MITALI DESAI: PONDICHERRY

In the morning we fly to Chennai. As we reach the airport we take a self drive car to drive down to Pondicherry. i.e., zoom cars. The drive is for about 3 hours. We are staying at Club Mahindra Puducherry.
We are greeted with a unique room that is all glass on 3 sides having the view of plants, trees & shrubs.
In the evening we go to the beach adjoining the property. It is clean n mostly the crowd on it is the resort crowd. Also the water of the Bay of Bengal has a distinctive greenish blue color as against the sandy brown of our Mumbai Arabian sea. We totally enjoy the beach. It's more fun with the pleasant and windy weather.

Mahabalipuram- . Also known as Mamallapuram.

We first went to the sea shore temple, which was surrounded by the sea on both the sides. It is a rock cut temple. A fine example of Pallava Dynasty architecture.

Shore Temple

Then we proceed to arjunas penance.

The Arjuna's Penance.

Around this most of the monuments are located. The mahishamardhini caves besides which is located the arjunas penance. It is a rock carving portraying the sun god & the moon god on either side with the river Ganga flowing down from heaven. The elephant herd is sculpted with the utmost beauty. As you enter the park you can see krishna's butter ball, which is a huge rock balancing on a slope. Further there are the trimurthi caves, dedicated to the 3 most important gods i.e., Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh. On the other side of the park are more caves i.e., the adi varaha caves n a small temple on a rock hilltop. Also there was a light house offering spectacular views of the coastline. Lastly there is the five rathas which are square rectangular etc. They are named after the pandavas and gods.The rock cut elephant and the nandi bull are a perfect selfie partner.

One of the pancha rathas at mahabalipuram

We traveled to and fro by car on the east coast road which is again a sight. The road offers nature filled scenery along with a few views of the water bodies meaning lakes and the sea.

Pondicherry town and Market-So today is our day at pondicherry town and market. We have decided to explore all pondicherry tourist places.

We did some shopping near the Nehru street for me , and for snehal at the mission street. We basically bought western casuals and handloom dress material.
Then we took a walk around french colony. Which we totally enjoyed. The white town has all the buildings painted European style, also the street's are litter free. You get the feeling of being in Europe.
We have ratatouille with rice at cafe rendezvous. It is a rooftop cafe.
We walk by the seaside promenade. With the cool breeze blowing the walk next to the bluish green sea is surreal with the french colony against the backdrop.
We also went to the Aurobindo Ashram, where the samadhi surrounded by fragrant flowers still inspires people.
Next is the serenity beach, which has an amazing view from from the top of the rocks.
Finally candlelit dinner at villa shanti. I must mention the betel leaf salad, creative isn't it?

Vedanthangal lake bird sanctuary- we woke up early to nurture snehal's bird photography passion. We reached vedanthangal lake bird sanctuary at 7.45 . I loved the concept of this bird sanctuary because the visitors can't disturb the birds. There is a path built around a part of the lake. There are balconies and watch tower to view the birds. We saw pelicans in huge flocks, many nests too with the birds and their babies. Also there were grey herons, spoonbill, black ducks and some very cute owls. Also there are binoculars available on rent.

Owl Peeping Out!!

Pelican Fishing for himself.

Pelican Nest .

Then was Auroville where we just saw the Matrimandir. It's a sight to behold, the gold dome shining beneath the sun . The walk to the viewing site is also like a nature trek.