Southern Comfort

I recently returned from a FABULOUS trip to Tamil Nadu, in the Southeastern part of India. Katie, the girls and I went down Monday last, and Steve joined us on Saturday. We arrived in the region's major city, Chennai, after an easy 2.5 hour flight on Kingfisher and promptly made our way in an itty-bitty car to Pondicherry, about 2.5 hours again. After three days in Pondy, we did a quick scan of Auroville before making our way slightly north to an amazing eco beach resort (http://www.thedunehotel.com/) where we stayed 3 days. Our final 4 days were spent at the GRT Temple Bay resort in Mahabalipuram where Steve joined us.
That's the short synopsis. Read on, if you're interested in the details. Or don't.

Side note: I'll leave it up to you and your google skills to further investigate historical details or the like. My intention is to provide my impressions and accounts of my experiences in these places.

First Stop: Pondy

Pondy is a lovely place that blends bustling streets with markets, cows, scooters with a calm French quarter with elegant old buildings, tree-lined streets and funky boutiquey shops. There is an great diversity in language, religion and ethnicity. Western tourists and residents are adundant, particularly in the French quarter. (For more: http://tourism.pondicherry.gov.in/ )
We arrived in the late afternoon on Eid, a muslim holy day. The women were out in their elegant burkas, shimmering beads upon black silks. And the children were dressed in bright colors, sequins, and flowers tied into their braids. The wallahs on the beach sold cold channa and popcorn. We were in awe at the beauty of the whole scene. And the Indians were just as enamored with us. Schoolboys clamored on the rocks above where we were sitting, and called out "hello", demonstrating their English. One little boy said hello to me and asked, "how are you?". I responded, "I am well, and you?" He was already turned back towards his friend, and Katie said his mouth was agape and he was all smiles, having had communicated in English! It was very cute. At one point, a group of gorgeously dressed Muslims were walking toward us on the beach. They stopped and stared at us, and we at them. And at the same time we asked to take each other's photographs. It was a beautiful moment, like two worlds meeting. And really, it was almost just that.

(Side note: I found Kombucha in a small cafe on the beach. I was in hog heaven!!!)

We stayed in a quaint, historical hotel, Hotel Du Parc, in the French Quarter, about 2 blocks from the beach (not a swimming beach by any standard!), and across the street from some of the best South Indian food we had over the course of our trip. They had tandoori idly - yum!! The staff at our hotel was lovely, adored the girls of course, and the location was perfect. It was only lacking in the food department, so we chose from the many restaurants around the city. Katie had brought with us an article by one of her favorite NYT travel writers, and boy was he right on!
Katie and I were ready to rock and roll and see Pondy on our second day there. We decided to explore the large market in the center of the city, but bailed as soon as we hit the stinky fish market, as it was too much for the girls, and pretty similar to many of the markets we have explored in Delhi. We turned back and decided to spend our time in the French Quarter, which is nothing like Delhi. It is sprayed with cool boutiques, art galleries, and yummy little food joints. We began the day on foot, exploring churches and elegant old buildings. At one point we found ourselves in the beautiful courtyard of someone's home, thinking it was the Neemarana Hotel (famous heritage hotel chain). The shopkeeper of the boutique attached to the home misunderstood when we asked if we could go through the adjoining door to see the hotel. Her boss, and homeowner, quickly put the kaibash on that, and understandably so. Katie and I were thrilled to see the inside of one of the elegant, French style homes, though. It was quite something - elegant open air courtyard, exquisite art, fresh flowers everywhere...
We headed next to a Catholic Church, where we sat quietly on the pews. Katie pointed to the Crucifix at the front of the Church and whispered to Soph, "Do you know who that is?" Sophie nodded her head confidently and said, "Ghandi." (Katie did, by the way, give me permission to publish that in my blog.) I suppose it can be chalked up to Religious Confusion in a country where there are thousands of Gods worshipped by nearly a billion people.
It was upon departing the church that Charlotte did not look so well, and by the time we arrived at a neat little handicrafts store, she was barfing on the front steps, but more into Katie's quick-barf-catching hands (a well-practiced mother). The women at the shop were so helpful and wonderful. Charlotte recovered quite quickly, and we rented bikes as planned. Katie and I laughed about the future Charlotte - already honing her Puke-and-Rally skills. That and the hippy-hippy shake dance she's got going on....Katie and Steve are in for it with her!!
We rented the COOLEST bikes and rode around the tree-lined streets of the French Quarter until it was so dark that we literally could not see the road. Sophie sat on the basket rack on the rear of our sweet Pink and Purple ride. Charlotte had a special seat attached between Katie and the handlebars. It was perfect. We biked by the sea, and stopped into boutiques and had a lovely little lunch at a cafe owned by a French woman. Upon returning the bikes, we headed to an amazing South Indian restaurant (recommended by Katie's NYT guy - the Pondy Guru), where we ate to the point of painful tummies, but well worth it.

We left Pondy on Wednesday and headed through Auroville. It was an interesting place, about which I will not comment at length. Sophie and I walked out to the giant Golden globe, and saw the enormous bonsai tree. I think to truly understand what Auroville is about, one must stay there and discover it thorugh the eyes of a resident. This we did not do. Google if you're interested in knowing more about this utopian society that is Auroville...

We arrived at the Dune Eco Beach Resort, just north of Auroville, with enough time to hit the pool, the beach, and eat delicious food. Our bungalow, the Bangle house, was awesome and came with two bicycles which we road around the estate. The roads were all dirt, and meandered around all the beautiful (and sustainable) bungalows, past the spa, the cow farm, the llama, chickens, organic vegetable gardens, restaurant, pool, etc. It was the coolest resort I have ever experienced, and it really was the first REAL resort I had ever stayed at, so I suppose you think that's not saying much. But you see, I will forever compare resort experiences to that of the Dune.
You see, the Dune was blissful on all accounts. The food was incredible and healthy and fresh, and the chef came and talked to me and Katie at each meal to see what we were in the mood for and then cooked something specially for us. We always requested the freshly caught fish of the day, and he would create something beyond my wildest dreams. Coconut curries, ceviche, plaintains, and on and on. The whole staff was just lovely, as well. They were not overbearing, which is usually a problem in India where there are people who do everything for you, even when you would prefer to do it yourself. They were polite and accomodating and friendly. Katie and I each had relaxing Ayurvedic massages. I ran on the dirt roads, feeling at home as I passed the cows, and feeling euphoric as I passed the ocean. Oh, and feeling very much at home when the mosquitoes feasted on my legs!!

From Pondy, we headed to Mahabalipuram, which is a working fishing village en route to Chennai. We stayed at a much more conventional resort here, but lovely nonetheless. I loved that we had a calmer ocean in which to swim (Katie was the only one who went in the water in Pondy). Our first night at the resort, Katie and I ventured out to the town just a little ways down the beach. It was dark, and a little scary to be among the fishing boats and stray dogs, but we quickly found our way. Men were much more forward, and we even experienced a little bit of harrassment. I suppose they see many westerners who come through with backpacks and such, and so the dynamic is a little bit different. We ate dinner at a lovely little joint called "Le Yogi" where you removed your shoes and the entrance, and sat on meditation pillows at low tables. It was a sweet little place. We explored some more after dinner, and made our way home on the road. It is very different from Delhi, much more impoverished and underdeveloped.
Steve joined us on Saturday, just after an enormous buffet breakfast of everything you can imagine. Traditional Indian breakfast, fresh juices, yogurt, sausages, pancakes, toast, soup, dessert...it was all there. The girls were on cloud nine. I mean, chocolate chip pancakes!?? Meanwhile Katie and I were worried about what they do with all the leftover food. We decided that in India, nothing goes uneaten. Whether they donate to the orphanages, or throw it in the dumpster, somebody will eat it. We did do take away each morning. Isn't that the number one no-no at a buffet? Ha.
We explored the temples and carvings that Mahabalipuram is famous for. The carvings date back to the 7th Century. I had never seen anything so old. They were quite impressive and beautiful, depicting Gods, and myths and stories, and representative of many different faiths. The weather was insanely hot, however. The photo I just recently uploaded behind my blog title is of me with a carving of Lord Krishna and his harem, and the dark spots on my middle are sweat. The breeze was not blowing through the ancient Mahabalipuram. Luckily we were able to return to a resort with a gorgeous breeze...
I was able to run on the beach one day, followed by a marvelous dive into the sea to cool down. The humidity was hard to bear, as was the steep slope into the water, but I made it work. I imagined that I was running along Carmel Beach, and up the cliffs through Pebble Beach, simultaneously tuning into the world in which I was running. I passed fisherman, and women carrying loads on their heads. I passed shabbier or completely run down "resorts", and fields from which locals appeared to dive in the water, or sit on the sand. I even passed another westerner who was also running!

On Monday, Katie and Steve and the girls continued on with their vacation to Kerala. I stayed at the resort, soaking up as much sunshine and breathing in as much clean, salty air as I could before heading to the airport and returning to Delhi. The fresh air and breezes were certainly a lovely treat, but it felt good to return home, and to know that Delhi really is my home...

...for now.

Namaste.