Mandarmani Trip

Itinerary:Kolkata>>Mandarmani>>Kolkata

About:Mandarmani is a beach in South Bengal. It is known as the longest motor able beach of India (14 kms). Pristine and relatively tourist free, it is situated 180 kms from kolkata. Quaint fishing boats dot the beach and give it an old world air. Go to this beach if you like to spend a quiet holiday without doing too many things. If you are the busy sort who likes to keep doing something then it is not for you. Read a book, drink some local coconut water r simply laze around.
Time of Trip: September 6th and 7th, 2008

Duration: 2 days

Hotels stayed at: Masara beach resort

6th September,2008.

We left Kolkata at about 7 am in the morning.Sitting in Tata Sumo cars we went along at a fair clip for some time before suddenly getting caught right in the middle of a traffic Jam of trucks in a place called Kolghat.I've seen this phenomena of traffic jams of trucks in a fair few of my road trips in various parts of India.After sitting in the hot and humid car ,finally we moved on.The rest of the journey was relatively easier.

Just before we reached Mandarmoni we turn off into a small dirt track.From here there is no proper road and we just have to go through really bad roads.We took a couple of jolts allright.
We passed narrow roads with villages looking at us withvarious levels of boredom.

The beach comes into view very suddenly.One second you are riding a car in the middle of bad roads and dusty villages.A sharp turn later with a gasp you realise that you are on the beach itself.Te only way to explore this beach is to drive on the beach itself.It is know as the longest motorable beach in India.

We soon drove to our resort which was situated bang on the beach itself.It was decent.












pic 1: The Masara Beach Resort,Mandormani

We immediately descended on the beach,forgetting about lunch in our excitement in seeing the beautiful beach.And beautiful it certainly was.Beautiful beaches in India are not really about aquamarine blue waters or virgin white sands.It is simply the absence of large crowds.

The beach was pristine and unspoilt.Well I am sure it will only be a few years because it descends into a popular but dirty beach like Digha.

This beach was characterised by a large strip of clay before just before deep waters.We had to wade over this sticky strip carefully slipping and sliding before we reached the sand of the ocean floor beyond.Lots of fishing boats lined the beach.

pic 2: Lonely fishing boat on pristine Mandarmoni

pic 3: Lonliness ,Thy name is Mandarmoni

pic 4: Three boats on the beach,Mandarmoni

After a quick dip,we went back for a full lunch.

After a short nap I descended on the beach again in the evening all by myself with a book.I sat reading on the beach for hours till it grew dark.All around me I saw noone.The waves splashed with a mighty roar on the shore.For some time I forgot who I was,the cares and worries of the world I was in.It was magical.

I met some kids of a fisherman's family and took a quick snap.

Pic 5: Kids on the beach at twilight,Mandarmoni Beach












Pic 6: Large streches of the Beautiful Mandarmoni beach at twilight

As the beach was not very safe at night I could not go for a walk.Therefore we had to settle for Dumb Charades and some other games.I got bored after a while and went off to sleep.

7th September,2008

We got up early to watch the sunrise on the beach.It was beautiful,although nothing spectacular.

Pic 8: After Sunrise on Mandarmoni

After a heavy luch we decided to head back to Kolkatta.

We got caught at exactly the same place in the traffic Jam.We reached home by around 9 PM.

Wonderful weekend Getaway!!!

Pondicherry-Mahabalipuram Trip

(Click on photos to get clearer image)

Itinerary:
Bangalore>>Chennai>>Pondicherry>>Mahabalipuram>>Chennai>>Bangalore

About:

Pondicherry: Away from the hustle and bustle of big city, Pondicherry is a quiet little town on the southern coast. The unmistakable French connection, the tree lined boulevards, the quaint colonial heritage buildings, the spiritual scene, the endless stretches of un spoilt virgin beaches, backwater, a surprising choice of restaurants serving a mélange of cuisines, provide a heady mix that draw travelers from near and far. It is the perfect place to come, if you want to take the pace of life down a few notches.


Mahabalipuram: Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) also close to Chennai (Madras) is on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, along the eastern coast. Mamallapuram known for its rocks carvings and monolithic sculptures has the famous shore temple, the only one to have survived the ravages of nature. Also known as the Seven Pagodas (temples), six now lie submerged in the sea.

Time of Trip: March 7-9, 2008

Duration: 3 days

Hotels stayed at:

Park Guest House, Pondicherry (5/5) absolutely brilliant place

We caught a late night train from Bangalore to Chennai on 6th March; 2008.There is a direct Volvo bus from Bangalore to Pondicherry for people who don’t mind the long journey of 7 hours in a bus.
1) 7th March ,2008 -Friday

We reached Chennai by about 8 am. After a heavy breakfast at the Saravanna Bhavan at Chennai central we caught an auto to Koyambedu Local Bus terminus, popularly known as CMBT.

There are buses going every hour to Pondicherry. Be careful to take the bus taking the ECR route. The roads are better and more scenic.
The roads were very good. We caught glimpses of the ocean on one side. The scenic views are very soothing to the eye. In about 3 and half hours we had reached Pondicherry bus stand by about 1 pm.

A quick auto drive later we were deposited at the Park guest house.

I fell in love with Pondicherry and the Park guest house. It was the best place I had stayed in my life. The room was huge. But the best part was the views from the enormous balconies that every room had. The park guest house was located strategically on the beach, and my balcony overlooked the ocean. The sound of the waves splashing on the rocks could be heard continuously. I sat in the balcony, mesmerized, for a very long time.

Pic 1: View from the Park Guest House,Pondicherry

A note on the Park Guest house. It is run by the aurobindo Ashram and has some basic rules that need to be followed. Also it is always booked so you need to book the rooms about 1 month in advance .But it is worth every paisa of the 600 rupees per night we spent.


Soon we left for lunch to hotel Surguru, the most popular restaurant in the area for south Indian. After a sumptuous lunch we set off on our travels.

We had decided before hand that Aurobindo Ashram or auroville was not our kind of thing so we decided not to go there. We decided that it as primarily going to be a beach vacation exploring Pondicherry’s pristine beaches.

After negotiating with the Auto Driver we went to visit a couple of beaches.

First stop was Serenity beach which was very small and secluded and not really worth it. So we moved on to Auro beach which was the primary swimming beach of Pondicherry. Lots of people including foreigners could be seen on this beach. The beach was reasonably clean. We had lots of fun playing on the beach.

Pic 2 : Auroville Beach,Pondicherry

Pic 3: Kingfisher Calender,2008 at Auroville Beach,Pondicherry

Pic 4:The waves and I,Auroville Beach,Pondicherry

Soon we decided to leave before it became dark because we had heard that Pondicherry’s beaches are not safe after dark.

It was back to the hotel for freshening up before we ventured out again at about 7 pm.

We walked along Pondicherry’s Promenade beach. The beach is Rocky and cannot be used for swimming. It was beautiful.
We ate at one of the French Café’s dotting the streets of Pondicherry. We went to the Tourism Department to take Maps regarding the French walk of Pondicherry. Soon we were on our way by foot, exploring the quaint French section of the town. It was like we were suddenly transported out of India.
We ate at a very expensive place near our hotel before we went back .We enjoyed sitting on the balcony for some time before we decided to sleep. The last thing we heard before we slept was the sound of the waves gently crashing on the shore.


2) 8th March ,2008 -Saturday
This was meant to be a relaxing soothing vacation. So we got up around 9 am. Had a leisurely breakfast at the restaurant at the hotel which overlooked the sea. Food never tasted so good before.

We were off to our primary spot of the day, Paradise beach at the chunnambar backwaters resort.

This was the highlight of the entire trip. This beach is connected to land but it is primarily accessed by tourists only by water. This beach is not so well known so it was practically empty of tourists.

The motorboat was soon chugging away over the lovely backwaters of the Bay of Bengal.

Pic 6: The backwaters on the way to Paradise Beach

Soon we could spot the long stretch of beach we were heading for.

The beach truly lived up to its name. Picture this, on one side the brilliant blue waters of the Ocean with the foam topped waves crashing on the shore. On the other side the green waters of the backwaters with coconut trees lining the shore. A long pristine stretch of sand with the ocean on one side and backwaters on the other. It was beautiful.
We spent many hours there.

pic 7:Paradise Beach

pic 8: Paradise Beach=Heaven

Soon we headed off to our favorite lunch spot, hotel Surguru. It had grown really hot by this time so went back to our rooms in the afternoon to take a nap.

It had become cooler in the evening so we took a long walk along the promenade again.

pic 9: The rocky beach promenade,Pondicherry
After an early dinner we retired.
3) 8th March ,2008 –Saturday

We had a hectic day today. I got up early to watch the sunrise from our balcony.

Pic 9: Sunrise at Pondicherry from Park guest house

We were going to visit Mahabalipuram before we headed back to Bangalore.
After breakfast we reluctantly checked out of the Park Guest House. Something told me I would go back there again and again in my life.

We caught a bus to Mahabalipuram. Took around 2 hours to reach as it was en-route to Chennai itself.

We stopped off at a restaurant and had brilliant pancakes.Yummy…

Soon we engaged an Auto to give us a tour of all the important places in Mahablipuram.

First stop was the 5 rathas. Small hill sloping from south to north has been segmented into five divisions & converted into monolithic temples. Each monolithic temple shows different kind of sikhara. The five rathas are Dharmaraja Ratha, Bhima Ratha, (center huge structure), Arjuna Ratha (left of Bhima ratha), Draupadi Ratha (extreme left) and Nakul Sahadev Ratha (extreme right).

Pic 10:The 5 rathas,Mahabalipuram

Pic 11 : Me in front of the Dharmaraja Ratha,Mahabalipuram



Then we visited a couple of minor places including the lighthouse, Krishna’s Butter Ball , Arjuna’s Penance etc.

Pic 12:Me supporting the weight of Krishna's Butterball

Descent of Ganges. A prodigious rock wall (eight feet in length & thirty feet in height) carved by the Pallava artisans reflects in bright sunshine, the timeless story of the descent of the Ganges.

pic 13: The intricately carved rock wall,mahabalipuram

Final stop of the day was the shore Temple. It is a structural temple meaning using blocks of stones for constructing temples. Shore temple is a temple complex consisting of two Siva temples and a carving of Anantasayana Vishnu. The temple facing east is entered by a small gopura (smaller one). On plan, it consists of a small sanctum & a front mandapa & is a two-tired vimana. The sanctum is housing a linga. The temple facing west is also dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is large in plan comprising sanctum, mahamandapa, front mandapa, balipitha and dvajastamba. The carving on Lord Vishnu on a boulder in Anantasayana form is lying in between these two temples. It belongs to the period of Narasimhavarman I and thus earlier than the Siva temples.

Pic 14: Shore Temple,Mahabalipuram.

Pic 15: Me in front of the shore temple,Mahabalipuram

Soon we caught another bus to Chennai which took an hour and half. We caught the Shatabdi back to Bangalore.
Pondicherry is truly the place “To give Time a break”. A must see vacation.