Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Le Pondy

Pondicherry trip was not an exceptional one.  But it did have its moments and I loved it for its simplicity.

The food for one , I had a couple of firsts here . Had my first lobster and quiche here. The bakery Zuka we went for breakfast on day 1 had the best éclairs . K loved the place and there are very few eateries that really cater to K's tastes .

The pizza in Cafe Xtasi was very good albiet the hunt for the place is a story that K loves recollecting . I chose this place from a list of awesome eateries in TripAdvisor and spurred by the huge success in navigating to the beach island and auroville using Google maps , I switched on the map using that option directly from TripAdvisor . Off we went in our hired activa  , me giving the directions and all. After a while we saw that we were leaving the city and entering suburbs. I reloaded the map , again from TripAdvisor . The route remained same. We kept going . After almost half an hour , we turned right into a dinghy lane and entered a slum . 'Your destination is on the left' read the map. On the left was what looked like a dilapidated building. I searched for cafe Xtasi on Google instead of TripAdvisor and we made the journey back the same route . Guess what . Cafe Xtasi was about 200 mts from our hotel . K had something to joke continuously about for the rest of the day . we did tell the owners that their address is wrong on TripAdvisor.

This was the only issue we faced with Google maps , It was a lifesaver while going to auroville ashram and beach island . And it is fun sitting pillion and giving instructions to your man .  "when is the next turn " K would yell , trying to be heard above the sound of traffic and engine . " 200 mts ahead and then left " I would yell back . " Are you sure its left , this doesn't look like a road to me " K would ask . " Just move , if the blue arrow veers off the route then we ll reverse back " . And once he had taken the turn , if the route remained I would happily check for the next turn or else re route after K grumbled to me and I blamed Google . And so this continued .

The maps helped us to catch the last boat to the island after a school girl sent us on a wrong route . The return journey after sunset was a remarkable feat considering that it was an hour long ,we were in a strange place , the traffic was chaotic , lanes were narrow and confusing and K simply can't take the glares of vehicles at night . Somehow Google maps behaved wonderfully well that day and I too didn't misinterpret anything. The island was pretty , nothing much to talk about save for the scores of jellyfish in the back waters.

We used the maps to find that wonderful restaurant where I had my first lobster .

I also discovered I love riding pillion in scooters . Specially if I am the navigator .

We caught a couple of movies being shot but I didn't spot the actor in one shoot and didn't recognise the actor in the other.

The last evening was spent strolling on the shopping street.

Pondicherry was relaxed and unhurried.
Good food , Google maps and each others company made it a good trip for me .