A lesson learnt!

So, last monday I had an off, because half my class visited wonderla , and the other half decided to idk, do something by themselves. Then, there was a third group of a few of us who decided to do a trip by ourselves. After a lot of contemplating, we decided a place close by and not very commercial or explored. So that effectively, ruled out pondicherry, coorg, ooty, coonoor etccc. So while googling up places , i stumbled upon this thrillophilia list (btw, the internet is SATURATED with thrillophila articles , if ever you decide to google) and i saw YELAGIRI as a destination. Excited, i searched the internet for articles about the place. The websites boasted of paragliding, trekking, parks and a lake. Which, we figured was enough things to do , as we were planning ONLY a day trip. HOW UTTERLY WRONG WERE WE! First off, against all sensibilities I paid no heed to traveller's review of the place which claimed "nothing to do here", "boring!!!" "Dont waste time here" .. and still proceeded to travel here. Yelagiri is a hill station in Tamil Nadu and unless you have a car at your disposal (which, i didnt) this journey will prove to be very tedious. I caught a train to jolarpettai from cantonment - from buying general ticket and  travelling in LADIES COACH (for rs. 75 /- it was a bargain) and having to jostle with hostile ladies for space to climbing up on top berths , it was nothing like anything we ever experienced before.We further caught a bus from jolarpettai to Yelagiri hills. And once we reached the place, what can i say? To put it simply, it was a disappointment. It was not chilly at all, nor were there any tourists about. We didnt speak the language, so it was not easy to communicate. We headed towards the hills only to find that the main attraction (the temple on top) remains closed on Mondays, and the swami malai hills aint tall enough to offer a great view.WHAAAAAT! We decided (half way the trek , mind you!) to abandon the trek and head downwards towards the village where we got the chance to draw water from the well and wash our faces. After that, we decided to head to the main city and whole we were waiting for an auto to pass us by, a tractor passed us by and by some sheer luck, he agreed to drop us off at the desired location. This is something, i've been meaning to do for a longgg time and i'm so glad it happened! :D Blah blah blah. Turned out that even para sailing doesnt happen any more and that it actually stopped, 3 years back! And the website false advertises even now!! Sigh.

So basically, the trip was a flop. But the purpose behind it wasnt! I still got to get out of bangalore, bonded with my girls, and somehow still had fun .

This trip has taught me to do my research properly, and not to land up at a place completely lost with different expectations and most importantly DO NOT BELIEVE THE ONLINE ARTICLES 100% and yess. 

Till then, keep galavanting folks! :D

Pondicherry : 10 things you have to know!

So in my quest for a relatively quiet New Year's Eve ; I stumbled upon the very lucrative option of the city of Pondicherry. It seemed ideal ; is only about 320 kms away from Bengaluru, one could do a two-day trip easily, it fit very well in my budget , seemed exciting with its promises of French architecture and culture, and most importantly everyone seemed to agree to this destination.
Thus , came about the grand idea of spending new year's at Pondicherry.

So more simply, Here's top things you need to know about this laid-back, peaceful city!

1. For those tourists, heading over to Pondicherry expecting a commercial infrastructure to entertain crowds and expecting a party - like atmosphere , you're in for a great deal of disappointment! Pondicherry is NOTHING like Goa. No multitude of beaches, no loud music, no impressive beach shacks, no foreigners walking about in bikinis, no "partying" crowd. Nothing, Nada, Zilch.

2. Pondi , on the other hand is laid-back. There is not much one is expected to do here. Trust me, you would understand this better once you actually get around the city and experience this first-hand. Its a content little town that is mainly indifferent to its tourist crowd. I would recommend to just switch on the dormant "Panda" mode in you. Relax, put your feet up and just experience the city. 

3. . There still exists a strong French influence on the city, especially in the old quarters. What with, mediterranean style houses and bakeries and roads having fancy french names! You will walk down the city and find shop names in as many as three languages ; English, Tamil and French. So much that even there are different Menu's - one in english and other in French. Despite this, do not expect the whole crowd to be made up of Frenchmen and women. They still constitute smaller portion of the crowd. 

4. While biking down from the city to Chunnambar boat house I discovered this ;  Pondicherry has a dual identity. The town is divided into two sections: the French Quarter (Ville Blanche or 'White town') and the Indian quarter (Ville Noire or 'Black Town'.) One, that is more typically south Indian and other more Western . One cant help notice the difference between the two.  But, the whole city makes for a rather pleasant mix of East and West. 

5. Pondi is a back-packer's delight! Tons of places to eat, tons of places to drink, tons of people to meet. Now, 
Dont fret if you dont find suitable accommodation or if everything on Tripadvisor or any other website seems full. There are a tonne of options available there - low budget, mid budget, high budget, B n B's. 
Drop me a msg , just in case you need help with accommodation here. 

6. The best way to see pondi and the nearby areas is by simply renting out a 'Cycle' or a 'Gearless scooter' or  hiring a 'Motorcycle' . There are several shops that rent out these vehicles on Mission Street and MG road. They're pretty inexpensive ; we paid 400rs / day (ONLY because it was december end and NYE was just around the corner) , otherwise the rates start from Rs. 250 for a scooter / day and 50rs /day for a cycle. (P.s fuel separate) . The other way would be to simply walk around the city as most sights are within 2-3 kms of each other. 

7. Travelling alone? Travelling with a large group of people? Either ways, this happens to be a very safe destination. 

8. If you are travelling to pondi for some ' sea - air' and some good 'ol beaches and all of that jazz, you've gotten it all wrong. There is a long stretch of rocky beach which has a provision to sit around and a wide pavement for walking.  As you walk down there's also a Gandhi  "The Father of India" statue followed by a sea facing restaurant, called Le Cafe.

9. If you are lucky enough to strike some good conversation with people over at the bar or a cafe, you can walk into Pondi alone and head out with a mobile phone full of numbers of amazing people you met in this city.  While having lunch , Me and a friend had the most interesting conversation with two men from Melbourne about religion, economics and politics! In a quaint, charming cafe. 
 Just be open to the experience of meeting new people and you'll do fine here!

10. This place caters to everyone! Same restaurant will serve you authentic southindian , kerala style fish curry with rice and will also serve you amazing, mouth-watering pastas and steaks. Its a hot-pot of world cuisines. Truly! Some wine, some beer.. all served here.





OTHERS! 

Shopping: 

 You will find auroville stores selling incense sticks, candles, and handmade paper and various other nature-friendly knicknacks they make for some great shopping! Slightly on the expensive side, maybe but they're still cheaper than buying it in your city. Head to Jawaharlal Nehru street for some street shopping. Loads of export surplus clothes available - dont hesitate to bargain! 
This is also the best place to pick up Hidesign goodies, as it is a pondicherry based brand the prices are super.

Eating and drinking :

The city is teeming with cafe's, restaurants and various small eateries. Craving brownies at 3 am? Head over to LA CAFE which is a 24-hour cafe serving delicious chocolate brownies, And while you're at it, stay back and watch the sun rise over the sea while enjoying some cappuccino. Other places to eat would be ARTIKA CAFE (amazing art work by Locals and French ) , RENDEZVOUS for some good seafood, ZUKA for your chocolate fix. MADAME SHANTE''s for Indian, Chinese and continental food.
Head over to L' ESPACE for a shack-like experience and some eclectic music over great cocktails. Another beautiful open air restaurant is LE CLUB - You can't go to Pondi and not have a meal here! Amazing ambience. The seating is very comfortable. We, in fact spent our new year's at this joint. The food is amazing , and portions are generous. 
 Also check out : LA MAISON ROSE, and INDIAN KAFFE 
EXPRESS, COFFEE . COM, SATSANGA.

ARTIKA CAFE.

LE CLUB.

 ****                        ****

*****                            ****                        ****                    



HERE, ends another amazing trip. I really am going to try and blog more often and maybe not just about travels? I think its time I expand into something more than just travelling ... 

ohhh wellll..... 
till then Keep Galavanting, Folks! :D