UNO – Pondy !!!

It’s been a long time since we had an all boys day(s) out.  And Pondicherry seemed like a great option. With lots of ins and outs, before the final list of members could be finalized. The final list counted six and there it was.  At least something was decided on .. Next up the vehicle. All along we had decided that we take a different vehicle to the ones we own. And after a few calls to the car folks , we were able to get a nice red Toyota Innova 2.5G for ourselves from Carzonrent.**
 

 On second thoughts, six were just right for the car, given the increased waist sizes of all folks over the past few years.

At 7 am on the morning of 20^th August , we started off with Deepak and  I. Pavan and Ravi were picked up next and finally ended up at Prathap’s house.  All had a great cup of tea at his place and went ahead to get out of town, but not before finally picking up Mithun from somewhere in South Bangalore.

It was a nice sunny morning and we were all settled in the car and were cruising at top speed, looking forward to a great three days ahead. We had to stop at the Tamil Nadu check post for a permit. It’s a pretty hassle free process unless you choose to listen the other white-uniform clad chauffeurs, who think no yellow board cars will be given permits unless the driver is clad in white!

Driving for about an hour, suddenly  the only thing on everyone’s mind was FOOD!

 Breakfast – some idli-vadas, dosas and stuff .. Finally we reached a Kamat Hotel on the highway, thanks to Mithun’s somewhat weary memory .. Once there everyone just got busy doing what they do best – STUFF yourself !! At the end when we finally got up, the bill was a cool ~600 ruppees, that’s 100 rs of bfast per head at a mere highway hotel ..

The first stop was Krishnagiri, approx 90 kms from Bangalore. At this Pondicherryint you need to take a detour to the right and go through some really bad patch of road for some 20kms before you hit a better patch of road. This is a more like a state highway and remains so for the next 200 kms, before getting  extremely  well for the last 30kms before Pondicherry.

Unfortunately Mithun gets to drive for the worst stretch and then Pavan and me alternatively drive all the way till Pondicherry.

Chinni's lime pickle - A life saver!

Nothing spectacular about the drive except a few things : (may not be in chronological order)

•                 People play a lot of the ‘UNO’ card game. Deepak and Ravi never win and Prathap cheats a lot and wins !( but of course as usual no one can figure out how he is cheating)
•                 We stop to get small sachets of lime pickle and some sprite. We already have a Black and white in the car and the rest of the story is left to the imagination of the readers and those well versed in what this kind of combination usually means.
•                 Pavan is declared as a not so Dr****** friendly driver because of his ever so stylish, swerving and swaying driving style. Prathap takes the lead for this problem and announces when is a great time to take a SIP, as soon as Pavan hits a straight patch of road.
•                 We pass through many small towns inside Tamil Nadu. And all of them look equally dirty and dusty with the people having absolute zero road sense.. This made the folks from North Karnataka very nostalgic!! (if you know what I mean !!)

                Then comes lunch.. We pass all the so called Dhabas, with some having names as ‘Sri Manjunatha Thaba and hotel’ , which did not sound quite authentic for a Dhaba, did they ? But then we would be fools to expect a proper Dhaba in the middle of TamilNadu. Anyway we eventually stop at a eatery, which served only rice and red water. Varieties of red water and rice.  Atleast one person among the group was happy. So happy that in fact he took it on to himself to finish all the rice that all the other guys could not finish. Say whatever, I have real respect for the guy, since he does not let any food go waste when there is so much food crisis in the world ..  But on second thoughts .. if he would generally eats less, the food problem would not be a problem at all !! J

The last stretch of road is great. About 35 kms of excellent 6 lane, with mimimum traffic. It is here that we try and push the limits of the 2.4 litre Toyota diesel engine. And it did good. With all of us in our prime of health and weight(may I say), reaching a speed of 155kms was commendable.

                Then we finally reach Pondicherry at around 4:30pm. It’s a good 8 hours drive, with all of our stops and all. Overall not a bad drive, given the fun activities involved for those not in the front row of the car. For the drivers and the navigator, it was fun too, since that is what they like to do. Drive and navigate ..

Next up thanks to our great planning, (or lack of it), we keep looking for rooms to stay and all. Here is a little piece of advice. The  guys who have been to GOA and have stayed at the beach huts in palolem, and know how much fun those are, please do not look for anything similar here. That’s where our expectations went horribly wrong. This ain’t no GOA and there in not gonna be anything similar..

So, good knowledge prevails and we decide what the heck, let’s just enjoy what is to be enjoyed here best .. The French colony and the nice upbeat pubs. It takes a good three hours, since all hotels opposite to the beach are all booked but find we did, and boy was it GOOD! Its was called LeClub and we got two huge rooms for ourselves at 6000 per night for both of them. A tad high but it was well worth it, since the rooms had this old retro look and feel.

They just had this old world charm to it. Very high ceilings, old wooden cupboards,  and old huge ceiling fans, which were more ornamental, since the rooms were air-conditioned. The bathroom had red-oxide flooring and the mirror and all were wooden framed, old paintings and equally apt lighting gave the room an old and relaxed look but with all modern amenities..

After everyone has taken a nice shower and gotten into some fresh clothes, PONDICHERRY starts looking more livelier and we start looking out for a place where we could chill .. Unfortunately we do not find anything interesting and decide to get back to the rooms and enjoy it there in the nice arm chairs at the backyard.. We pack all the food and drinks and settle down for an enjoyable evening ..

And fun it was.. the rain started coming in and continued well into the night .. the pitter patter of the rain and the armchairs and the food and stuff made it a nice little evening .. I retired early, coz was tired but looks like the other continued till quite sometime ..

Le Cafe

Next morning .. we all get up in sequence and go to have bfast into the town in batches .. first Deepak, then me and Prathap and then Ravi and Mithun .. Pavan had nothing to do with bfast .. sleep is more important  for him.. We left him at that since he needs his beauty sleep .. to keep his skin young and glowing ..

 Apart from him, all of  us spend some time walking up and down the beach road and enjoying a cup of nice coffee (cappuccino, espresso, café latte, earl tea etc.)  at LeCafe

Taking no Chances!

Then we go wake up Pavan and head for the Paradise Island. It’s a small island 8kms from Pondicherry. We get there by car and then there is a small ferry that takes you to the island. We were told that there is a restaurant and bar at the island and that it was great ..  Well we should have known great is relative.. coz the so called restaurant and bar was a dingy shack serving useless food and a couple of cans of beer at exorbitant prices ..

We decide to get out of there as soon as we can .. Back in the city we look for a chettinad restaurant for lunch.. but fail to get anything good and since its so late in the day we just get into one of these hotels in the MG road .. The most interesting thing I see in their menu is the parota chilli .. what’s that ?? Well the waiter explains ..  mushroom chilli, babycorn chilli and so is parota chilli .. you  get drift ..

Well it was not so good after all ..

After this , as it was getting darker, and evening was setting in, I and Prathap go out for a little bit of shopping  .. We bought some gifts for our wives and family .. But what was great was the flea market, that was there, that evening .. lots of vendors on the roads selling everything from knives to shoes to conches/shells to old keyboards/monitors .. and equally overwhelming was the crowd .. lots and lots of people .. Hawkers calling out prices .. Children crying to get their parents to buy them the toy they have their sights on .. Ladies bargaining over the prices .. and the occasional  We kept walking through these roads for well over an hour soaking in this beautiful and exciting experience ..

After nearly two hours of walking around .. we were back in the room … freshening up, it was time to rock and roll .. we walked over to the Asian grill house .. A nice little place which serves good food and more importantly -- nice cocktails .. We tried almost everything they had to offer .. and most of them were pretty decent ..

The highlight of this dinner however was the beautiful red snapper .. it was just beautifully cooked and tasted wonderful . I have to say, that was the best part of the meal for me ..  Everyone had a good time and Ravi in particular was on like there was no tomorrow .. tons and tons of  food and tons of liquids to wash it down .. Just a casual mention here that he is actually trying to be on a diet and slim himself down !!

Before and After

After a great 3 hours, we emerge triumphant at a job well done and take a nice long walk on the beach road .. with the nice sea breeze in our faces .. its feels rejuvenating .. feels life’s worth living and enjoying .. missed my wife very much at that very moment .. walking down that road holding her hand would have been wonderful .. But that will have to wait till another time ..

Back in the rooms .. we all go in for a game of UNO .. as Deepak coined this trip aptly and hence the title --  UNO – Pondicherry .. cause of the sheer amount of time spent in playing this card game ..

So there we were all huddled up and playing the best UNO game .. It was lot of fun .. Prathap and I were made to sit away from each other given our reputation for cheating !! But cheat we did .. and win we did .. .. After the game ended I pulled out all the cards that I had slipped into the pillow covers and prathap showed what his tricks were !!

We played well into the night .. and the best part was watching Ravi get to a winning position then begin to lose just because he kept forgetting to say UNO, when playing his hand at the penultimate card  ..

Next day morning, we all got up lazily and bid goodbye to the good old Pondicherry and started homeward to Bangalore .. Nothing much spectacular on the way back except that Pavan and I drove again .. and the guys at the back played UNO – AGAIN !!
Oh!! and the paper dosas that we devoured for bfast !! :-)

Only thing worth mentioning was the fort Gingee on the way back .. This fort was considered among the best and was termed 'impregnable' by none other than the great Shivaji ( who I am sure, all will agree knew stuff about forts!). The British called it the 'Troy of the East' !
It’s a beautiful place, rocks all around and on one of the highest cliffs stood a fort .. There were two huge lakes and a temple and it was all so silent and peaceful .. But just being a group of boys, this is not something that could keep the group interested for long .. So we head back !!

After a good 7 hours drive .. we reach Bangalore as the sun is just setting and its getting darker and  we are all looking forward to meeting our wives after three days .. (Except of course Ravi, who first needs to get married to have a wife to get back to ..)

This was a great trip with great company and a great drive too to top it off .. Three days of fun and frolic and relaxation … It just reminded of the good old college days and the first few years at karmic ..

Times spent like these help you make friends .. Friends who you will have for life !!

(**  This is a piece of info for folks wanting to rent a car without the chauffeur. All you need is a local address proof like a house agreement, a copy of the passport, a valid Indian driving license and of course a credit card with lot of limit. Since they bill you the total amount first up and also block an amount as security.)