Travelogue - Pondicherry - Mahabalipuram Road Trip - May 2008

We started on 23rd night, and reached Bangalore on 26th morning. It was after a long time that I went on a similar trip and first ever with friends. So, it was special in many ways, and I must say, I enjoyed it to the hilt.

We were planning for this trip since last 3 months. Getting people to come with us was not easy. There is this friend named Ashfaq. Gem of a guy. There are not many people I have seen as down to earth and as gritty as him in my life. We wanted him to come but for some reason he was reluctant. It took much of convincing to get him to join us. So, we four, Shanu, Nirmal, Ashfaq and yours truly finally decided to set off.

It was decided that we will go in Shanu's Santro, and that we will leave from office after our shifts. Nirmal's and Shanu's workstations are on right and left side of my workstation respectively. Ashfaq moved out of our team few months ago and his workplace is on the floor above us. Shanu took the day off and Nirmal left early from work.

So at around 10:30 pm Shanu came with his car, Nirmal had already come by then, Ashfaq and I joined them on the ground floor parking area. For dinner we picked up 4 tuna subs from Subway in Indiranagar. Nirmal had brought chicken and prawn preparations from Imperial, Kormangala with him. Further ahead Nirmal and I picked up beer for us, 2 Kingfisher strong for him, and 1 can of Kingfisher Lager Beer for me. Shanu was our main driver. Nirmal the back-up. Drinking for Shanu was out of question. Ashfaq doesn't drink.

Our first stop was a dhaba called "Ghar Dhaba" on Krishnagiri By-pass, attached to a petrol pump. We picked up a box of fried cashew nuts for 125 from the Anand Bhavan outlet inside the Dhaba. Once we started from there, we opened our bottle and can. By the time we were half way through with the drinks Shanu found a nice empty spot to park the car on the roadside and have dinner. We had the kebabs and the prawns and then the subs. Shanu had apparently asked them to put extra mayonnaise in the subs and they were gigantic in size. To say that they were filling would be an understatement.

We stuffed ourselves, washed hands, and chatted while Nirmal and Ashfaq were having their customary smoke. Smoking inside the car was banned and except for one instance, Nirmal and Ashfaq abided by it. From there when we started we stopped near a tea stall in Pondicherry, around 5 in the morning. Shanu, all the way through, did around 100 - 120 kmph, touching 130 once.

Shanu, with the help of his friend had already booked 2 AC rooms for us in a guest house not very far from the beach. Ram Guest House, as it turned out, was an excellent place to stay, and choosing AC rooms over non-AC ones proved to be a wise decision. Pondicherry at this time of the year is hot. I hadn't experienced that kind of temperature in years. AC in Shanu's car is another reason we returned without being baked to Bangalore. But going at such time of the year had its advantages. We got the rooms in that classy guest house for far less a price than what they would have charged in the peak season, around 1200 - 1300 per day.

Once we reached the hotel, Shanu and I just switched on the AC and lied down on the bed. In 20 seconds we were both asleep. We woke up at around 9:30, and got ready for going out. Had breakfast in Surguru Restaurant, not far from Nilgiris and Archies. After breakfast it was decided that we will go to a temple of Shani.

We went to Chidambaram, past Cuddalore and then were told that the temple was another 80 kms from there. We were around 75 kms away from Pondicherry, and according to Nirmal's report it was within 30 - 40 kms. Sense prevailed and we returned.

I came across a small, green village with beautiful houses, called Bhuvanagiri. Just before the village, if you are going from Pondicherry, you would find SPIC Pharmaceuticals' factory. SPIC has a school, if I am not wrong, near Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.

After returning from there we had lunch in "Salt and Pepper", a moderate affair of prawns, chicken, vegetables, rice and parathas. Just in front of Salt and Pepper is Aurobindo Press' hand made paper item's sales section. Shanu had to pick some items, so we all went in. We picked up a few notebooks, and came out. From there we went to Auroville, and spent around half and hour. By the time we reached, Maatri Mandir was already closed. While returning we went to the Auroville beach, stood there for sometime and started back.

There was plan to have food and drinks in the hotel room. So we went to a restaurant called "Laddle", which is opposite to JIPMER, and ordered food to be packed. We went to a place called Lawspet; saw the Helipad and the Pondicherry Airport which has now been turned into a flight school. Then we went to a wholesale shop and picked up beer and wine. Before returning to the guest house we picked up the food. It was again a moderate affair of mutton, fish, chicken, prawn, and rice.

In the room Nirmal had 2 beers, Shanu 1, and I took a glass of wine. After dinner we decided to call it a day. Next morning it was from Ashfaq that I came to know that within 15 minutes of returning to his room Nirmal vomited for around 10 minutes. It was good to see Nirmal back to his jolly self the next morning.

We decided to check out the following morning as we had plans of going to Mahabalipuram. Shanu looked refreshed after his beer induced sound sleep. Ashfaq as always had an air of briskness about him.

We packed our luggage, and left the guest house at around 10:00 am. Then to Surguru for breakfast. Shanu then took us to one of the piers near the new light house. After returning to the city we picked up water and chocolates and then we set out for Mahabalipuram.

On the way we stopped near the Osteri Lake. A deaf and dumb fisherman plunged into the lake with his life boat, an inflated tyre, for fishing in front of us. After Nirmal and Ashfaq had another round of smoke we set out again. On the way to Mahabalipuram, on the ECR (East Coast Road) we got a flat tyre. It took some time but we managed to change the tyre. It was around 5:00 pm when we reached Mahabalipuram. Saw the Shore Temple first and then the Five Rathas.

There is this hotel called Hotel Mamallaa Heritage. It's a 3 star hotel. We decided to have an early dinner, as we were planning to have a non-stop journey to Bangalore. We took a table at the roof garden. Spent around an hour there. In short, the ambience, food and service was good. Pricing was reasonable. For a 3 Star, it was, in fact less. Music couldn't have been more worse. "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha" (composed by Madan Mohan and sung by Lata Mangeshkar) was being sung by someone in a way which would have killed Madan Mohan and can lead Lata Mangeshkar to commit suicide if she hears it.

We had another flat tyre near Krishnagiri. A brainstorming session ensued, because we didn't have a spare tyre. The spare tyre had already been used in the previous instance. Finally the old tyre was repaired and we started on what was the final leg of our short but memorable trip.