<b>Pondicherry & the unusual Pratyangira Devi Temple

Photos are here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129067489@N04/albums/72157667182390636</b>
They show more if you make them large!

As we drove toward Pondicherry, the road entered a region crisscrossed by numerous rivers and waterways and some dams, making it a prime agricultural area, especially for rice. We saw a number of trucks piled to the heavens with sugar cane or bananas. And workers even used sections of the well-traveled road to spread out and dry hay, creating a slalom course!

Pondicherry is in a different state from Tamil Nadu (although that may change, much to the consternation of many residents). When we reached the border, our driver suddenly burst into exclamations in Tamil that sounded like curse words and abruptly pulled to the side of the road. He then rolled down a window and several times called out to other drivers, appearing to be asking for information, again in Tamil. Each time, they appeared to be mocking him for some reason. Red-faced, our young driver rolled the windows back up and mumbled that he'd be back soon, leaving us parked on the dusty shoulder, while he ran down the road, dodging trucks. Turns out that he had forgotten to secure the necessary papers to allow him to drive commercially in Puducherry and had to get them right then or risk hefty fines.

As we got closer to Pondicherry, the well-maintained road suddenly changed into the road from hell. It turned from smooth and paved into a terrible bone-jarring suspension-destroying mess of rocks and dirt, lasting for many kilometers. This was the result of the torrential rains and resulting flooding endured a couple of months before our trip by the people of the east coast. Traffic slowed to a crawl, and this added at least yet another extra hour to an already longish drive. So we were happy to see that the roads improved as we approached Pondicherry. And luckily it was the only flood-related problem we would see.

I remarked to C that we had just driven across the entire width of India. Admittedly, India is much narrower toward the bottom, but it sounds impressive!

We added to our journey with a ridiculous search for our hotel, as the driver had also neglected to learn the route, and wouldn't ask for directions. Throughout the trip he'd displayed an undeserved tendency to be cocksure about his navigation abilities, which we realized was a result of insecurity. And his navigation skills seemed to really evaporate in Pondicherry. On the other hand, and most importantly, he always handled the car superbly, reacting to all the inevitable "moments" of driving in India with really fine lightning-reflexes, always driving safely and smoothly. In fact, judged for just pure driving skill, he was one of the best I've ever seen.

Obviously he did eventually find our hotel, the decidedly <i>un-hidden</i> Hotel de l'Orient, located in a great location in the "French Quarter", which is also known by the cringeworthy name of Whitetown. The area is unique in India, with the blend of French colonial and Indian architecture, along with some deco examples, too, and we really enjoyed just wandering the streets, admiring the colonial buildings. The buildings often have the beautiful patina that comes from age, and many of the streets are quiet. But this is changing, and may not last without some intervention, as developers threaten the very things that make Pondicherry special. It had changed markedly since my last visit.

Not everyone likes Pondicherry. This is a place to slow down, as its charms reveal themselves slowly. The sites that are purely India are limited. And those who come expecting beautiful beaches will probably be disappointed, stay a couple of blocks inland, instead.

And the French Quarter can't be appreciated from a car. It is necessary to walk or ride a bicycle to be able to see all the beauty of the quaint little streets and buildings, lush with shady trees, and colonial buildings often draped with bougainvillea or other flowers. We also took a ride on one of the colorful bicycle rickshaws. This let us see so much we would have missed otherwise, including the Muslim section, with many old deco influences. We were specific with the rickshaw driver as to what and where we wanted to go. As a bonus, it was cool and easy on the feet.

Having said all that, I wouldn't consider Pondicherry to be a specific reason to visit India, but rather is a nice change of pace during a trip.

Hotel de l'Orient is an old colonial building that had later been a school (it still has an old sign labeled "Instruction Publique") before it was converted by Neemrana to a boutique hotel (although it could use some work again). But it is beautiful and charming and not expensive, and has a restaurant shaded by big trees in the interior courtyard. I'd specifically requested that we stay again in the Kerikal room, which is probably the best in the hotel. That room is large, quiet, charming and has an enormous terrace where we'd have our breakfasts.

We went to a fascinating temple that I'd also been to on my last trip. The link at the beginning of this post will take you to photos. A writer who lived in Tamil Nadu had told me about it. It is devoted to the fierce Goddess Kali. For want of a better description, I'll say that the architecture seems to this westerner a combination of Hindu temple, Manga cartoon, Disneyland, and a Pixar movie. I know that was politically incorrect, but it also happens to be true!

Below is a description I had copied from a Hindu website:

<i>Prithiyankara Devi Kali Temple is a Hindu Temple situated in Moratandi, Pattanur, Near Thiruchitrambalam Koot Road about 8 km outside of Pondicherry. It is dedicated to the powerful goddess Sri Prithiyankara Devi. The height of the statue of the goddess is 72 feet. The deity has a lion head, with bulging eyes, a long necklace of skulls around her and her skin is a blue colour. In her right hand, she holds a trishul (Trident) and in her left hand, she holds a head.</i>

Under the statue is a hilariously inaccurate sign, describing it as "enchanting":

It is off the tourist map, and hard to find, but hopefully your driver will know it. Ours didn't, and neither did anyone at our hotel. But they did a search and finally got directions. It is located down a dirt road off a main highway, maybe 20 minutes from our hotel. Both times I've been there, we were the only people not there to worship, which largely happens outside, involving open fires. This place is quite unusual and seldom visited by tourists. C was amazed! And I got a lot of photos on both trips. It is the luck of the draw as to how much activity there will be on any given day, but hang around, as the activity ebbs and flows.

We took a break from Indian food, as we were less than half-way through this India trip. We liked Villa Shanti enough to go twice for dinner. Reservations are essential, and we went a bit early to beat the crowd. Very attractive contemporary look, but relaxed. My notes remind me that we enjoyed Ginger-pumpkin-sage soup, Spinach salad with apples and walnuts, Papaya salad, Prawn tikka, Tandoori Tiger Prawns, Creme caramel and Chocolate eclair. We enjoyed pain au chocolate and almond croissants as good as the ones we had in Paris at a very good bakery/patisserie called Baker Street. We had a very pleasant lunch at La Maison Rose, located in a lovely shady breezy outdoor courtyard garden. They serve good casual international cafe food. I remember liking the summer rolls with a sweet chili dipping sauce, shrimp ceviche, lime mousse with a guava compote. They have pretty good cappuccinos and cold coffees, too.

Pondicherry would be our last stop in Southern India. After 3 nights, we were driven to the airport in Chennai for a flight to Jaipur, where we would continue our Indian adventure for a few more weeks, into the far reaches of Rajasthan and lastly, Mumbai.

(to be continued)

I'm sure we would enjoy the faded colonial atmosphere of Pondicherry. Looking forward to joining you on your journey in the north.

me too - it all looks gorgeous. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

2 questions if I may:

how long was the southern India section?

if you hadn't had an interest in temples, would the trip have been so worthwhile?

Annhig - the temple portion of Rje's trip is in the Tamil Nadu area which is very different from the Kerala portion which he did earlier on. We had seen many temples on our first trip to India, in Thailand, and Cambodia, but the temples in Tamil Nadu are unique and well worth going to that area for.

Rje - did you miss the temples at Mamallapuram? Btw, I was surprised at what you said about the road conditions coming into Pondicherry, we found them to be excellent just a few months earlier. As for your driver, he likely did not know the local Pondicherry language which may have been why the other driver's were laughing at him and also why he was reluctant to ask for directions. Our driver explained that the languages change in each city state and he was fortunate enough to have the gift of languages, picking up regional languages very easily. After experiencing a driver who can easily converse with us as opposed to our prior driver who had good driving skills, but little English, I can say that it makes a tremendous difference. And perhaps at times our driver made up things like Kramer, but he sure was entertaining and fun to be with!

We loved the temple outside of Pondicherry and have you to thank for directing us to it.

I will try posting pictures from my India trip, but am in the process of making a family photo book as a gift for my dad, so it will take some time still. And we are still poring through our thousands of pictures to cull out the bad ones. What is the best way to share pics?

tripplanner001,
It may take me a little while to get to the northern part of this TR, but you'll be a welcome companion!


annhig ,
We were spent 2 1/2 weeks in Southern India, before moving to the north.

As for temples, it sounds like maybe you, or one of your family isn't a big temple fan, and you're wondering if they would enjoy the trip?
I think one can still appreciate the temples of Southern India without an interest in their religious or cultural significance, or even their role in history. They are beautiful purely as architecture, and some are filled with gorgeous statues and wall-paintings. And of course the outsides sometimes are covered in exquisite carvings.

And the Chettinad region is wonderful even if you don't visit temples there.

And we enjoyed Kerala (including Munnar) without going to a single temple.

Pondicherry also was enjoyable, but the unusual temple there was the cherry on the sundae for us there.

But a large part of the attraction of Tamil Nadu is usually thought to be the temples. So if someone has a bad case of temple aversion, I don't know if Tamil Nadu is the best destination for them.

It seems to me that driving clear across Tamil Nadu without stopping at a temple would not be the best of trips.

On the other hand, if one of your party is temple-phobic, you could fly into Cochin airport and do Kerala (including the backwaters and Munnar), then drive to Madurai and stay in the Chettinad region to see the old mansions, and finally, fly out of Trichy International airport without ever stepping foot in a temple.



dgunbug,
Actually, those other drivers were laughing at our driver because to be blunt, they thought he was an idiot for forgetting such an obvious thing as getting the papers required to drive in Puducherry!

The reason you didn't have road trouble on the road to Pondicherry where we did was that you visited Pondicherry in March - 2 months after we did, and 3 1/2 months after the end of the flood. By then it is reasonable to assume the government would have repaved such an economically vital stretch of road.

That flood was a disaster for the people of Southern India - 500 people were killed and 1.8 million people were displaced. It was the worst flood in over 100 years, and estimates for damage range from between $200 billion USD to $1 trillion USD.

And the these were the same people who suffered so when the tsunami hit the coast about 10 years earlier, wiping out entire towns.

Photos - I haven't done a comparison of ways to share photos, but as you'll have noticed, I use Flickr for casual photography. An account is free, and it comes with 1000GB of free storage.

Mamallapuram - not a fan. The quality of the carving & architecture looks crude to me. It pales in comparison with what you and I both saw in Tamil Nadu. My theory as to its popularity is proximity to Chennai, making it an easy stop coming or going from the airport, or as a quick trip from Chennai, combined with the fact that it is on the ocean, making it sound romantic.

A photo book for you Dad sounds like a very thoughtful gift!

@dgunbug - thanks for your ideas. it sounds as if having a good driver is a very important part of the trip

<<As for temples, it sounds like maybe you, or one of your family isn't a big temple fan, and you're wondering if they would enjoy the trip? >>

@rje - I think that I can safely say that neither of us is that keen on temples, though if there is a particularly spectacular one, we'd be up for that. If I can provide an example, Kathie waxed lyrical about the temples in Sri Lanka, whereas for us, they really weren't terribly interesting.

But it sounds as if it's only in Tamil Nadu that temples are a significant part of the trip and we would probably want to go there anyway, as my grandma was born in Chennai, [we think to Irish parents but she didn't have a birth certificate]. She worked as a midwife in a hospital in the city before she moved to Bombay and met my Grandad who was in the Indian police. So if I'm going to India, Chennai is probably going to be on my wish list.

I'm looking forward to reading about the north India part of your trip, especially because we haven't been drawn to that area. Our first India trip was to Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kolkata, and South India and its fabulous temples appeals to us. So I'll be interested to see if I start to feel more drawn to the Golden Triangle area after reading the next part of your report.

Annhig- the temples that rje and I went to are truly spectacular. My husband gets temples out and does not necessarily car for the religious aspects of the temples, but the architecture and carvings are amazing and worth the time to visit. These are very different from the temples of Angkor wat and others that kathie is a big fan of. Personally I can't get enough of these and other temples, more for their architecture than for the religious significance, but I don't think you will be sorry visiting Tamil Nadu. Unlike the, I loved the temples at Mamallapuram, more for their placement among the rocky terrain though, than the temples themselves.

Kathie - we found the Rajasthan are much different with even more sights and very interesting. IMO there is more actual sites to see there...fabulous forts, palaces and temples. You cannot go wrong. I can't recall if you've been to Varanasi, but it is one of the most fascinating places that we have visited. The inly drawback is that there is much more begging and poverty in that area, but even so, I hope you will consider visiting there.

Rje - looking forward to hearing more.

thanks again, dgunbug. I can imagine being templed out, but if we got there, and decided it wasn't for us, we would always have the option to leave, wouldn't we?

and the pictures are amazing - worth going for the photographic opportunities alone, by the looks of it.

Rje - where'd you go? Still waiting for the rest of your story!

<b>Mysore, Bangalore, and rural Karnataka</b>

Since I've been writing about Southern India, and because some here have expressed interest in visiting the south, I thought I'd also mention our earlier trip to Karnataka and post some photos. As it turns out, I got some of my best India photographs ever on that trip, partially because I was spending more time shooting.

<b>Photos are here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129067489@N04/albums/72157668487696855</b>
They show more if you make them large!

We were in Bangalore, Mysore and the countryside south of Mysore, including a trip to stay in Nagerhole National Park, where saw a lot of wildlife, including many wild elephants. One of them actually charged our jeep. Well, actually it was a mock-charge, but our guide didn't tell us that until it was over and the elephant had run into the woods. I did keep taking photos as the elephant ran bellowing right at us, which was… interesting…

I'll write more about this a bit later.

Where is the Northern part of your trip? Really would love to read about your experiences!

Like others I am really looking forward to the Northern part of your trip. Your trip report is reminding me why I really love Fodors, so much interesting detail that you almost feel you are travelling alongside.

dgunbug, BostonWriter and loncall,
Life and work are a bit hectic right now, but I'll get to the North India part of the trip soon. The entire Northern part won't all come at the same time, as I am still going through photos of the latter part of the trip, not to mention having to write it!

<b>a little more about our Karnataka trip</b>

The reason for the trip initially was business in Bangalore, but I had a few days of free time and spent it roaming through markets, residential neighborhoods, an entire street of banana wholesalers, and any promising backstreet I came across. I got lost many times, and each time just hopped on a tuk-tuk, which Spellcheck insists on changing repeatedly to "yuk-yuk".

Since this trip was years ago, I won't go into specifics which may be dated, except to say that while Bangalore is off most tourists lists, it is still a fascinating city once you get out of the more modern areas. It vastly exceeded my expectations.

From Bangalore we took the comfortable Shatabdi Express train to Mysore, which I think took about 2 hours. We didn't have a driver in Bangalore, as it was easy to get tuk-tuks, but decided to have one for our time in Mysore.

The attractions of Mysore are well-known, but one of the highlights was outside of Mysore - a day trip to Somnathpur temple, also known as Keshava temple and Chennakesava temple. The outside is completely covered in exquisite carvings, and the inside is equally impressive. Virtually deserted during our visit, the artistry of the Hoysala carving is still among the best we've seen in all of India. Some of the hard-stone pillars were actually carved on lathes. The drive there through rural Karnataka is part of the attraction. I had the driver stop at several small villages, and had him wait in the car while I wandered through them.

There are a number of other Hoysala temples in Karnataka and someday I hope to visit more of them.

"just hopped on a tuk-tuk, which Spellcheck insists on changing repeatedly to "yuk-yuk""

LOL!

Also love the Hoysala temples.

rje....your last photos were stunning. You have a good eye and captured the spirit of where you were at. I felt I was there! Am enjoying your TR and looking forward to your Northern India TR when time permits............. Good reading.............. thank you.

<b>Rajasthan</b>

As we move from the Southern India up into Rajasthan, here's the itinerary for this northern segment of the trip:
Rajasthan (and Mumbai):
Jaipur- Shekhawati region
Shekhawati region-Bikaner
Bikaner-Jaisalmer
Jaisalmer-Jodhpur
Jodhpur-Narlai
Narlai-Bera
Bera-Khempur
Khempur-Begun
Begun-Bhainsrorgarh
Bhainsrorgarh-Bundi
Bundi-Delwara
Delwara-Udaipur
Udaipur-Mumbai (flight)
Mumbai-New York

First, a call-out to julies and progol, whose informative trip reports for rural Rajasthan helped me decide to choose TGS to provide our car & driver in the north.

Like them, I found Nikhil (the owner) to be very responsive to my many questions about logistics. I already knew where we wanted to go and which hotels we wanted to stay in, but the puzzle of what itinerary order would make the most sense was not something I could solve on my own. Google maps is almost never accurate for driving times or best routes in places like Rajasthan.

In addition, I needed to plan the trip around C, whose disabilities limits her time walking and the number of stairs she can handle. My research on this aspect was going well, but there were gaps, and Nikhil was very helpful in filling those gaps. I had him communicate to our driver in advance that we'd need to be dropped off at the nearest possible entry points to sites, with as few steep hills as possible, etc.

I had a number of more unusual questions, like where were the best places to see the huge expanses of red chills drying in the sun I'd seen in photos, or help identifying the location of pictures I'd send him that I found unidentified on the internet, or how to get onto a particular rooftop to take a desired photograph. Each time he was great about promptly getting back to me. His services were not the cheapest I'd found, but the recommendations coming from trusted people combined with his intelligent advice and quick responses made me feel it was worth paying a little more. I did find and book our hotels myself, but he can also do all that, as well as provide guides, etc. After our extensive trip, I'd recommend his services.

progol wrote about their driver Raj with great affection, so I requested him for the trip, and Nikhil wrote back that he would be available for us. His easy-going temperament would be a good thing to have over weeks on the roads of Rajasthan!

This trip was like a big Indian buffet. We could sample many areas and decide if we wanted to go back for seconds on a later trip. But we needed to pace ourselves, because if we tried all the appetizers, we might be too full for the entrees. One area where this applied was forts, of which Rajasthan has no shortage. So we felt no obligation to see them all.

Even on a 6-week trip we needed to eliminate many cities and regions that had tempted us, like Varanasi, Gujarat, Goa, Kolkata, Dungarpur and Amritsar, which will all have to wait for a return trip. Even so, more places kept being added! And although we could have made the trip longer, I was already concerned about the blur factor. Luckily, that didn't happen at all!

I'll be able to post Jaipur and photos a little later today.

thursdaysd,
I enjoyed your writing about Southern India. I need to get to Belur and Halebid!

dragon88,
Thanks so much. And Northern India commences in just a little while!

@rje - thanks! Didn't get to the Hoysala temples on that trip - went there back in 2001, which isn't on Fodors.

Hope it wasn't too hot in the north - have been reading about incredible temperatures in India right now.