We were up so early…The hotel guys suggested we take a taxi to go sight seeing, which costs a whooping Rs. 800. What the hell! We were supposed to be on a low budget holiday! Anyway we went strongly with the “lets see what happens” attitude. We went to this hotel for breakfast, forgot the name. They serve yummy South Indian breakfast. The best thing about Tamil Nadu is the breakfast. In all hotels they serve yummy Sambar, it is thick and the daal is prominent. Back to breakfast…we had a sumptuous breakfast. We ordered idli-vadaa, dosa and pongal (my hubby would give his life in return for pongal in TN). We also had juice and coffee. The bill was Rs 60!!
We came out of the hotel and made plans of what to see and what to leave out, from the list of sight-seeing places the hotel had given us. Soon after, we found a person, someone we would never forget. His name was Durai. He was the auto driver who took us around and showed us the real Pondicherry. We bargained with Durai. He quoted Rs 500 to take us to 5 places scatted all over Pondicherry. They were Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, Aanjaneya Temple, Rock Beach and Sand beach. After a lot of “its-ok-we –will-find- a- cheaper auto” he settled for Rs 350.
First we went to Panchamukha Aanjaneyar temple. This is a 27 ft tall, Aanjaneya idol which has 5 faces! Man…it was huge! We went and prayed and asked God to make our trip the most unforgettable one. This was granted right away. We took our first photograph of the trip there. The time was around 11.30am and we had to be at Auroville before 12 noon cos it closes for lunch and re-opens only after 1.00pm.
Auroville, I really don’t know how to explain this place. A part of me identifies with the life and culture there, but the other half refuses to come by. It is called the “Universal City” and people from all over the world come and stay here. They research various topics, study and pursue careers etc. An excerpt on what Auroville wants to be.. "Auroville wants to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity."
First as you enter, you have to get your pass from the reception. There you are shown a short film on Auroville and its being. Then there is this miraculous sight one has to see at the end of the 2km walk towards Mantri Mandir. Mantri Mandir is a huge globe in the gold colour. There is lot more to it, you can read that under “Auroville” post.
After Auroville, we jumped into the auto and begged Durai to take us to the yummiest food joint in Pondicherry, after which we wanted to go the beach and Aurobindo Ashram. Durai promptly obeyed.
We were in front of a building structure with a tiled roof and small entrance. Only to realize the small entrance was the doorway to eternal bliss….foooooood. We were at Appachis. The original makers of Chettinad food.
At Appachis we ordered South Indian meals, Prawns biryani, Mutton biryani, Mutton pepper dry and brain fry. Here pepper dry means coated with pepper, any cold or nose block/sinusitis will run for its life. We ate..i mean hogged and burped and don’t know what not. Our heads were reeling after the sumptuous, spicy lunch. The bill was Rs 460 !! that it!
Then we asked Durai about the real Pondicherry – the beach, cheap booze and cheap stay near the beach. He had just all that information. He suggested we see Aurobindo Ashram, Rock beach and head to Sand Beach to check out shack kind of stays. I was all gung-ho about the stay on the beach, though my hubby was scared. Poor man, dint know how to handle the security of 2 girls.
Aurobindo Ashram – The place for PEACE. It is very silent and peace prevails there. It is the resting place of Shri Aurobindo’s mortal remains. All his followers come here and meditate and pray. But the 2 monkeys that accompanied me, went bonkers after seeing so many serious people there with so much faith in them. There is pin-drop silence in the ashram, that got these 2 excited. They were amused by the fact that people can keep quiet. I was standing first in the line and Maggie was beside me and my husband behind me. As we were nearing the tomb, these 2 were shaking uncontrollably with laughter. I still don’t know why. After seeing the tomb, one is supposed to sit down for a few moments in silence to enjoy the chirping of birds and enjoy silence as it is. All I could hear and see wad Maggie and my husband trying their best to suppress their laughter, they were pink in their faces and giggling away. Luckily we did not get thrown out cos most of the devotees eyes were closed in meditation and they were attaining nirvana. As you know laughter is contagious and before I could get into a laughing fit, we got up and left.
The next moment we were out of the Ashram….and bloody hell, no one wanted to laugh!!!!
We boarded our luxury vehicle (Durai’s auto) and went to Rock beach which has Gandhi’s statue and the beach. No beach sand, so u have stand on the road and see the waves crashing against the rocks. Then was some fundoo shopping at an exhibition. The time was 5.00pm.
Durai then took us to Sand Beach (sure it has a different name…but we will stick with what Durai told us) where we were awestruck by the private beach and the accommodations on its shores. We came across Auroba Guest House (heaven in Pondicherry) which had lovely huts very close to the beach. By the way, 99% hotels, motels, tourist accommodations etc in Pondicherry are referred to as “Guest House”. Don’t ask me why. Instantly we were in love with the accommodation. We promised Bava (the owner of Auroba guest house) to return with bag and baggage by 8pm after checking out from that dingy city hotel. Ya right! The booking at Aditya Inn came as a blessing as we couldn’t find any place to stay in and after seeing Auroba…we were all set to ditch it. HA HA HA.
Durai then took us to Sand Beach (sure it has a different name…but we will stick with what Durai told us) where we were awestruck by the private beach and the accommodations on its shores. We came across Auroba Guest House (heaven in Pondicherry) which had lovely huts very close to the beach. By the way, 99% hotels, motels, tourist accommodations etc in Pondicherry are referred to as “Guest House”. Don’t ask me why. Instantly we were in love with the accommodation. We promised Bava (the owner of Auroba guest house) to return with bag and baggage by 8pm after checking out from that dingy city hotel. Ya right! The booking at Aditya Inn came as a blessing as we couldn’t find any place to stay in and after seeing Auroba…we were all set to ditch it. HA HA HA.
We checked out from Aditya Inn and went straight to Auroba and checked in. The rates were Rs 600 per day. Whooooooooaaaaaaaaaa…couldn’t have asked for more. On the way we picked up booze, cheap stuff man….simply rocking.
Its here, on day 1 at 7.45pm that our Pondicherry holiday started.
