Partying in Pondy - Dec 12 2014

From the former Danish colony of Tranquebar we proceeded up the coast to the former French colony of Pondicherry or Pondy, where as promised we found many bakeries, patisseries,  French- speaking locals and even some art galleries. Other than that we didn't find much to do around town, but our guesthouse was lovely (Villa Creole  double room @ 1000 Rs), especially the very friendly owner who is also a chef. While walking on the boardwalk exploring the town we came across a flyer for a party  at Asian House and decided to check it out. We paid 1000 rupees per couple entrance fee which included 2 drinks and a dinner buffet (which we somehow missed) and soon found out that we are the only foreigners there, which meant some serious staring. But we decided to enjoy it nonetheless, drank some overpriced beer and joined the male-dominated dance floor (where Daniel was a hit with the boys, learning some Bollywood moves). 

That night we met some very friendly locals including the lovely Suzanne, a strong independent Indian woman who lived nearby and invited us to stay with her for a few days. We gladly took the invitation and were welcomed warmly at her lovely home in a village near Auroville. We had a great time cooking together, partying with her and her friends and watching great Bollywood movies (recommended Yeh Jaeaani Hai Deewani and Cocktail). She was kind enough to give us her scooter and we visited the interesting town of Auroville with its striking golden matrimandir. After helping Suzanne move to a new house (!) we said goodbye and caught a bus to our next destination- Mamallapuram.

Banyan tree

the famous Matrimandir at Auroville

Daniel cooking pasta

Daniel's Terrific Temple Tour around Tamil Nadu - Dec 8 2014

We embarked on our (Daniel's) temple tour in Trichy aka Tiruchirapalli, home to the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, the larget temple complex in India. We soon discovered though that the temple is under construction and therefore not very impressive, and we left disappointed after a short visit inside. 

As we were exiting the temple grounds we were approached by two local teachers who apparently were hunting down tourists at the temple. They asked us if we would come visit their English medium school where the students were working in several international projects and wanted to share it with foreigners and get our opinion and comments about it. Strange as it was, we did'nt have much to do in the town as the temple was a bust, so we decided to go for it. They drove us to the school  at Musri, a town 40 minutes away, where we had an overwhelmingly warm welcome. We were greeted by the principal and garlanded with flowers, then entered the courtyard where the whole school was seated awaiting our arrival. Next there was a traditional Indian dance and song resentation for us performed by students of the school. We were asked some questions about our country and culture and about India, and proceeded to visit the different classrooms and see the kids' internationally-themed projects (not knowing exaclty what to say we mostly nodded our heads and repeated "very nice" and "good job"). It was an unusual experience and all in all interesting though a bit embarrassing at times, mainly due to the fact that we didn't completely understand the purpose of our visit (and also because we were being photographed continuously). Still, both the students and faculty were really happy and excited to have us there and the principal expressed several times how much she appreciated our visit, so we were happy as well.

Thanjur or Thanjavur was more successful temple-wise, as the Brihadisvara Temple, dedicated to lord Shiva and  declared a UNESCO world heritage site, truly is a an extraordinary monument. We also visited the palace in town which included several galleries and a museum, but will mostly be remembered as the place where I managed to drop my phone into a public squat toilet (yes it's as bad as it sounds). Fortunately I bravely succeeded in recovering and cleaning it (without puking), and thanks to Daniel's wise idea to put it in a bag of rice it miraculously came back to life! 

Next we reached Kumbakonam (possibly the only tourists to do so) which boasted several different temples in and around town, but only one turned out to be worth visiting (in my opinion, Daniel might beg to differ). However, Kanishka guesthouse where we spent the night was a success. 

We took a break from temples to relax for one night in tranquil Tranquebar or Tharangambadi(credit to Lonely Planet or the catchy title and for bringing us there), a former Danish colony on the east coast of India whose claim to fame are the ancient Fort Dansborg, an expansive heritage hotel (which we didn't stay in but indulged in their excellent breakfast buffet), and a deserted beach unfit for swimming (like most of the eastern coastline). Don't worry, more temples to come! 

Meenakshi Amman Temple of Madurai - Nov 28 2014

After being ripped off (as usual) by the local rickshaw driver, we settled in a rather run down hotel (read: basically a dump) but with great temple views. The temple itself, dedicated to Meenakshi (another name for Parvati, wife of Shiva)  and one of the largest in south India, was beautiful and impressive. After walking around aimlessly for a bit we decided to hire a guide who turned out to be quite knowledgeable and  informative. 

Before leaving to Kodaikanal we did some food shopping, excited for the much-expected home cooking ahead and indulging in several rare luxury items like olive oil and tofu at the fancy Shopper's Shop.  

Karuna Farm and Kodaikanal- we love hill stations! - Nov 29 2014

We reached Kodaikanal, a beautiful hill station, in the evening and waited to be picked up in a jeep to Karuna Farm in the nearby Prakaspuram village. We booked a room in Karuna after  a warm recommendation from friends, trying to avoid the crowds at the popular backacker (and Israeli-dominated) village of Vattakanal. while waiting we  hung around the Pastry Corner, a great bakery with friendly owners, delicious mini-pizzas and our soon to become favorite eggless chocolate cake!

Karuna Farm is a self-sustained nature loving community built on a side of a montain overlooking amazing green forests. It is home to several foreign residents who settled there permanently, in addition to offering rooms (800-1500 Rs including dinner and daily yoga class) for guests who wish for a peaceful nature retreat . 

We had a wonderful week in our little cabin in the farm, equipped with a kitchen and a fireplace. We started every morning with a wonderful yoga class (included in the price of the room), cooked delicious meals, explored the beautiful nature, and chilled with great people including Ofir from Israel and Hart from Canada. We stayed another two nights at the town of Kodaikanal( Snooze Inn @ 850 Rs) before leaving to Trichy, taking in the cool hill-station air and European feel and eating really great food!(Punjabi Dhaba, Cloud Street, Astoria Veg, and  previously mentioned Pastry Corner).