Weekend Getaway @ Pondicherry

I have started my journey of exploring places around Chennai starting with the Union Territory of Pondicherry. Despite being told by our friends that a day trip can be enough to explore the place, my husband and I decided to spend an entire weekend and take the opportunity to take a break from the daily hustle-bustle.

Journey by road from Chennai to Pondicherry, along the Coromondel Coast facing the Bay of Bengal is very scenic. One can view the sea along some part of the highway, for the other part, its lush green with trees on both sides of the road. The road being in good condition and the distance being just around 130 kms from South Chennai, we reached Pondicherry in just 2 hours. 

On the way to Pondicherry

We stayed at The Promenade Hotel where we had booked our stay beforehand. The Promenade is a luxury boutique hotel belonging to the Hidesign group, overlooking the shimmering waters of the Bay of Bengal. We had heard praises for the hotel from our friends which indeed proved right with the lovely food, especially the Buffet breakfast and the romantic Lighthouse Restaurant on the rooftop. The Promenade Beach is prominently rocky and is marked by Mahatma Gandhi's Statue surrounded by eight magnificent granite pillars and a War Memorial.

Must see in Pondicherry

Having once been the capital of French India, Pondicherry still has a remarkable French influence with some restaurants offering French cuisine to some streets still retaining French names. There is a relaxed and laidback type of a feeling in the atmosphere. Restaurants with varied cuisines like French, Italian, Continental - all are easily available. Le Dupleix was the most classy restaurant among all that we ate at including Le Club and Le Cafe by the beach.

We started sightseeing by visiting the Pondicherry Museum that has interesting artifacts related to Pondicherry's history as old as the first century AD! From old currency to Pallava sculptures to belongings of Dupleix, the famous Governor. But I heartily wish the government could have maintained it better.

Our next destination was the famous Auroville - a very unique township created as an experiment to celebrate 'Unity in Diversity'. I was quite impressed to know that it was here that youth from 128 nations and Indian States met and placed earth from their native places in an urn which is symbolic of International understanding. Another worth seeing point in Auroville is MatriMandir that is built in the form of a Golden Globe. It is a place for quiet concentration for which one needs to book in advance.

MatriMandir, Auroville

Another adventurous place was the calm Chunnambar Backwaters on the outskirts of Pondicherry. Speed boats, motor boats and pedal boats take people to the long sea shore. Since we were there on a Sunday, due to heavy tourist rush, we couldn't get to the sea shore but we enjoyed a speed boat ride in the backwaters.

In the three days we spent here, we couldn't cover all the places one must see in Pondicherry. We couldn't attend the meditation camp at the MaitriMandir at Auroville for which we'll definitely plan with appointment in advance. A visit to the Aurobindo Ashram is due too. This gives me one more chance to experience the blend of French, Tamil, cosmopolitan, local and global cultures, all in one place - Pondicherry!

Breakfast by the Sea Side

At the end of a work loaded week, my husband and I decided to spend our Sunday morning at the beach. We headed to the MGM Beach Resort, located on the outskirts of Chennai and around 15-20 kilometres from our home.

So we broke our ritual of getting late on Sunday and got up early for a change as per our plan. I called up my maid to come in the afternoon which she would have loved too ;). Old Kishore Kumar songs playing in the background, the drive to the Resort was smooth owing to less traffic early in the morning. A cool breeze and a clear sky indicated the onset of a sunny day.

MGM Beach Resort is a nice and quiet beach-side getaway on the ECR Road. Reaching the Resort's Sea Crest Restaurant, that is located right on the beach-side, we came to know that the Breakfast buffet is served at 8:30am although their site mentions 7am onwards, so we headed straight to the beach. The beach is neat and clean and well maintained by the Resort staff.

One can see huge waves of the Bay of Bengal gushing towards the coast lined with coconut trees. There were small seashells scattered on the beach with occasional sight of tiny crabs roaming about. The water in the sea was cold in the morning. We spent some quiet time sitting on the sands watching the vast sea ahead of us. We headed for the breakfast buffet which was a combination of South Indian and Western cuisine. From Idli, Dosa, Vada Pongal, to Potato wedges, stew, variety of fresh fruits and juices, tea, coffee all tastes were well catered to. However, the North Indian choices were limited to Paneer parantha and curd and to be honest, it wasn't good either ;)

Having your first meal of the day, by the beach was an awesome experience. I think I'd like to go there again and sip strong hot filter coffee while looking over the vast expanse of the Bay of Bengal. A perfect start to a Sun Day, I would say!

My First Impression of Chennai!

Just a month back, I landed in Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu and one of the four major Metro cities of India, courtesy my Husband's job change. This is just a first Impression, which might change over the period of time.
 

Chennai's Marina Beach, as it appeared from my flight

Weather is Chennai is typically hot due to closeness to Equator and humid due to proximity to Sea. Despite of that, even in the hot summer months of May and June, a cool breeze sets in the evenings getting the temperature low and getting its inhabitants some relief from the humidity.


Yes, Chennai is an IT hub with a very large number of IT companies. Lots of IT companies spread out in the city with their high rise glass buildings. From eBay to Cognizant, many big names of brands appear throughout the city. Apart from the IT industry, Chennai can truly be called an IT hub due to the IT inspired names of the shops like Google Footwear, Blog Garments, iWay Restaurant, Inbox Mobile Shop, Silicon Valley Apartments! Even more amazing, is the modernization as in small roadside fruit shops which even accept payment by Credit or Debit Cards.

People I've noticed are dominantly Tamilites who speak and understand English well. Even not so educated people can understand English partially. The person who cleans our car and even the maid who comes to clean our house understand English. But yes, Hindi is heard rarely.

Some strange things that I observed - Lots of motorbikes, but hardly any scooters! Most restaurants close by 11-30pm. Parantha is called Parota. Food is present in all varieties including the wonderful South Indian cuisine by restaurants like Murugan that serves five types of Chutneys with Idli. Apart from South Indian, Chennai offers Chettinad, Hyderabadi, Punjabi, Continental to Thai - all are available in Chennai. Enough choices for Foodies like my hubby and me! ;)

Lots of Palm trees and Coconut trees can be seen in abundance in Chennai. The way they sway during the evening, when the breeze sets in is a lovely scene. Living close to the sea is wonderful! Feel like having a stroll, drive to the nearest beach and take a walk! Though the beaches are not that clean, they could be better maintained but the feeling of seeing waves splash on the shore is quite relaxing. I've heard its a beautiful sight early morning at sunrise or on a full moon night, but I've yet to experience it.

Like any other city or town of India, this city offers unique experiences and distinct culture. I was quite skeptical on the ease of adjustment for North Indians here, but slowly I've developed a strong intuition that my stay in the city will be interesting. Looking forward to spreading more time here and exploring more of what it has to offer.

Tough Challenges & Tough People

'Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.' Bernice Johnson Reagon

We often come across crossroads in life where we have to decide which path to take on from here. Recently I found myself standing on such a crossroad. Although I was not aware of what would be the consequence of each decision, I've still gone ahead and chosen a path after weighing its pros and cons.

We usually fear taking decisions, one can call them healthy and unhealthy fears. Unhealthy fears lead to stress and tend to paralyze one's life. On the other hand, my fear has been a healthy fear and such fear pushes us to remain alert and motivates to have a positive attitude towards life. (So what it comes packed with its own boxful of confusions and uncertainities!)

Time will tell if it was a wisely chosen road or not but I hope to stand by it and make it work, now that I've accepted the challenges that this chosen road has presented me with. Taking some such big life changing decisions and facing challenges big and small, I've learnt that when things get tough, don't lose faith. Keep it together and work it out slowly. You'll definitely find the solution!

An Adventure filled experience of Flying Fox

An Adventure filled experience of Flying Fox

The adventure I undertook last weekend "Flying Fox", was the most amazing and craziest thing I did next to River Rafting and Zorbing at Manali.

After a brief training on a small zip wire, till when I thought, the wires on which we would actually do it, would also be nearly as small as that one! After the training, we walked into the endless lush green forest, climbed up a hill which was quite a task in itself. Reaching the top, the view was awesome, but my heart literally came into my mouth when I looked onto the wire on which we had to fly! The landing platform was not even visible. I decided to walk back down the forest rather than taking the risk of going down a single cable!

But I dont know what made me go ahead and just after my colleague went on to do it, I decided to give it a try. Frankly, I am not a very brave girl, and initially I thought that I'd be the last one to go for it. But I somehow went for it! Honestly, I was chanting "Gayatri Mantra" on my way down the wire till I reached the other end. The journey was smooth and I finally landed alive! My arms and legs were shaking with fear/excitement/anxiety/shock after my first encounter with the zip line. (I don't know which word would descibe the exact feeling.) My whole face had gone Red. I looked at others, coming down the line and somehow made up my mind - I am going back now, no more risks, one wire was enough to get the feel of it and there, the Instructor told me that there is no way back now. We had to cross 4 more such wires to reach back to the Resort and I went totally blank on hearing this!

I somehow dragged myself forward climbing through the hills and reached the next wire. I told my instructor that I'm very nervous and he said to me something that I still remember! "Its not everyday that you hang on a wire and go down from one hill to another!" He assured me that I'll reach Alive at the resort and I went on... The second Zip line was crossed and the third one, being the shortest, now seemed relatively easy. The fourth and fifth ones were the ones, when I actually felt as if I was floating in the air and gazed down upon the rolling green forest below me. I got stuck before the landing platform on the last wire and had to be pulled to the platform by the instructor. The Kikar Lodge is one of the best places for attempting Flying Fox. The instructors are professional yet friendly and very motivating!

I had seen people doing this on television and I used to get scared even looking at them....But all in all, at the end of it, I just couldn't believe it, that I agreed to do it and I did it! I admit that it was really scary hanging and zipping down a Zip wire but after this experience I have discovered a new "Me" and conquring my own fears was a great feeling! I now look forward to more adventures ahead in life.

But ofcourse, not everyday, one hangs and slides down a wire, going from one hill to another!