“Pondicherry” – Give time a break

     Sun, sand & French connection would otherwise seem the right description for this little union territory on the east cost of India.  But “Pondicherry” is a soulful experience; you would want to keep coming back to, just to give everything a break. Pondicherry or Puducherry has a variety of things for everyone and it’s you who gets to decide how you want to indulge and spoil yourself.

     If you surf the net for just about 5 mins you will have the complete list of tourist places to visit when in Pondicherry or Pondi (as it is more commonly known). So here is my shorthand list for you (not in any particular order)

1. Aurobindo ashram (In Pondicherry white town)

2. Auroville ( approx. 10 km and half an hour drive from the main Pondicherry town)

3. Promonede Beaches, the light house & Gandhi Statue (all within close proximity)

4. White town consisting of vintage French architectural houses (French part of the town)

5. Church– The Basilica of the sacred heart of Jesus

6. Vinyagar Ganesh Temple

7. Backwaters (in case you visit to Pondi as an alternative for Kerala backwaters)

8. Shopping on the streets of MG road

AN OLD BUILDING ON THE ROADS OF THE WHITE TOWN

       But if you are not a regular tourist going by the rules & itinerary and are in Pondi for the great escapade, then read on for my soulful experience of the place so you can finally pack your bags and take that long pending holiday you very well deserve.

       Our journey began in Bangalore. A group of five friends, one Zoomcar and Google maps by our side.

ON OUR WAY                         PONDI ENTRANCE

We started off in the wee hours of the morning & took the electronic city flyover towards Vellore. We reached Vellore as per the estimated time. Google maps was helping us so far. But here I want to mention about a village - Arcot(which we somehow missed) and had to take a long route to come back on track . So for the benefit of the dedicated google map users, this is a small caution here, if you are traveling from banaglore to Pondi ,  via vellore keep an eye on the road which takes a small right to take you to arcot .

       The journey seems like one of the lovely road trips on your bucket list following a picturesque route. Once you cross a village named tindivanam( somehow I remember this name clearly as it has a tinkling sound attached to it) you are just one step away from your destination.
        The first sight of Pondi gave us an impression that it is like any other crowded Indian town.But we were in for a sweet surprise, three days of awesomeness. And I would like to give most of the credit to the beautiful part of the white town we were now heading towards, where we had booked our stay at the “The Colonial Heritage”.

COLONIAL HERITAGE GUEST HOUSE

DAY 1:

       I would recommend this guest house to everybody, to experience the true essence of Pondi. This beautiful and treasured place is owned by a wonderful French lady named Sabine. The place has a magical positive vibe to it. From the modest entrance to the royal yet humble interiors , each thing seems to welcome you into a world of your own kinda peace. The fatigue of the journey suddenly disappeared as we were surrounded by lush green garden at the entrance of the hotel. The vibrant colors of the hotel furniture and tinted window panes gave it a lively look. We were amazed to have found such a cozy place right in the heart of the white town.

     We got two rooms for ourselves called the ‘Les Jumelles’(The Twins) each with a balcony view of the garden.It was afternoon by the time we finished admiring our rooms and getting ready just in time for lunch.

      The area around our hotel (called Rue Romain Rolland road) had many choices of restaurants and we picked “Hotel De L’orient” .It is a refined 18th- century mansion with a lovely courtyard restaurant serving delicious French cuisine. After a sumptuous lunch we went back to our guest house for a nice afternoon Nap and to get away from the scorching sun.

HOTEL DE L'ORIENT ENTRANCE

COURTYARD - HOTEL DE L'ORIENT

LA MAISON ROSE

      Later in the evening we headed towards the famous Promenade beach. The beach was at a walking distance from hotel. The place was crowded with people and yet the sound of the waves hitting the shore could be heard loud and clear. There are stones put on along the shore line. Somebody told us that they were laid there after the tsunami .Coming from Goa, beach doesn’t really excite me. But the late evening walk along the beach was really relaxing. Just a little ahead was the Lighthouse(closed during the evening hours) and the Gandhi statue(being 2nd of Oct that day it was flooded with garlands of flowers).

      We discovered a very good restaurant called ‘La Maison Rose’;a few miles away from the beach. This is a lovely courtyard style restaurant with amazing ambiance & serving some superb snacks . Their different types of sandwiches , shakes & drinks are a must try. We had a hibiscus flower extract drink there and to our surprise it tasted very nice. 

DAY 2

Our plan for the day 2 was to visit the much talked about Auroville village & Aurobindo ashram.

BREAKFAST SERVED IN A SUNKEN PATIO BESIDES THE LEAFY GARDEN - COLONIAL HERITAGE

        Auroville (city of dawn) is an experimental township, to promote unity of humanity - Once you arrive at the place and park your vehicle in the 
parking ground you will be lead to the center point of the area, which has a small museum and a book store where you can watch a video about Auroville(explaining the hows & whys).

AERIAL ROOTS OF THE OLD BANYAN

        You can take a shuttle to the place or use your legs and I prefer the second options as it takes you through a small natures ride.
Finally we reached the place. I was a bit disappointed here because they don’t allow you to see the Matramandir from inside or even from a very close distance. If you wanna see it probably you need to go in-person there a day in advance and do your booking.

EXTERIORS OF THE ASHRAM

There are many options for lunch within Aurovile premises with French & Italian cuisines.

VEGAN SANDWICH

          We chose the Dreamer’s café. The food was served very interestingly on lovely looking plates. The visual appeal is so good that you might want to sneak out one for yourself ;-)

      After the Aroville it was time for Aurobindo Ashram , which was very close from our guest house. The Ashram is well maintained with a very beautiful flower garden and provides some information about Aurobinda if you would be interested.

In the evening we went to MG road, which dint seem anything different from the commercial streets of Bangalore. Also visited the Church –Basilica of the sacred heart of Jesus- very near to the MG road. Visit to the church gave us all some inner peace and there after we treated ourselves to some delicious desserts at the famous dessert shop- Zuka.
We took a tricycle rickshaw ride, back to our guesthouse travelling through the busy roads of Pondi .

      For dinner we choose a quaint hotel “La Villa Shanthi” .White décor, wooden windows ,elegant furniture and long pillars with large sitting areas inside the courtyard and surrounding, gives it a palatial feel. You would love to go to this place to just sit down with a bottle of wine & order some amazing food and enjoy this beautiful place for dinner with your family or friends.

VILLA SHANTHI COURTYARD

VILLA SHANTHI

   It rained very heavily that night and the weather was like cherry on the cake for our amazing vacation .With the thunder storm the place seemed cool and heavenly (ironic I know) and the fresh smell of the wet mud surrounding the hotel added to the beauty of the place.

Next day morning with a heavy heart we had to bid goodbye to our lovely guest house and our ever so smiling and helpful owner ; adding this vacation to our most favorites memories.

P.S : 1. Place of stay – do choose something on Rue Romain Rolland road ( Colonial heritage recommended).Choice of a good Place to stay in Pondi is an important factor to experience Pondi.

2. Places to visit – don’t go by the big lists online. Just go wherever you feel like when in Pondi.

3. What to do – sit Back , relax & breathe in the refreshing air ..

A Journey To Coorg - PART II

Coorg is better known as Kodagu among the locals. It is a small district in Karnataka having 4 main Talukas(town) Madikeri, Virajapet, Somawarpet &  Kushalnagar . Madikeri being the district headquarters. We had booked our stay in Madikeri.

The excitement was building up as we were nearing our destination. All the fatigue had disappeared, the cool breeze seemed like a magical portion, hypnotizing us to fall in love with every scenery along the way.

ON OUR WAY TO COORG

MISTY WAYS

The lush green trees ,standing tall & strong ,embracing us with pride to this beautiful place were doing their job perfectly well.It had just  rained. The entire road was covered with mist.The foggy weather trying its best to keep up the mystery ; revealing bits & parts of the distant mountains .The air had an aroma of freshness - pure unpolluted  air ..The whole environment was so serene and peaceful that I wish I could somehow pack it in a box and seal it so that whenever needed I could open it & breathe in the magic within….

As the bus was nearing Madikeri ,I could see a lot of small houses,many of which were converted into homestays.All these small houses dint have anything fancy about them.Just plain simplicity at its best.
Finally we reached the state run bus stand.The weather there was so amazing.The fog had engulfed the entire area. Chilly winds were greeting us to madikeri. I had already informed the homestay of our arrival timing and details.I was in a dilemma when choosing this place online but the photos and the reviews seemed pretty good. It was in the center of the town and very modest looking from the outside. But luckily for us the place turned out to be better than our expectations. :)

Coorgshell as it is rightly named was a small humble setup .The interiors of the house were done up very well with elegant furniture lighting. Every wall had beautiful photographs of Coorg .We got a hall and 2 rooms for ourselves for just 2500 per day with complimentary breakfast…unbelievable but true… 

AT THE DINNER TABLE

OUR ROOM

After we had a quick peek at everything , we freshened up and got ready for the day ahead.It was almost 12 and time for some brunch - hot idli’s  and sambhar & chutney was such a treat.The homestay was a home away from home experience.

Tour de Coorg 

We had hired a cab and decided to cover the nearby places for Day 1.

Now our tour de Coorg had actually begun.Going through some deep valleys & paddy fields we encountered nature at its best .Greenery everywhere and the weather was so perfect even during the peak hours of the afternoon .

Our first stop was “triveni sangam” at the Bhagmandala. Triveni Sangam in hindhu traditions means the confluence of three rivers.And the place of confluence is considered to be a holy place.

At Bhagmandala river Kaveri or Cauvery (in English) is joined by two other rivers kannika & mystical Sujyoti river. Sujyoti is mysterious coz when u go to the place of confluence you can only see two rivers joining together.Sujyoti is supposed to be the invisible river joining from underground :)

BHAGANDESHWARA TEMPLE

BHAGANDESHWARA TEMPLE ENTRANCE

In close proximity is the Bhagandeshwara temple. A beautiful picturesque temple ,just like most of the south Indian temples – very calm ,unembellished god’s abode. We took blessings of the various deites there and continued our journey uphill.

We were now heading to one of the highest point in coorg. "Talakuveri" – the place where river Kaveri originates in Brahmagiri hills. On the way you will find a lot of beautiful view points overlooking the valley but all this seems very ordinary , when you reach the ‘Talakuveri’.

AMAZING TALAKUVERY 

 Talakuveri – please note is a Must visit place in coorg!!! The panoramic view of this place is just fanstastic. You are literally in clouds. Its magical – One moment the mist & clouds engulf the place , anything more than a few meters away is barely visible and the very next moment its all gone!! Wow cant explain the astonishing feeling in words. You must be there to experience .

TALAKUVERY SHIVA TEMPLE

Thalakuveri has two small temples dedicated to shiva and lord Ganesha. There is a small pond from where kaveri originates as a small perennial spring. We spent some time in the temple feeling closer to the divine.

Talakuveri is around 33 km from madekeri .On our way back we had some Hot tea and pakodas  .By the time we reached Madekeri it was almost 4 in the evening.The other places of interest within the town are Raja’s Seat , omkareshwar temple & a fort .

At the end of day 1 we did some shopping for spices, dry fruits, honey & homemade chocolates. There are a lot of shops selling these but I ensure whichever shop you enter ,the aroma of spices and chocolates  will never let you come out empty handed .And it’s worth the buy.

Back at the homestay ,It was very cold ,we had a lovely south Indian dinner and  quickly went to sleep all tucked in our comfortable & cozy beds.

COFFEE GREEN BEANS 

Next morning we woke up to a bright clear day.All pumped up to explore the other side of Coorg. 

The second day we had a lot of things on our list. Coorg is called the Scotland of India & definitely we were falling in love with its beauty. We now were moving down hill as compared to the the hilly terrain of day1 , day 2 had sightseeing of kushalnagar. Our first stop was at a coffee & spices plantation estate. We closely observed and learned the very interesting process of making coffee there.




Next we visited the Dubbare elephant camp. Here you can enjoy a short boat ride and also feeding & bathing the elephants. The driver then took us to a lesser known dam nearby to Dubbare.This place is known just to the locals & we were lucky to visit it thanks to our driver-cum-guide. A perfect sight for a photoshoot.

THE DAM

THE UNKNOWN DAM EXPLORED

Next we went to the Nisargadham forest.It is said to be a small island formed by river kaveri  accessible though a rope bridge.It has thick bamboo groves & if u are lucky you might find various kinds of flora and fauna waiting to welcome you. Though we just found deers ;-)

After a good meal now it was time for the famous tibetian monestory located in a place called Bylakuppe.As we were nearing this place suddenly we felt we had reached some place in Tibet.Monks dressed in their formal monk attire could be seen everywhere.

If in Coorg ,you cant give a miss to this place. It’s a totally different atmosphere inside .Gardens with varied kinds of flowers, small little monks busy with their routine, oblivious of the many tourists that visit the place. The pagodas(temples) housing the gigantic Buddha statues in gold are awe-inspiring. 



The tranquility of this spiritual place gives you inner peace. There are continuous prayers and rituals .You might not understand what they pray but you can still feel connected ,such is the power of the place. The colourful paintings on the walls , the architecture of the place & the Buddha idols all resonate positive vibrations. – A Must visit.

I purchased a beautiful wind chime , just to remind me of the divine sound of the bells.

Our last spot to be explored for the day was the Abby falls,not very far from the madekeri town.



This water fall is a popular tourist attraction. A narrow path way through dense foliage takes you to the gushing waters of the Abby falls.

With that our Day2 had come to an end .

Next day early morning we bid good bye to our lovely homestay & the beautiful town of madikeri with a sure wish to come back again and explore madalpatti ,nagarhole national park ,the golf club and much more of coorg’s best kept secrets.

This culminates my journey to Coorg – the Scotland of India

A Journey To Coorg - PART I

Travelling to new places is something I have always enjoyed… Its, according to me a therapy , maybe you could call it ‘travelopathy’.

‘Immense pleasure’ is what I get, when I even think of going for a vacation.

29^th August 2014 was a holiday it was ganesh chaturthi and the day after ganesh chaturthi we started with our journey to coorg.

A lot of people travel solo ,for the the love of travelling , but I love to travel with people. People I know , people who love holidaying & travelling with me J

Thankfully my family enjoys travelling too ...

For more than a year now I was hoping to go to coorg .Either with family or friends or collegues or even solo…Yes I thought if nobody is coming I would go alone….

I had heard a lot about Coorg, seen a lot of beautiful photos & read quite a few articles online. It was not very far from Goa (the place I stay). Just a journey to the neighboring state. But still no plans were working out.

Finally I had managed to convince my parents for a holiday during Ganesh Chaturthi weekend & it had to be Coorg this time.

Packing was all done, tickets all confirmed & our stay in Coorg booked.

The total distance from Goa to Coorg is approximately 500 km. Coorg has no rail connectivity & the only way to Coorg is via road.

There are precisely 3 ways to reach Coorg: via – Mangalore,via – Bangalore or via – Mysore. 

Mangalore being the closest to us, we opted for it & decided on a 4-day trip (Sat-Tuesday) from Goa-to-Mangalore-to-Coorg-to-Mangalore-to-Goa.

Our Journey started from Margao Railway Station. Me, My younger sis & my parents. Everybody with a zest to travel .There are a lot of trains to Mangalore but we took the morning train (9am)…we reached the station at around 7. A little too early.. But the station was buzzing with people.. all kinds of people. The announcements about the trains were continuously being played like music to the ears for the passengers waiting to board their trains to their respective destinations. Everything was so delightful that long two hour wait for our train disappeared in the midst of the excitement of “Finally travelling Coorg”.

Train journeys are always fun, you meet so many different kinds of people, see beautiful sceneries, the long tunnels, the waterfalls, fields, factories. But preferably when it is just for a day or two.

Like this one…we reached at around 3.00 at Mangalore junction. We had decided to spend the night in Mangalore and leave for Coorg early morning…The station is in the outskirts of the city. You could either take a cab /auto to reach the main city. But we decided on the local transport –the bus. Bus from the station took us to the Mangalore bus depot.

It had been a long day journey and we had to find a place to stay .The buses from Mangalore to Coorg start as early as 6 in the morning and you have a bus in every half an hour which will drop u to Coorg .These are usually the state owned buses. There are deluxe/Volvo buses but they start very late… so we started our search for hotels…there are not many good hotels in and around the depot , besides due to some  entrance exam most of them were already full. We luckily found a nice budget hotel just opposite to Manipal College.

Pretty decent and comfortable .Checked in and got refreshed .Now it was around 5.30 …Instead of just sitting in the hotel and resting we decided to go to the mall.(city mall). I love shopping be it malls or be it street shopping or small shops. The city mall is not as big as the ones in the metros …but pretty nice…lot of Manglorian crowd was out for a good weekend treat. Found a lot of people there who spoke Konkani (Konkani is my mother tongue too. But the Manglorian Konkani is little different). We did our shopping and were back to the hotel around 9.00 .Had our dinner (awesome Chinese which we had packed at the food court in the mall...) and tried to get some good sleep before the journey next day.

Next day we got up early morning around 5.30 or so .The previous day was pretty tiring, with all the travelling, hotel hunting & shopping. Thought should rest for a while more, but the eagerness to reach our destination took away the thought immediately. Soon enough we were all dressed and ready for another journey.

The bus depot was at walking distance from our hotel. We had enquired about the bus number & spot the previous day. So we reached just in time for the 6.30 bus. Thanks to the morning time, the bus wasn’t crowded, we occupied the front seats just behind the driver’s seat so as to get an unhindered view of the roads. The bus wasn’t luxurious but it was comfortable. Had read online that the bus journey to Coorg from Mangalore is very tiring & exhaustive. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be the case with ours.

And to our good luck the journey went pretty smooth .The bus took us through quite a few small & big villages. Each village had a handful of houses, each house with almost the same architectural style. After approx 2 hours the bus stopped at a depo for breakfast. And dunno if it was the hunger or what but the ‘medu wada’s’ at that small restaurant at the depot were just amazing …

After a sumptuous south Indian breakfast our journey had resumed back. Now the villages & houses dint seem interesting and we were hoping we would somehow reach faster.

A co-passenger (regular to this route) pointed out at a sign board outside. It read ‘welcome to Kodagu district’. All our excitement was back and it seemed like suddenly some dash of freshness was added within us J

to be continued ...