My parents and I decided to go on a road trip to Pondicherry between the 28th and 30th of December 2022. It would be the first time since the pandemic that we would be travelling out of Chennai. We booked a homestay with Villa Sentosa, which was designed like homes from olden times, with a courtyard, traditional swing, etc. We hired a known driver and he took his car and we left Chennai by 9.30 am on the 28th.
My parents visited the Vakrakaliyamman temple, which is situated near Pondicherry. Upon reaching Pondicherry, we checked in and freshened up. We left for the Pondicherry Museum. The museum closes at 5 pm every day, so we just made it before closing time. We saw bronze statues from the Chola period, 18th century transportation, ceramic ware and paintings from the 18th century. We also saw the Gutenberg press. There was furniture of French design, a grand piano, old coins, a love seat, model houses of the aristocracy, a landau, a palanquin, and more. I was especially thrilled to see a three-legged table, with each leg fashioned like the trunk of an elephant, like one we had when I was a child. My dad had bought it from Madurai, but we had sold it before moving to Sahaganj, West Bengal. Photography was not permitted in the museum premises.
My parents visited the Manakula Vinayakar temple. Pondicherry seemed to have a temple in each street corner. There were also several eateries. It was hot weather for December, so I was happy to be travelling in an A/C car. We then went to the beach, where there were rocks, and the area was cordoned off for safety. We sat by the beach for a few minutes and enjoyed the sea breeze. For dinner, we went to Baker Street and simply loved it.
Archaeological Site at Arikamedu
On Day Two, we went to the Botanical Gardens and walked about for an hour or so. We went into the aquarium, saw the treehouse, sat under a tree, and enjoyed the good weather. We also drove 15 km into the wilderness to an archaeological site that my dad was interested in seeing. After driving for a while, we reached some ruins.
We went to a French café for lunch. In the evening, we visited relatives at their residence. We were rather fascinated with the Lotus Pond that they had inside the house. We then had dinner near Villa Sentosa. We left Pondicherry the next day after shopping at a mall and visiting Aurobindo Ashram. We checked out of Villa Sentosa before noon and made our way back to Chennai via Auroville. We had lunch at three at a dhaba and tea close to Chennai. We got back home by 6 pm.
