Pondicherry – 25.Dec.2010

Heard a lot about this French town, found nothing. I may be sounding rude, but apart from the Aurobindo Ashram for followers and Beach for others (including cheaper drinks for human and cars a like), there is nothing specially I can talk about.

The good thing is, we were told not to follow the Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Tiruvannamalai-Tindivanam-Pondicherry route. Though it is the shortest, the route as of now seems to be in very bad shape and hence we decided to take the one via Vellore. That was a good move. One, it gave as an opportunity for night halt (preferred as we were with many small kids) and other, a sight of the famous Vellore Golden Temple. We left at around 03:00 PM from Bangalore and reached Vellore by 07:00 PM. Went straight to the temple and had a glimpse of shear wealth clad in the form of GOLD all around the temple to which the approach is via a star shaped walking path which is beautiful. Stayed in the temple guest houses, where we tried to book a place in advance. But as always it happens in India, on phone we did not get a response other than “no room saar” …bang phone goes down. Upon reaching there as well, the scene was similar, however Rohit’s consistent request got as 3 rooms finally.

A to B : 213 km     – about 3 hours 13 mins
B to C : 120 km     – about 1 hour 49 mins
C to D : 39.9 km     – about 38 mins

On the way, we briefly stopped at Gingee Fort. See the pics:

Since it was almost a last minute plan, we failed to secure a decent place for stay in Pondicherry. The best option we lost narrowly was Ginger Hotels. We finally stayed in Hotel Mass Pondicherry which is right next to the bus stand. Rooms or old but neat. The place is not happening as it is right next to the bus stand. Find another nice place “The Retreat” which is run by the ashram and right in front of the beach on Goubert Avenue. Tarrif is just Rs 1500 for a sea facing deluxe room, best one can get. Try contacting 0413-2231711 (and if you are able to book, do not forget to thank me).

When you surf the net, you may find plenty of sightseeing spot. Auroville is at a distance and need taxi if you are not having a vehicle of your own. You can find few shops and meditation center apart from a café.  Serenity beach is right on Goubert Avenue with famous Gandhi Monument. This is similar to marine drive kind of place (Mumbai), where you can stroll around, have some street food, fresh see breeze, café’s to cool your feet and at times opportunity to sooth your eyes as well (). The other beach we went to and enjoyed a lot is about 8 KM on the Cuddalore Road. Infect this turned out to be the main attraction of our entire outing where all of us were soaked in the sea water for hours having fun. Aashram was an experience amidst pin drop silence, but found few caretaker too concerned about people moving around, disliked the over-attention and cautioning received at every step, specially when you are with kids.

In return, we decided to further explore the roads and took the route Pondicherry-Kanchipuram-Vellore-Bangalore. While the road all along was superb, except a insensible traffic jam in Kanchipuram, this further increased the distance by about 60 odd KM. In result, we got good road, but spent almost 10 hour on road to reach Bangalore. That is another reason why we did not enjoy this trip as much as any other. A very very long drive all for a beach. I rather would go to costal Karnataka for sake of the beaches.

Serenity Beach

Paradise Beach

Auroville

25.Dec.2010 to 27.Dec.2010

Travel Partners: Anil, Madhuri, Rohit-Pooja, Binod-Vini and kids
Location: Union territory sandwiched  in TN
Major Attraction: Beach, Ashram, French colony
Other Information: Club visit to this place with a broad plan; just Pondicherry is too much to ask for 
Food: Food is plenty. French, Indian, and specially the egg-parota from the streets of Pondicherry

Muthathi–Picnic [Day Trip]–11 Sep 2010

There is enough written about this place on various blogs and hence I will restrict myself to limited information and make it more like a photolog.

The place is about 90KM from Bangalore, on Kanakpura road. On this drive, one will generally find all possible picnic spots of the interest within few KM radius. The nearby place is Bheemeswari where you can find the JLR resort.

There is no food available around, except for JLR. If you are particular about an all-round day out, I suggest pack some food or better semi-prepare and then have it warmed or fully cooked at the spot. One note of caution though. The place seems to be terribly popular and hence every inch is filled with chicken feather. Such a beautiful spot but royally screwed in terms of dirtiness. Vegetarians will find it hard even to walk around. We were lucky to spot a barren sand-land, clean and away from usual spots. We had to walk on difficult rock terrain though to reach there. But once we were there, it was all ours. Now enjoy the pics.

Date: 11.Sep.10

Travel Partners: Entire Family
Location: Kanakpura Road, about 90 KM from Bangalore
Major Attraction: River side, Picnic spot
Other Information: Avoid flowing stream, do not venture deep into water; There are spots where water is still where you can enjoy.
Food: Almost nil