Pondicherry- Forget about life for a while !

Finally,after many many years, a plan got made to visit the quaint little sea town of Pondicherry. Having always heard about the very French town of Pondi, me and the kids with the grandma in tow, made it there. An early morning flight to Chennai and then a two and half hour road trip later, I was in Pondi. First impression- oh my god ! I am surrounded by Tamilians... ok!ok ! I am also a Tamilian but this was crazy. Chennai- the airport and arrivals - noisy and hot.. and Pondicherry city- noisy and hot. The road was fantastic - we came via the Villapuram by-pass and it was a fantastic road. 

Checked into our hotel- The Accord Pudducherry ( as pondy, is now officially known as ) and we were exhausted. Now Pondy, is all of just 10kms in a circular radius. And this was new Pondicherry- so it was totally Tamil and no French. In the evening, we figured out how to reach French Town and it simply blew us away. Beautiful villas and buildings, relatively quiet and clean roads, and an amazing Promenade ( also know as Goubert Ave ) .. the sea beyond,splashing on the rocks and a road closed for traffic every evening - it was the stuff I dream of a holiday. It seemed everyone in Pondy was there that evening, yet you could find your own space of peace and quiet. Since we were tired, we just walked around a bit and on my son's insistence came back to the hotel for dinner. 

one of the many French streets 

Day 2 - I finally figured out the Ola's are available in Pondy and we took a cab down to Auroville. The entire trip to Pondy was worth it after visiting Auroville. Now anyone who knows me, knows I am a non-believer in God but Auroville isn't about God. It's about finding your peace in what makes you happy. Everyone who goes there finds their own worship. The Matrimandir is surreal ... with sprawling lawns and an amphitheater. The 1.5 km walk to the Matrimandir was literally through a forest - with the most amazing Banyan tree formation I have ever seen. It is supposed to the the geographical center of Auroville. Its easy to move around in Auroville - you can walk or cycle or even take a complimentary bus. After many photo's and oooh's and aaah's we came back to French town and strolled into a cute little pizza place. The evening was even better- Serenity beach. 

Banyan tree spreading it's roots 

The Matrimandir

the best part of the holiday

The calm but deceptive- Bay of Bengal

Happiness !!!!!

Now Pondi isn't a beach town. It's not Goa. Serenity beach isn't Candolim lined with shacks. Its just a little beach with waters nice enough for a splash. The kids went totally ballistic. Finally it seemed like a holiday to them !!! Vivaan even visited the Ganesh temple in French Town - he was absolutely fascinated by Laxmi - the resident elephant giving him blessings. In face he went there twice. 

Day 3- Back to French town, we explored the Aurobindo Ashram which was just a quick 10 minute trip for us and then we explored French Town on a cycle rickshaw. The world seemed to travel back in time that afternoon - life was a tad slower, a little more scenic, a step back and breath short. We soaked in the most beautiful part of Pondy - the world war memorial, the Dupliex statue, the Immaculate Conception Cathedral -a beautiful Portuguese church with white and gold columns. 

Favorite picture 

Favorite picture 

Our evening was again spent strolling at the Promenade, with the kids and their grandma having Chundal ( something with chickpea's and raw mangoes ), a pasta dinner at an open air sea side cafe and topped with Gelato's. Cést La Vie!!!!!

Pondi is great place to visit but keep in mind that it's not as French as we believe. The French influence is limited till French town and a Bakery called Bakers Town. The rest of the town is very Tamil and we were lucky to have my mom around, who thanks to the Tamil roots, was our translator. Else it is tough to get around. The auto guys take you for a ride on the price and almost refuse to negotiate. Use Ola's - much easier and less bumpy. 

We spent about 3 days in Pondi which is ample. While we stayed in New Pondi, it makes sense to stay in French town - which is where most of the tourists stay. On our return, we took the famous East Coast Road - brief views of the sea greeted us once in a while. We stopped at Mahabalipuram to see the caves, Krishan's butter rock and the shore temple but even more interesting, was a visit to India's only Sea-Shell Museum. Owned by a private collector, it was absolutely amazing to see the many many varieties of sea-shell's. The icing on the cake, was however the fish pedicure, which at Rs. 100/ per person was a steal !!!!!! 

Krishna's Butter Rock made for a natural slide down

We stayed a day in Chennai before coming to back - after almost 20 years Chennai is still the same ! 

Pondi is a great place but for about two to three days. It makes for a great place to just do nothing - I wouldn't mind spending sometime again there - with the sea and a lovely Promenade for a walk, its a lovely place for unwinding and forgetting about life for a while.  

Coffee and conversations !

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Singapore - walkers paradise !

Almost everyone visits Singapore as a part of their first experience outside Indian borders. And why not, it’s safe, clean, organised, and we get Indian food. I have visited Singapore many times in the past but this year’s summer holiday in Singapore with my kids turned out to be different. Sure we did the usual touristy things – Sentosa, Universal Studios, Gardens by the Bay etc but what I loved most, was exploring the city on foot.

Since Singapore is easy to get around thanks to the extremely efficient and well organised public transport system, we travelled everyday by train, bus and foot. Taxis were used but limited to airport to hotel transfer, and the places not easily accessible by the MTR. I always believe the best way to explore a city is on foot. We happened to be staying at Bugis – a wonderful cosmopolitan area within Singapore. A confluence of Muslim and Hindu culture, Mosques, Temples and Churches co-exist peacefully. A stone’s throw from the vibrant, Arab Street, we walked down to the lively cafes in the evening for a casual dinner and beer after a long day at the usual tourist places. I find street side cafes quaint and we loved sitting out in the open, with the warm summer breeze, live music and chilled beer for company. Either side of the street were lined with Turkish, Lebanese, Mediterranean, Indian cuisines, French Café’s serving pastry’s and coffee each playing their own kind of music ! Truly my kind of heaven.

Another area, we loved exploring on foot, was the Esplanade. A walk in the light rain, down the charming Anderson bridge, we came across the 100^th store of Starbucks ! Customary visit was ofcourse not to be missed – one of the best starbucks in Singapore – location wise. With huge windows overlooking the Singapore River, one can spend an hour or two or three, with the company of good books and awesome coffee! The majestic Fullerton Hotel in the background, me and my kids, walked down towards Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. Along the way, we came across beautiful bronze statues depicting the history of Singapore, from the land of traders to the Finance capital of the world.

My favorite picutre  !!!! 

At the 100th Store of Starbucks !

Look for these as you walk along the Esplanade !

My personal favorite – was the statue of the little boys jumping into the river. It depicts the innocence of childhood, the simple pleasure of life !  While we walked and strolled, looking for a place to lunch, we reached Boat Quay .. lined with cuisines for everyone from every part of the world, we settled for Italian. A cute place called Vespetta – with a bright red Vespa scooter welcoming us at the door, we settled down to eat authentic Italian thin crust Pizza, Peroni beer served by a cute Italian owner !!! Heaven ! On another day, we walked down from the Merlion to this amazing food court, called Lau-Pa-Sat !

Since we stayed a Bugis, we walked down to Bugis night market, for all the knick-knacks and souvenir shopping. It’s much better to keep your shopping limited to the night market, you get everything you need without paying a bomb ! We also walked down Orchard road, which I personally have never enjoyed. It’s too stuffy for my liking. I showed the kids the street and we settled down on one of the steps leading to a mall, eating yummy ice cream sandwiched in a wafer …. At 1SGD per person it was just the best and what a huge variety of flavours to choose from.

We spent 6 days in Singapore doing everything necessary and finding new alleys and roads, eating joints and shopping places. We went one evening to East Coast Park – a lovely place to go with kids; with swings, beaches and you can even hire bicycles for an hour or so. Tip – carry a valid ID proof like your passport to hire a bicycle. I wasn’t carrying mine so we couldn’t rent them ! We in fact took the bus from Bedok to East Coast Park which was just so easy !

Travel Tip – Singapore is really easy to move around in local transport like the Bus and MRT. The MRT connects every nook and corner of Singapore. Buy the Ezeelink card – with this you can travel on the metro and the bus with ease. We saved a lot of money by travelling in the MTR. It’s even cheaper if you travel in the off-peak hours. We usually set out at 9:30 when off peak rates started and reached almost everywhere in less than 1SGD. In fact, on our return, we went to Changi airport from Bugis by the MRT. We reached in 20 mins flat without any hassles. Ezeelink cards are available at most MTR stations, at the Airport and at most Seven-Eleven stores. You can top them up and even get them refunded on your return at Changi!

So the next time you are Singapore, try something different. Walk around and soak in the culture, history and liveliness of the city ! Trust me, you will want to go back again !

Happy travelling !

An afternoon of meeting Champions !!!

I have often read that the great champions have had humble beginnings, which carries on forward as they become they best at their sport. Wednesday - 19 April 2017, a bright and sunny afternoon in New Delhi at the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium was an evening which proved this.

A chance post on Facebook, led to me inbox Roland Garros and express an interest to meet Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Having spent most of the early 1990’s watching and admiring Steffi Graf, I was well aware of how competitive and tough an opponent Arantxa was for Steffi. I have sat through cliff hanger finals of the French Open and Wimbledon between these two. The chance for the kids and me to meet a champion like Arantxa was not to be missed.

We got the call and the time and day was intimated. Now my kids have no clue about Arantxa – they know Federer, Rafa and Djokovic. But I gave them a download and sure enough were excited to meet Arantxa. On the drive down they even brushed up their Spanish to impress her 😊 .  As we entered the DLTA, figuring out where we had to go, we bumped into guess who !!!- Dipa Karmakar. Yes, the champion who brought laurels to India by being the first Indian to compete in Gymsastics and attempting the death defying Produnova. We were stunned to see and meet her. She is so petite and pretty. She was walking out, with no airs of a champion, like you and me, smiling and acknowledging who ever recognised her. With my kids and me whispering ‘is that Dipa Karmakar?” she simply turned around, flashed a million dollar smile and said, ÿes I am Dipa” .. Our next question “can we take a selfie ??” 

Selfie taken… and we talked to the tennis courts.

It was delightful to meet Arantxa – grounded and humble, social and amiable, like a true champion! The kids said hello in Spanish to her, Ola ! and soon we were across the net with her. The kids really enjoyed their attempts to rally. With some of the more talented kids, I saw flashes of the Sanchez we saw playing against Steffi Graf. After that was the customary photograph and autograph session with her. She spoke with me like we have known each other for years and I had to stop myself from asking if she had Steffi Graf’s number !!!!!

The kids were thrilled, I was overjoyed and it made me feel great that I have a sporting gene in me …which is getting passed on to the kids ! They came back happy and content and went for their tennis class – If I have managed to get them interested in tennis as sport even if for a recreation, it has been a mission achieved for me !

Hauz Khas Village - old wine in a new bottle

Hauz Khas Village – a village which has become one of the hot-spots of South Delhi. A village which retains its ethnic village charm, co-existing with pubs, loud music, drugs and hyper active hormones. I have recently started liking my visits to HKV ( as it’s known ). I have a few favourite places to hang out on a nice, sunny winter afternoon to relax and catch up. I have visited HKV with friends and with my children and each time the experience has been different.  Everyone who comes to Delhi, or is from Delhi will visit HKV, and here are a few tips I have learnt along my visits there

• Soak in the character - it’s a quaint experience to walk down the alleyways and narrow lanes. I, for one, am fascinated by haveli’s, well’s, and narrow paths leading somewhere unknown. Take time to soak in the character of the place, read the tombstones and find your own paths.

• Reach early to enjoy the  village –Reaching early also helps you get parking easily, which as anyone who has been to HKV, can vouch for is a nightmare on weekends from late lunch time onward. Avoid the weekend nights – while we all have our moments of madness, where we want to be the wild party animals, Hauz Khas Village loses its charm for me in the night. An absolute nightmare to park, crowded lanes, waiting to be seated and a nightmare to exit, I would avoid it in the nights. Of course, it would be make for pleasant early summer evenings, though the traffic would be enough to put me off.

• Take the kids – my kids enjoyed walking though the village, and exploring the ruins. However, avoid taking the kids on Valentine’s day or the day before Valentine’s day. The village is known for couples high on hormones and drugs and it was a little tough to explain certain things to the kids.

• Food and drinks aplenty – all the known joints have a branch at the village. Food and alcohol is reasonable to suit all pockets. My personal favourites – Social Chhat ( terrace) for winter afternoon’s – overlooking the reservoir, complete with cots, it’s the perfect place for the winter afternoon with friends or family. Yes, it’s a kid friendly place too. Nirula’s ice cream parlour is right next to it – perfect for that hot chocolate fudge. And of course, Starbucks – make it a take away, walk down to the ruins and enjoy your cuppa in peace … not bad, I say !!!!!!

So go ahead, go down and enjoy a bit of the Old Delhi charm in the heart of South Delhi.