Pudhucherriel oru Kutchery!!!!

March 29, 2008, a bunch of travel enthusiasts hit the EC Road for a 300-Km journey to Pondy, leaving the coastal road with a trail of blaze! And this blog is a brief account of what went right and not-so-right at the sea-coast!!!

Wee-hour Start:

Trip to Pondy had lot of moot points like the non-elaborative itinerary, exact dates of the trip, confirmed list of enthusiast et al. But one thing that held sway right from the day one was that we would commute only in bullet/bike. A strict no-no for buses and trains!!!

We kick-started as early as 4AM and reached the ECR in 30 Min. After drooling over the Royal Enfield Bullet from the pillion seat for more than half-hour, I got the opportunity to be in the driver's seat. It was really a ride of my life! The odometer was hovering around the 120Km mark and it was sending currents across my body. To sum-up the exhilarating drive in two lines, I’d better resort to say ‘Fuckin awesome'!

Pit-stop - 1 (Kalpakkam):

The clock was ticking and sun was about to show-up, and we were aimlessly searching for a perfect locale to capture the sunrise. As luck would have it, we bumped into Kalpakkam township and all the while sun was patiently waiting for our presence.

Finally, she came out and enthralled us with her wide gamut of colors and incredible contours. After half-hour of satiable photo-shots, we bid our good bye to Kalpakkam.

Pit-stop - 2 (Alamparai Fort):

Intrigued by time-immemorial history of Alamparai Fort, we ensured that this place featured in our itinerary.But I must admit the fact that it was quite a let down, not because it had bad architecture or any other similar attributes, but because of its poor maintenance.

We knew it would be in a dilapidated state, but there were hardly any remnants of the fort. It was in a state beyond dilapidation, in complete ruins!!! Our tryst with history was indeed a bitter disappointment!

There will be blood…

Since we already drove down 100Kms, I said 'Folks, we will exchange ends, let the rider assume the position of pillion'. One fellow-bud did not pay heed to my words, and bore the brunt of a freakish accident along with the pillion rider.

Things weren't serious though, as they sustained only minor injuries, but it did dampen the spirits for a while.The fact that the accident took place only from a striking distance of Pondy, only rubbed more salt into the wounds. They swiftly took medication from a local doctor and after moments of brief pause we screamed in unison 'the show must go on’ and hit the roads again!!!

Welcome to Pondy!

We criss-crossed Pondy for 2-hours relentlessly found an economy-meets-elite kind of hotel which was lying in close proximity to the Pondy beach.

Without an iota of hesitation, we booked the hotel.
After dozing-off for a couple of hours, we visited the Aurobindo ashram in the afternoon, and went to Tic-Tac for shopping DVD's, amassing more than 50 films and bills were running to the tune of thousands.

A fine evening, rocking night and wonderful morning…

Around 4PM, we headed to Chunnambar, a boathouse near the Cuddalore bypass road, by the time we reached the exact venue it was around 5:30 PM, and the boathouse closed down at 4:30PM. Momentary disappoint faded in a jiffy as we witnessed a brilliant sunset near a dam just opposite to the boathouse. 'Perhaps a blessing in disguise' I quipped to myself. Snap after snap, roll after roll we were hunting the sunset crazily!

Partying all-night-out we quickly regrouped in the wee-hours next day, to capture the sunrise again. Completely mobbed by the clouds, we had now only a fat-chance to capture a vivacious sunrise. But our long wait bore fruits, as we had the opportunity to snap an ultimate shot (the pic in the right side). In my opinion, this was the best pic (k) of the whole trip!

On the road again!

After a brief stay at the Manakula Vinayagar temple we decided it was time to pack our bags and check-out of the hotel. We headed-off to Auroville!!!! Serenity, tranquility or placidity… I am running short of adjectives to describe this place! This should be an obvious-must-visit in anybody's travel plan to Pondy.

We had a delectable lunch at Auroville and we hit the highways again! Reluctantly we bid adieu to one of the finest places known to humankind, Pondy… And this is not an over statement!!!! Be it the eclectic French culture, staggering architecture, plethora of travel spots, strange street/ avenue names, and of course dime-a-dozen liquor, everything about Pondy leaves us spell-bound! This place would surely draw you again and again and again…

Choa!