. We decided to come back to this place the next day…so with this at around 5:30, we reached the Rock Beach and we cleared the cab’s bills….the sea looked
beautiful…we couldn’t resist ourselves from going into the water…it is a superb experience to sit on the rocks while the waves hit you from behind…And here I realized that the what a fun it is to have an ice cream after a dip into the sea….yummy...After a couple of hours at the Rock Beach we returned to the hotel where we got the good news that our second room was also available now....so within half an hour we all got ready (although all of us were dead tired)…we went to a restaurant called “Promenade” and I must say it was one of the best hotels which I have visited…the food was also very good…authentic north Indian stuff with north Indian taste (we were actually very amazed since none of us expected such good food at Pondy….
Back to Hotel at around 9…we were tired to the core…just sat for a while…chatted about the next days’s plan and was off to bed….we were supposed to get up at 6 in the morning and go for a French walk
Day 2: Was supposed to get up at 6….I couldn’t…so Jaina, Shaonli and Anika got up and went for French walk…After having breakfast at around 9, we vacated one room and dumped all the belongings in the other
and we started for Auroville….A beautiful place…a place wherein an urn is kept which has sand of some hundreds of nations. We started for that particular place but were too tired to walk thru the place…so we ended there and went to Auro Beach…. we were there for around 1 hour….Shaonli and Anika had a great time in the sea…me and Jaina enjoyed at the beach…..clicking photos and collecting sea-shells.Pondy was earlier a French colony. We had heard a lot about French food….so we wanted to taste that at an authentic French restaurant… So we headed towards Rendezvous….After wandering around the streets for around half an hour we finally managed to trace this place…..FINALLY….we ordered the food…. the food was served after a long wait….we still had the good memories of last night’s dinner, fresh in our minds…but DHAD…..when the waiter got the food….our dreams shattered…..me and Jaina looked at each other….couldn’t manage to utter a single word…just thought “every day is not a Sunday”.
Somehow we managed to finish our lunch….and went to Chunnambar backwaters….we were a bit disappointed initially as we compared it with Pichavaram backwaters…with a boat ride we went to an island…this was Paradise beach…and as the name suggests….it actually was a paradise…since this beach could be accessed only by a boat, there were a very limited number of people and the water was very clear….the sand was so fine that we were not able to hold the same in our hands
After spending a couple of hours there we headed towards Aurobindo Ashram…This ashram is basically an old age home. There are a variety of beautiful flowers and you will find a lot of people praying here. The atmosphere is very calm and quite. After about 10 minutes we headed back to our hotel…drenched and totally tired….we desperately wanted to just jump on the beds and sleep….but no….we had to check out….do some shopping, have dinner and then back to our bus to Bangalore.
Shopping….we did…some chocos and watch from the duty paid shop….I was in search of the shop from where I bought those beautiful pot-pourie….and after searching god knows how may streets, I found it….I felt a sense of achievement…..but it was closed ….cant help it….we had our dinner at A2B….how can a trip to south end without having south Indian food???? So here we were…having masala dosas and juice…from there we went again to Rock Beach….hundreds of people at the beach….the scene was beautiful….tiny shimmering lights in the midst of a large black sea….if we had more time and a book….what a lovely feeling it would have been to sit at the beachside read till the mid-night and enjoy.
Coming back to reality, we headed straight to the bus stand…our bus came at around 11 and our holiday ended….the journey back home was horrible….it was so cool and there was this aunty who was not ready to close her window….we had to go twice there to her to shut it finally when she did it was too late….by the time it happened it was already 4….we reached Bangalore at around 5.30…..All in all a lovely holiday….I had been to Pondy many times before on official trips but never liked the place I was hell bent not to go to this place….but I am happy that we went there and after some of initial hiccups….it turned out to be a lovely HOLIDAY...
2 comments:
Arpita, first of all thank you for capturing our wonderful journey to Pondy on paper oops…the net.
Our trip to Pondy for me has been one of the most wonderful & exciting journey’s taken till date.
As an afterthought, I guess our start with all its uncertainties seems to be fun now…though it was a nightmare at that time.
I knew of Pondicherry only to the extent of the Ashram and beaches, but only on reaching there did we get to know about the loads of things that Pondy had to offer.
The beaches were simply pristine, thankful to have visited the place before the mad rush of tourists and commercialization’s seeped in and spoils the natural.
My comment on our trip cannot be completed without mentioning about Pichavaram. I will call it pure bliss…. You rightly captured it as mesmerizing. Had never seen anything like this, one has to really visit this place to experience its stillness, the canals….with only us and no one around….a forest on water. It was like time had stopped.
Also our fun moments….whether the auto drivers empathy looking at our disheveled condition in the morning. Or enjoying the icecreams after being completely drenched….the list will never end.
true...guess it was the best trip even for me...hope we can plan many more such outings in the next one year!!!
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