If you can, do go Pondicherry, a well-preserved French colonial town and home of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, which also has the best "hotel" (Ashram hostel) there--on the water, with emerald lawns fronting the ocean. Good breakfast too. You need to reserve well in advance. If there are Ashram related events, it can be hard to get a room. Nicer location than any other hotel there. Meditation rooms on various floors.
From Madras/Chennai to Pondicherry and on down there are magical places to see and stay, including Mahabalipuram and its shore temples. You can stay at several old-fashioned "resorts" just a twenty-minute walk along the beach from the shore temples. The one I stayed at had two-storey houses on the water, with palm trees and a pool. It's been a while since I was there, so it may have changed. But it was a peaceful if slightly dilapidated oasis. Wonderful to swim there too, but be sure you have someone watching. Big surf. The Indian women I encountered on the beaches didn't swim. But they gathered at the water's edge and ran in and out with the tidal water like colorful sandpipers.
No comments:
Post a Comment