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Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram

Two travel crazy buddies-Myself & my college bestie decided to explore an unknown destination and finalised Pondicherry.

After booking flight and hotel, we then booked a cab from dropmetaxi.in to travel from Chennai to Pondicherry. There are direct flights to Pondicherry as well, but we flew to Chennai as we wanted to cover Mahabalipuram. It takes 3-3.5 hours to reach from Chennai. Our stay in Pondicherry was for 2 nights & 3 days.

We did bookings almost 1.5 months ago, so as save on flights and hotels.

We started with the group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram-ancient sculptures and wonderful stone architecture. Its an UNESCO World heritage site. These are built during the Pallava dynasty in the 7th century. Ratha Temples, Shore Temples, Pancharathas, Arjuna’s Penance, Tiger caves & other such huge monuments just fills you with awe. So anybody who loves architecture and history, this place will never ever disappoint you. After seeing the monuments, one can Mahabalipuram beach- a sandy beach offering few water sports.

After reaching Ginger hotel and relaxing a bit, we figured out the mode of transport for sightseeing. We rented a bike for 2 days from the local vendors. There are multiple shops who offer bikes and cycles on rent. Rickshaws here charge almost double so we totally avoided that. Starting with Sri Aurobindo Aashram, then roaming around the colourful streets of Pondicherry, we finally landed up at the Serenity beach – a bit isolated and approx.10 kms from main town. Famous for fishing and surfing, it offers serene ambience and calmness.

Suggested by a friend, we later tried out Coromadal café in the white town. It has beautiful ambience and offers good continental food.

The next day early morning we headed to rock beach to witness the sunrise. The experience was simply amazing. Waves hitting the hard rocks, cold breeze and the rising sun- what a better way to start the day!! After long walks with endless talks and breakfast, we started to our next destination –Auroville.

No Pondi trip can be ever completed without visiting Auroville. Its 15kms from Pondicherry. A universal township where men and women from all over the world leave in peace and harmony. The main attraction is here is the Matrimandir. You need to get passes beforehand so as to get in for doing meditation. Yoga & Meditation are widely practised here. This widespread place is totally blessed with nature & is an epitome of tranquillity and peace. Other places worth seeing are Auro beach, Town hall, Tibetan centre.

Our next destination was the very famous Paradise beach, about 8 kms from the city. After spending ample of leisure time here, we headed back to white town for dinner.

Enjoying the night view of rock beach, we stuffed some bites at the Le Café- a budget friendly one offering good food with scenic view. A huge line of cafes run throughout the beach line & around the white town offering multiple varieties. Do not forget to try the Promenande café, a classic one.

On the last day we visited the Pondicherry museum, followed by the botanical garden situated in white town. There are many wonderful churches & museums worth visiting, but we skipped those due to lack of time.

Finally our return journey began with travelling to Chennai via the local bus. There are busses every 15 -20 mins from Chennai to Pondicherry and viceversa. We travelled till Guindy station and then took a metro to reach airport. Unknowingly, this trip made us use all the modes of transport-flight, bus, car, moped, metro and off course walking.

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My First Blog Post

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, many more lined up. Stay tuned & Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

Amritsar

One of the largest city in Punjab situated in the northwest India, Amritsar is known as the holy city of Sikh Pilgrims.

The city was founded in the 16th Century by Guru Ram Das, Fourth Guru of the Sikhs. It was earlier known as Ambar Sarovar meaning a “Pool of Nector” amidst which stands the very famous Golden Temple. It is a very colourful and old city that holds rich heritage with eventful history, where the air of patriotism is felt everywhere.

The city is well connected by all modes of transport- Road, Trains and Flights as well. There are decent hotels where on can stay on – Queens Road, GT Road, even dormitories in Golden Temple. The best time to visit would be between October to March to experience a pleasant weather. Let me take you to the sight seeing places in Amritsar.

The Golden Temple

Golden Temple also known as the Harmandir Sahib, is one of the holiest Gurudwara. The Sikh scripture -Guru Granth Sahib has been situated in lower floor of the temple. It has 4 doors facing each direction. Made up of marble, covered with gold and surrounded by holy water, the splendid architecture and atmosphere here makes you fall in love the moment you enter in. The Temple is open 24 hours and serves Langar day and night. Apart from Langar, Kada prasad is also provided and packets of dry prasad are available, that can be purchased for family and friends. The mandatory practice that devotees need to follow is to cover their head with a scarf while being inside the Temple area.

We were privileged enough as we happen to visit the Temple on an auspicious day of GuruPurab and also received the Ardas in the evening . The real beauty of this divine place can be prominently felt in the evening. Sitting by the tranquil water in a serene atmosphere just takes you to a different level of divinity.

Jallianwala Baug

Who can forget the massacre that occurred here on 13th April 1919 where hundreds of unarmed Indians were killed by the British army led by General Dyer, during the War of Indian Independence. And Just in case if you have forgotten, the below lines will surely take you back to that era :

Jallianwala Bagh yeh dekho, Yahan chali thhi goliyan,

Yeh mat puchho kisne kheli yahan khoon ki holian

Ek taraf bandook dandan ek taraf thi tolian

Marne waale bol rahe thhe, Inqalaab ki boliyan

Yahaan lagaa dii bahano ne bhii baaji apani jaan kii

Is mitti se tilak karo ye dharti hai balidan ki…

Unfortunately this years marks the 100th year of this dreadful act. Even today the bullet marks are very much prominent on those walls, seeing which literally sends shivers through your body. The entry for Baug is free and open until sunset. Also there is Jallianwala Baug museum which you can visit. Baug is Located in the city centre, walking distance from golden Temple.

Attari-Wagah Border Ceremony

You just cannot afford to miss this when in Amritsar. Located at a distance of 28 kms from Amritsar, Wagah marks the boundary between India and Pakistan and runs around the Grand Trunk road. The ceremony is popularly known as the Beating Retreat Ceremony, held daily in the evening by the BSF soldiers where one can witness the Military camaraderie for 45 mins. The official purpose of ceremony is to close the border and lower the National Flags.

The atmosphere is patriotic and very joyful where Slogans and National Anthem along with various Patrotic songs are played, also dance on such songs takes place. The Josh here is indeed very High. The ceremony starts at around 5.30 PM, so its better to reach an hour or 2 earlier, to get the proper place considering the tremendous crowd that comes daily.

Muesums

There are some famous museums here which one can visit – The Partition Museum, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum, Central Sikh Museum a War Memorial Museum. They offer a nominal fee and are open till 5-6 pm in the evening.

Food

Amritsar offers varieties of food dishes that savour your taste bud with utmost satisfaction. The must try items here are – Amritsari Kulcha, Makki ki Roti aur Sarsong da saag, Tandoor chicken. Pinni, Phirni and Besan Laddos satisfy you sweet desire. Dal Makhni was one of may favourite here. And how can you ever miss Lassi when in Punjab! Kesar Da Dhaba, Beera Chicken house, Friends Dhaba and Hall Bazar are some famous places to try out for.

Shopping

The colourful markets of this city just test your greed for shopping. Especially for women there are endless options and if you love Phulariks, this is just the place for you. Phulkari Suits, Sarees, Duppatas, Patials,Punjabi suits and Jutis just make you go crazy. Also it has good collection of Shawls, Sweater and Wollen garments. Hall Bazar, Shastri Market, Katra Jamal singh market and shops near the Golden temple are places where one can shop from.

2 days are sufficient to cover all these places. Also a long trip can be planned to other connecting cities and states from Amritsar, such as Himachal, Delhi, Chandigarh or Rajasthan as per ones interest.

Sikkim

Extremely alluring nature, fluttering Tibetan flags, snow clad mountains, land of momos and the majestic Kanchenjunga- what more can you ask for ?

We started our full day excursion with Nathula Pass – The Indo-Chinese border at 14000 ft high. Passing through the very famous Changu Lake also known as Tsmogo lake, surrounded by snow clad mountains that just gave a perfect ecstatic view. To make it even more interesting, there is Yak ride for you!!

We headed towards the Baba Mandir, a shrine build at Samadhi of Baba Harbajan Singh, a saint who guarded lives of soldiers at border. Then we finally reached Nathula. Climbing the snow in -6 degrees, grasping our breath we reached the top. Saluting the Indian tricolour guarded by the soldiers & reciting the National Anthem just filled our eyes with extreme Pride. What an wonderful experience!!

Following day was reserved for local sightseeing in Gangtok. We started with Ganesh Tok (Temple) which accommodates only 1 person at time, that offers a spectacular view of the mountains, then covered Hanuman tok situated at 7200 ft, maintained by Indian Army.

Next was Banjhkari Falls & Energy park- a wonderful picnic spot providing a scenic relaxation. The water falls from a height of 100 ft. The park is made of man made lake, paved pathways, footbridges & the sculptures that depicts the Jhakri culture. Later we covered the Cottage industry, Tashi view point and Flower exhibition centre – depicts numerous varieties of flowers across Sikkim. Best way to spend an evening in Gangtok is walking on MG road – central shopping hub made as walking plaza which list a number of shops with variety of artefacts.

Sikkim offers a list of historic monasteries that you just cannot miss – Namgyal Institute of Tibet-a repository of Tibetan works of tradition and culture. Rumtek Monastery – One of the oldest monastery with finest architecture. Pemayangste Monastery- a treasure of various Buddhist scriptures, sculptures, antiques.

We then headed to Peeling – small town that greats with captivating view of Himalayas and Kanchenjunga peak. We were privileged enough to get a hotel room that gave us an alluring view of the Kanchenjunga. Imagine waking up at 4am, having kulhad ki chai, witnessing the clouds parting away to give us breathtaking view of the Majestic Kanchenjunga, rising above the clouds!! Oh my, what a beauty!! All we did is simply relaxed in the balcony, capturing and fulfilling our eyes with this wonderful creation of nature.

Later on the list was Kanchenjunga falls – where water falls through rock, providing a scenic view. Then the very famous Rimbi water falls – another treat for the eyes.

We also happen to visit Namchi – a small town in south Sikkim that offers various picturesque sightseeing places. Tendong Hill – An epic Hill that has a giant statue of the Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche)the patron saint of Sikkim. Char Dham- a temple complex that replicates 4 main Shiva temples of India and offers the most peaceful environment. More options to explore are the Ropeway, Ngadak Monsatery, Rose and Rock garden.

The local food here is simply amazing. Thupka – noodle base soup being the main dish, there is also Gundruk, Phagshapa, Rice, all sorts of tasty momos and off course Maggi!!

The traffic in Sikkim is very well regulated – No honking, no overtaking, just following basic traffic rules. As simple as that! Our special salute goes to the heroic Cab drivers here, for the excellent driving skills amidst fog, rains on these extremely narrow, steepy ghat roads.

After being blessed with this excotic nature for a week, it was unfortunately the time to head back. Alas!! We finally bid goodbye to this beautiful place taking along with us the wonderful memories and capturing it’s beauty in eyes.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

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