Skywatch Friday- Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram

 

Guess....Is it Sunrise or Sunset?

This is my 7th  entry in Skywatch Friday and I am really delighted to be the part of this as it

gives me the opportunity to see the beautiful skies across the World as well as to showcase my


photograph.

 

These pictures were captured on 1st February at Shote Temple in Mahabalipuram also known as Mamallapuram, one of the UNESCO site of India. 

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To see the beautiful Skies around the world, visit Skywatch Friday page.

The Fisherman of India - Roadside stories 2

This post is about the short journey of local fisherman of Mahabalipuram from the time, he has spotted the horse crab trying to hide itself in the sand till he had caught it successfully. The whole thing took 5, 6 minutes for it. It was his bread and butter.

 

Trying hard to remove the sand very quickly so that C does not went too deep

Note: The Horseshoe Crab does not really give the impression of crab at all. And also, it even does not give the impression of Horse or shoe. Identifying the origin of its name may be a challenge. But as we know, Horseshoe is a crab that looks more like a brother/sister of spiders strangely. The only attribute its shares along with the Crab family is that it lives near the sea in shallow waters with sandy bottoms. Also, due to its scary look, it can be quite intimidating for you to hold it but it is non poisonous.

Winner. He is holding the Horseshoe crab but due to my poor photography skills, it is camouflaged.

You can check my previous Roadside Story here which is about How the Coconut-water seller saved his life in Tsunami. 

 

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Skywatch Friday - Mahabalipuram's Sea beach and Coastline from the Light house

This is my 6th  entry in Skywatch Friday and I am really delighted to be the part of this as it

gives me the opportunity to see the beautiful skies across the World as well as to showcase my

photograph.

These pictures were captured on 1st February in Mahabalipuram also known as Mamallapuram,

one of the UNESCO site of India.


To see the beautiful Skies around the world, visit Skywatch Friday page.



If you like this post, please like my Facebook page.

Restaurants/Eateries in Hampi

There are lots of good restaurants in Hampi. We explored restaurants in Hampi at Temple side as well as across river side. Let me share the list. The best part is that all the restaurants which are on temple side are located in Hampi bazaar which is very small and thus you can easily explore all the restaurants. I am not at all a foodie and did not like to explore the restaurants much but In Hampi, I think the foodie inside me wake up from deep slumbers. Also, low bedding is available almost in all the restaurants.

Temple side Restaurants

Tom And Jerry: It was one of the best restaurant in Hampi. Ambience was super cool. Light mediational music was played and it always remains full. You can see lot of foreigners playing chess and having discussions. Also, food was also great. It is known for Israeli food like falafel, hummus, Bruschetta. Apart from it, North Indian food is also good. I highly recommend this place.

Tom & Jerry

Chill out: The sitting area of this place was visible from our guest house and it was very nice. Ambiance was very lively. It is famous for its drinks and soups along with Pizza and Pasta. It is also a laidback place where you can spend 2, 3 hours reading novels, playing cards and drinking coffee. It was just in front of our room at 1^st floor and thus we wake up to the sound of soothing music it plays in the morning. You will find here lot of people during morning hours for breakfast.

Chill out

Mango tree: Sometime back this restaurant was situated across river and was quite a hit but now it has been relocated to temple side and also lost its popularity. I found the ambiance quite dull although the food was great. Again, all the restaurants in Hampi serve good Israeli food as this place is quite famous among Israelis. Low bedding was comfortable because you can open your legs after sometime, there is a provision under table unlike other places.

Mango Tree

Venkateswara: It is a very small restaurant with only 4 tables and ambiance is simple but the food is ultimate. Although the preparation time is long, but the food served here is tasty, healthy and fresh. When we ordered omlette, we saw 1 guy bringing eggs and bread from outside. We also ordered poori aloo and it takes around 45 minutes but it was very tasty. Masala tea is a must have. Menu is small comprising of south Indian food, omlette and Poori aloo and some sandwiches.

Across river

 

On our way to Goan Corner.

The Goan Corner: This restaurant lies at one of the secluded corner of the Hampi and the attitude here is quite laidback. The beauty of this place is the terrific views of paddy fields that it provides. We ordered pasta here and were satisfied. The only thing that disappoints me was that when we entered in the restaurant, probably, there was no electricity and hence no music was playing here unlike other restaurants of Hampi where you find meditational instrumental music going on all day. Also, since I don’t like dogs, so pet dogs of owner approaching me is actually quite irritating for me. Although some people were really playing with dogs but it didn’t impress me. It is a place where you feel foreigner in India.

At this point, we were confident that we are going right. Some flags opposite tells us Goan Corner is near

This place is for those who love nature

Returning from Gaon Corner

Laughing Buddha: This is the best restaurant across river. It is also situated out of the way but it is well known and you can easily trace it. This place offers splendid views of Tungabhadra River along with Hampi tower. This place will appeal you better if you want to spend time and not just have food. Not only the food was tasty, even the flute music played there was fantastic. Imagine sitting and watching the river listening to flute music isn’t it relaxing. This place has perfect setting for contemplation and introspection. I would recommend this place if you have some 3, 4 hours at your disposal. Food is great.

We drink to this view

Our sitting area

Gauthami: This place is along the main road. Food and juices are good. This place was very clean and also quite big but Food is not that great but you can definitely try some mint fresh fruit juices.

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Complete Hampi trip Posts Compilation so far

About Hampi and what to expect in Hampi

Day 1:

Day 1 Itinerary

Mustard Ganesha, Krishna Temple and Queen's Bath 

Vijaya Vittala Temple

Day 2:

Day 2: Itinerary 

Trek to Mathanga Hills

Day 3:

Day 3: Itinerary

Restaurants in Hampi

Auroville's Banyan Tree - Geographical Centre of Auroville Township

 Even after watching the introductory video at Auroville, people were ignoring this tree like any

other tree and its hurts me that they failed to admire its beauty, shape and size and its peculiar feature of aerial roots which means their roots are above the ground and grow from branches towards the ground and become new trunks.

 

Banyan tree is also known as Vatagach ,Nyagrodhah, Bargad, Vata, and in India it is also referred to as the ‘wish fulfilling’ tree. This tree has numerous health benefits.  Some of its useful parts are leaf buds, bark, latex and used in medicines. 

This very special tree, The Banyan, was chosen by the Mother to be at the heart or center of the Auroville Township, and she called the centre 'Peace’. It is also geographical centre of this place and holds a special significance in Auroville.

Skywatch Friday - Shore Temple/Sea beach/sunrise in Mahabalipuram

This is my 5th  entry in Skywatch Friday and I am really delighted to be the part of this as it

gives me the opportunity to see the beautiful skies across the World as well as to showcase my

photograph.

 


These pictures were captured on Feb, 1 on my visit to Mahabalipuram also known as Mamallapuram, one of the UNESCO site of India.


To see the beautiful Skies around the world, visit Sky Watch Friday.

If you like this post, please like my Facebook page.

A walk to remember - Post 2 :Auroville Visitors Centre(VC) to MatriMandir

1km Nature' walk from VC to MatriMandir

Auroville, pronounced as Aurovi, is an experimental township founded by Mirra Alfassa commonly known as Mother. This is not a tourist place actually; however, this place attracts a lot of tourists. I will cover what it is all about in another post. This post is about the advice for the common visitors. 

If you happen to visit this place, First of all you have to report to Auroville Visitors centre to collect your free pass to visit MatriMandir. Here you will be shown 1 short video of 10 minutes to educate you about the Auroville, its aims, objectives and instructions and directions to be followed in Auroville.

After collecting your passes, you have to walk to MatriMandir viewing point which is about 1 km long Nature's walk, from the visitor centre. There are shuttle buses also available free of cost but I would recommend you to walk down the path to reach Auroville. 

Not because it is simply a nature walk full of greenery but because you will encounter lot of wisdom in form of boards on your path to inculcate in your daily life. 

Nature's walk

This is not 100 year Banyan tree that is referred commonly in Auroville but another Tree with its peculiar feature of aerial roots which means their roots are above the ground and grow from branches towards the ground and become new trunks. This Romantic gesture caught my eyes immediately.

Chunnambar Paradise (Plage Paradiso)Beach - Pondicherry

3rd Feb, 2014 Monday

When I was planning to go to Pondicherry, I was just browsing on the net about Pondicherry and came to know that one of beautiful thing that this city also called as “French Riviera of the East” has to offer is its Sand beaches. 

The 2 most popular beaches are Serenity beach and Paradise beach; however there are numerous offbeat beaches along the Cuddalore road which I will unleash in other posts. 

Paradise beach, quite true to its name, is located 8 km past Pondicherry on Cuddalore road and is famous as Chunnambar beach. So, Ask for Chunnambar boat house while asking for directions. To reach this beach, one has to take the 20 minute Boat ride in Chunnambar backwaters from Chunnambar boat house. It is located at the place where Chunnambar River enters into the Bay of Bengal. The charges for shared boat for to and fro journey are 150 bucks and are fixed. One can also take a solo boat, speed boat but that can be little expensive. 

On Our way to Paradise Beach

There is also motor route to this beach but local people are not even aware of that and that route is quite isolated too. We tried to go by that route as we have hired Activa but at the end give up upon the advice of other people. But I am Curious till date about that route because once you see the beach; it is difficult to imagine that there is road route to this place also and I am sure it would be quite scenic and isolated.

As we boarded the boat at 4pm, we were quite excited to see what lies ahead and if it is really paradise. The boat ride in backwaters offers splendid views though not as beautiful as that of Allepey, keral Backwaters but still they are strong enough to remind me of my Kerala trip. As the boat took turn, the view takes our breath away. And we started waiting eagerly for it. Once we reached, we ran towards the beach.

This is the view of Beach as we get down from the ferry

This is the View of Chunnambar backwater after we get down from ferry

Boatman announced that last boat to return is at 5:30pm and also his colleague obstructed him to say that last boat is at 5 pm. We got the point he is trying to make.

It was really very beautiful. Fine sand, little crowd, Crystal Clear water on both sides: one side Chunnambar river and other bay of Bengal , all this is adding to its beauty and making it really a great paradise. 

Paradise Beach

There is also 1 restaurant that offers only Cigarettes, Beer, water and Beverages. The vastness of sea makes you feel like a speck of dust on earth and yes which we are in front of nature. There were also lifeguards at this place ensuring that nobody crosses the limits. 

Add caption

We took long walks over there with some great chats we ever had. Then at 5 pm, we started back and reached back at 6pm across Chunnambar.

On our return Journey to Chunnambar

 It was little late for us as we have to reach Club Mahindra resort which is on the same Cuddalore road but it is 3.5 km off the highway and it was unsafe to travel that road during night on 2 wheeler though not a big deal if you are travelling by car. 

I highly recommend this place to people going to Pondicherry. If time is less, skip serenity beach but not this one. We have also skipped serenity Beach. Also, prefer, early morning or evenings to get some good photograph and some good time. The most enjoyable activity is stroll across the not so crowded beach.

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