When Pondy took the cherry

The agenda: Chill out (or... get wasted - depending how teetotaller-ly you are)

The place: Pondicherry (now Puducherry.. duh!)

The time: Weekend

We set out from Chennai early enough in the morning to hear the cock-a-doodle-do. The ride to Pondy is smooth and splendidly scenic. The road (East Coast Road, as its called) runs along the coast all the way and the cool sea-breeze is a fresh break from the Chennai heat. Going by bike, rather than taking a bus, is not a bad idea. It allows for stops on the way to just admire the vast sea, which is sometimes on both sides of the road! It takes us about 4 hours, but can be covered quicker in a car I guess.

Once we get there, we head straight for the dazzling rock beach promenade/ beach front. Its difficult not to fall in love with it... Its a complete experience; enchanting, powerful, graceful and dangerous at the same time...

There are a few hotels in the area to suit various budgets... We check into the Ajantha Guest House, for a room overlooking the beach. Its a steal for 700 bucks a night (non a/c)! The restaurant/bar alongside it, again called Ajantha (if I remember correctly), makes for a perfect afternoon by the sea.

Being a Union Territory, the booze in Pondy is dirt cheap. 65 bucks for a bottle of beer.. some 250 bucks for a pitcher! The weather is nice & warm and chilllled beer is certainly the drink of choice in the afternoon. The snacks to go along with it are delectable, fish tikka, assorted veggies, all are devoured during the course of the 'session'.

Along the promenade, a 5 minute walk from the Ajantha Guest House, is Le Café. This is the perfect place for breakfast. Good, inexpensive food and the view, outta this world! The mini idlis with sambhar are the best of the lot and I suggest you definitely give 'em a try. On the Sunday that we were there, there was a film being shot at this place and we got box seats (inside the café) alongside the actors after the shot was over!

On Saturday evening, we set off on a 1/2 hour ride to the world-famous Auroville. Along the beach front we could see some foreigners taking walks, but Auroville is teeming with them - Attracted by the promise of a peaceful, better, life... or doing some voluntary work for the local community... We meet people from Chile, Italy & Germany among other countries and they seem to have settled down quite well - an old German couple even bargains in TAMIL with a store-keeper! There's not much to see here otherwise...

The Auro beach is a great place to take an evening walk. If you're with your girl/guy, this place is a must-visit. I imagine it'd be quite a romantic experience... (Of course, I was with a drunk Somesh, who was too busy losing his slippers in the water - and crying that the sea took them away - until it threw the worthless crap back ashore :-P )

Dinner's at the chic Promenade hotel, on the promenade, again... Its a good place to have a nice, proper, sit-down family dinner types... There're two old French couples playing cards and generally having a good time, so I think you get the drift...

The next day we head to Arikamedu. This place about a half hour drive from Pondy is an archeological site and is supposed to have some Roman ruins. But there's absolutely nothing here and if you're archeologically inclined, you can make a trip to the museum which is said to contain most of the remains from these ruins.

So without wasting too much time amongst the ruins, we head straight for Paradise Beach (about 10 mins further down the road). Its advisable to leave for this place just around lunch time to give yourself enough time to spend at the beach. You've to park your vehicle, take a ticket for a ferry across to this island (about 10 mins on the ferry). The last ferry back is at about 4 pm, so plan accordingly. The beach itself is breathtaking. Its a touch crowded on weekends and the guy with the big speaker shouting out to public to stay away from the water can get to be quite a pain. Otherwise, the place really is paradise...!

Pondy was once a French colony, and there're several French restaurants dotting the city. We headed to Satsanga for a drink and snacks. The ambience is nice and quiet with enough light around coz of the open top. The service though is deplorable and the waiters are totally unresponsive. But once the beer & snacks are on the table, all this is easily forgotten :)

There's a beautiful Church, Church of Notre Dame, I think, and we spend some time there. I get to revise my french as I follow Jesus' story on the pictures on the walls. A good place for a nice peaceful afternoon...

After a final refill of food at Le Café, we head back to Chennai... The ride at night is completely different. The vast sea now is completely lost in the darkness and looks like an endless abyss. It'd have been different on a clear, star-lit night... But cloudy night, 'twas a touch unnerving & scary! There're also police checks on the way to ensure we're not carrying back cheap booze or drunk-driving.

--

And so ended the perfectly chilled-out weekend... As it happens, P&G is now taking us for an offsite there this week!! Can't wait!!! Wuhhooo!!!