My World of Food and Travel

Picking up from where we left our sightseeing in Part 1. Paradise Beach – We visited Paradise Beach on our second trip. We took a boat from Chunnambar Boat House to Paradise Beach, a beautiful white sand beach at the point where the backwaters joined the Bay of Bengal.  The boat journey across the backwaters was very pleasant and calm, providing us with spectacular views of the greenery along the bank. What I will also not forget is how the boatmen had thundered at Mainoo Ba when she had left her allotted seat and sat on the helm of the boat to have her photo clicked. “Madam! Go back to your seat now or the boat will capsize!” is still ringing clear in my mind. The beach did not have too many people and at one point of time it seemed as if we had the whole island to ourselves. We picked up a few sea shells as souvenirs, had lunch at a shack and returned. The sea was acting very rough and we were scolded a few times by the coast guards for venturing into the wa...

Warning: Long post ahead! More of a photo-story and a personal account than a travelogue, full of digressions, and there is a second part, too. Kindly grin and bear. I have been to Pondicherry (now known as Puducherry) twice till now. The first time, it was a trip with my sister way back in 2007, and the second time was with a bigger gang - my parents, sis and her hubby, my aunt and cousin in 2011. Somehow, I have more memories of the first trip, although I had to emotionally blackmail my husband in the second trip to let me travel without him in our first year of marriage. I think the first trip is special as that was the time both sis and I were ‘free birds’ and we travelled without any chaperone looking over us. I loved travelling with her as I could bully her into doing everything that I wanted to. She was the ideal companion, willing to go along with me without any complaints or questions. How I miss those days! The Pondy trip was actually our back-up plan; our original pl...