Madurai Road Trip - Feb 10, 2010

What better way to experience the new Maruthi Swift that we bought than take it on a road trip. Though the trip was wholly a business trip, my intentions were clearly set on enjoying the 235 km drive to the Temple city, Madurai, and take advantage of the photo opportunities.

I happened to be on NH-7 for a small stretch from Dindigal to Madurai which has been newly laid. I have heard of such roads from Swaminathan who made frequent visits from Krishnagiri to Chennai which has similar road infrastructure. The road is amazing, well laid, and was able to hit a constant 120 kmph without any problem. The road though is not without deficiencies. There are unreasonable exits both on the right and left. There are no bridges/subways that connect the two sides of the road which means people/vehicles cross this high speed highway, and that scares me as a driver. Despite all this, I think its a great start to building a better infrastructure.

From Madurai Road Trip

We got our work done by 5pm, and my mother wanted to visit Meenakshi Amman Temple. For my mother who grew up in Madurai it was home coming, and a chance to pay her prayers to the gods. I on the other hand took this as a wonderful photo opportunity. It was my bad to forget the tripod which made shots very difficult since the inside of the temple was dark.

From Madurai Road Trip

Pondy get-together Feb 2010

Sriram, Swami, and I happened to plan our vacation in India at the same time. Though not exactly the same dates, we were able to overlap our vacations which called for a get-together. Bharath, Praveen, and Pradheep were more than happy to join us, and we all decided to go to Pondicherry - not to visit places but to spend some quality time catching up with each others' lives.

All of us were in Chennai on the morning of Feb 5. I started my day with wonderful dosas from Swami's mother. Though quite common, it tasted so awesome after all the self cooking circus in the US. I haven't had so much for breakfast in the near past - at least none that I remember. We hit the highway at around 1:30 pm after a pitstop at Adayar Ananda Bhavan where we stocked ourselves with thatti, muruku, and sweets.

We reached Pondicherry in the evening. It was warm and a little humid but nothing uncomfortable. We checked out a few rasorts, and made our reservation for Feb 6 at Zest Mahindra beach resort. We left for the beach walk in Pondicherry downtown. Sriram was trying his hand with my DSLR; spicy corn by the road side could not miss our attention; the long walk gave us time to crack all the jokes, and have all the fun.

From Pondy get-together Feb 2010

We started relatively early on Feb 6, checked in at the resort, and what best to do on a warm, partly sunny day than to play some cricket. Guys were so happy to see the bat and ball, and were in the ground in no time.

From Pondy get-together Feb 2010

We had a mediocre and pricy lunch, settled down by the pool, and waited until our tummies weren't too full for beach volleyball. This was my first time at beach volleyball, and, I think, I did very well for a first timer. We played for a solid 2 hours, and the sun wouldn't let us go any longer. We were drained, thirsty, and very tanned. Praveen and I quickly jumped into the swimming pool; Sriram and Swami joined us shortly. It was a lazy and tiring evening. After a refreshing shower we clicked some group pictures, spent time by the dace floor, had dinner, relaxed by the pool, and called it a day.

From Pondy get-together Feb 2010

Feb 7 started with a exciting ride on the boat into the sea. It was my first ride on the sea. It was very exciting with little bumps and jumps. It turned awesome when a big wave came right at us, stood a good 5 feet above the boat when it hit us, took most of us by surprise, and drenched us all. It nearly washed Praveen, and he changed from sitting to laying flat on the boat when it was all over.

[Photos of the sea swim :) coming soon. Check back after Feb 14, 2010]

Once we were deep enough at sea, the waves dampened, and it was pleasant. We had proper life jackets, and we were thrown into the sea. The sea was a little bit on the colder side but was wonderful. The only bad part was the salty water that kind of felt like a salty lip balm. Clouds cut down most of the sun, mild waves rocked us and started taking us towards the shore, and with just water all around and sky above it was an incredible experience.

We head back home after another round of cricket, closed spa, and coconut water.

From Pondy get-together Feb 2010