A day trip to vineyards

This trip had been in my to-do list since the last few years. Every year, after the announcement of Sula festival, I would try to plan for it. But somehow it never materialised, until now.

The best time to visit vineyards is just 3 months a year, i.e. January to March. That is when the grapes have ripened and the crushing process is in full swing. Therefore, we chose a weekend in February, and set off on yet another interesting trip.

The most popular vineyard, Sula, is situated about 150 km from Mumbai and comes 15 km before Nashik. The most convenient route is via the Mumbai-Nashik highway. So we (four wanderers) got into a car and hit the road on a pleasant Sunday morning, with Google maps as our best friend! 🙂

We halted once for tea and snacks. As we neared the divergence in the highway towards Sula, we came across signboards guiding us. But guess what… When we reached the gates of Sula vineyards, we did not stop. Thanks to our research and expertise as wanderers, we drove 1 km more and went to York vineyards!

York Vineyards – Awesome !!!

York is a relatively newer and less popular vineyard. But that worked in our favor. There were just a handful of visitors at York when we reached. It has a beautiful garden, where we clicked pictures to our heart’s content! 🙂 Thereafter, we enquired about the vineyard tour and wine tasting. York has two options: Rs. 250 for tasting 7 wines and Rs. 150 for tasting 5 wines. The first option also included a tour of the vineyard. However, the sommelier offered us a complimentary tour even if we opted for the second option. We still went ahead with tasting 7 wines 🙂

Cheers !!!

The tour and tasting was scheduled to start in about 10 minutes, by when they expected few more visitors. We used that time very productively, clicking some more pictures. By the time the tour started, there were about 15 of us. The sommelier took us around the facility, and explained the history of York vineyards, their wine making process, the different types of grapes, the seasons, etc. And he readily answered whatever questions we had. After the informative tour, we proceeded for the tasting, where we were again enlightened about the nuances of wine tasting and the different wines. Those willing to purchase wines could do so, at a 10% discount. We sat in the restaurant, munching some snacks to wear off the effect of the wine, as we had to drive back.

Are your ready for tasting ???                                   Pyramid of Wine Bottles – All yours 🙂

Our next halt was Sula, and we were truly glad about visiting York first. By the time we reached Sula, we were famished and headed straight towards one of the restaurants there. But we were kept waiting for about 15-20 minutes as none of the tables were available. Nevertheless, the food was decent, although priced a bit on the higher side. After lunch, we explored the premises. While the vineyard is nice, our spirits were dampened by the large number of visitors swarming the place. Upon enquiring about the tour and tasting, we were told that it’d cost us Rs.350, including tasting 6 wines. Without tasting, the tour alone would cost Rs. 100.

Sula Vineyard

We simply decided to have a glass of wine and head back home. When we reached the restaurant serving wine, which also overlooks the vineyard, there were no tables available. Particularly the ones with the best view were least likely to be vacated soon. The servers were not helpful either. They said if we could find a table, they will serve us 😦

Disappointed with the place and the people, we proceeded towards the parking lot. On our way, we noticed a vineyard tour about to begin. The sommelier was surrounded by over 50 people. I have my doubts as to how much knowledge those people would gain.

How far are you ?

Once again, we summoned our dear friend, Google maps, and commenced our return journey. We halted for tea and snacks on our way, but still reached home by late evening, with yet another destination ticked off our list!

Cost: Approx. Rs. 1,200 per person (including fuel cost, tolls, wine tasting, and meals)

Tips and tricks:

1. Seasonality: Given that the season to visit vineyards lasts just 3 months, plan your trip accordingly. If grape stomping interests you, visit the vineyard before the Sula festival, as later on, they run out of grapes.
2. Vineyard: If you would really like to know about wines and enjoy the place peacefully, Sula is not the best place. You can pick another vineyard, York in our case, and have an enriching experience.
3. Safety: While it is perfectly manageable driving from Mumbai and back, please do not drink and drive. If the person driving intends to taste wine, please keep some buffer time to sober up, in the interest of your own safety and that of others.

Pondicherry: Eat, sleep, enjoy!

The key ingredients of a fantastic vacation are usually, a beautiful place to explore, pleasant weather to enjoy the place, comfortable accommodation, and delicious food. Well, Pondicherry offers all this and more! It is a small idyllic town, providing an easy lifestyle and a glimpse into two completely different cultures.

While looking for places to welcome the New Year, my fellow wanderer hit upon the idea of visiting Pondicherry. We were a bit skeptical about the flight and hotel rates, New Year’s Eve being part of the peak season, but enquired all the same, and realized it was well within our budget. We lost no time in preparing our itinerary and booking our flights and accommodation.

For us, the fastest way to reach Pondicherry was to fly to Chennai airport and then travel by road to our destination, as Pondicherry is a three and a half hours drive from Chennai.

Day 1:

We took a morning flight and landed in Chennai in the afternoon. From the airport, we proceeded towards Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT), the largest bus terminal in Asia, which is approximately 40 mins from the airport. It has AC, non-AC, state run as well as private run buses plying to Pondicherry several times a day, with varying levels of comfort. The frequency of Volvo buses is less especially during afternoon, and when we reached CMBT, there was an ST bus about to leave for Pondicherry. Not wanting to waste any time, we boarded the same. It took the scenic East Coast Road (ECR) and reached Pondicherry in three and a half hours. There are two routes to Pondicherry – ECR and via ByPass. Comparatively, ECR is more scenic and also the shorter route.

After alighting at Pondicherry bus stand, we took an auto rickshaw to La Maison Radha (http://www.lamaisonradha.com), our abode for the next 3 days. La Maison Radha is a home-stay, wherein the owner, Mr. Ravi, has converted a major portion of his house into a hotel, while he resides in the remaining portion along with his family. Although modest in amenities, La Maison Radha absolutely shines in hospitality. Mr. Ravi gave us a map of Pondicherry created by him, which highlights all places worth visiting in Pondicherry, and also provides additional information about the city and its attractions. When we explained how we wished to celebrate New Year’s Eve, Mr. Ravi guided us in detail.

We then checked into our room, and got ready to ring in the New Year in the beautiful town. We took an auto rickshaw to Rock Beach (also known as Promenade Beach or City Beach).

Rock Beach

The entire promenade, along with the buildings nearby, seemed to be well-lit, with everyone in a festive mood. The big hotels and clubs had all arranged 31^st December special parties. However, we were keen on enjoying the local festivities, and started exploring the area around the beach. Opposite to Gandhi statue (a popular landmark in Pondicherry), there were cultural performances organized by the government. A few blocks ahead, outside Chief Secretariat building, people were dancing to a DJ playing popular numbers. We too shook a leg to some Bollywood numbers, and then proceeded for dinner.

After dinner, overcome by weariness, we headed back to La Maison Radha. The hotel has a lovely terrace, where we perched ourselves and witnessed the fireworks at midnight welcoming 2017!

Day 2:

The next day is when we started exploring real Pondicherry. Our day started with breakfast at Indian Delights (recommended by Mr. Ravi), which serves amazing South Indian breakfast items. We had to wait for about 10-15 minutes before getting a table, which we had to share with another family. Nevertheless, the place was clean and hygienic, and the food – medu wada, pongal, and filter coffee – was definitely worth the wait.

The first place on our sightseeing list was Manakula Vinayagar Temple, however, when we neared the temple, we saw a huge serpentine queue of devotees waiting to enter the temple, as it was the first day of the new year. Every morning, until noon, the temple is visited by an elephant ‘Lakshmi’, who blesses the devotees with its trunk, when offered coins or bananas. Although we decided to visit the temple later, given the long queue, we got to meet ‘Lakshmi’ and sought blessings. The temple is usually open from 5 am to 12 noon and then from 5:30 pm to 9 pm.

Another popular spot in Pondicherry is Aurobindo Ashram, the popular spiritual community of Pondicherry. However, the Ashram is closed between 12 noon and 2 pm, so that was also postponed to later.

Our next stop was ‘Auroshikha’, a shop that sells incense sticks, soaps, fragrant oils, etc. Auroshikha was again recommended by Mr. Ravi, who informed us that this shops sells products similar to Kalki, but at almost 1/8^th of the price.

By the time we left Auroshikha, we were famished, and headed towards Biryani Veedu (a.k.a. Hotel Kamaatchi). This restaurant is very popular in the town and rightly so. It serves mouth-watering non-vegetarian South Indian meals, and its vegetarian dishes are not half bad. An absolute must-have here is the kuzhi omelet.

Delicious Food- Ghee Roast Dosa, Pongal, Mr.Veg Pizza and Brazilian Choclate Treat

After the sumptuous meal, we set off towards exploring the shopping options in Pondicherry. The famous handbags brand ‘Hi-Design’ is manufactured in Pondicherry. However, contrary to articles available on-line, Hi-Design does not offer any significant discounts in its home market. There is a three-storey exclusive Hi-Design shop, with a café on top, and all it offers is a 10% discount. There is also a Hi-Design factory outlet, which offered up to 70% discount, but the products there seemed like seconds and rejects. The other shopping alternatives in Pondicherry are Titanic Factory outlet (decent stuff, decent discounts), Casablanca (a typical departmental store), and street shops (where you’ll have to dig for the good stuff and bargain for the right price).

Diagonally opposite to Casablanca, there is a nice kulfi shop called Lallu, a must visit. For dinner, we headed to Café Xtasi, another highly recommended place. It is famous for its wood fired pizzas and it did not disappoint us. We tried their Mr. Veg pizza and chicken salami pizza; both were delicious. The ambience is nice, although the service can be better.

Day 3:

After exploring the heart of the city, it was time to explore the peripheral region. While the city can be toured on foot (as we did the previous day), bike is the best option for visiting the nearby attractions. So we rented a bike from Mr. Ravi and set off to check out the remaining places on our Pondicherry itinerary. Per day rent of the bike would be around Rs. 250 to 300.

We started with a continental breakfast at Hot Breads, and it seemed to be a popular choice for breakfast amongst many. We then proceeded to Aurobindo Ashram. It is a calm and peaceful place and patrons usually spend time in meditation and reading spiritual books.

Our next halt was Auroville, a township located about 12 km north from the main city. Auroville was founded by Mirra Alfassa, the spiritual collaborator of Sri Aurobindo, and popularly known as ‘The Mother’. It is meant to be a universal town, built to uphold human unity over everything else.

A shaded 10-12 min walk to Matrimandir Viewing Point

In the middle of the town is the Matrimandir, a golden metallic sphere for meditation, which was conceived by The Mother as ‘a symbol of the Divine’s answer to man’s aspiration for perfection’. Silence is maintained inside the Matrimandir to ensure the tranquility of the space and entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called Peace area.

Golden Globe @ Matrimandir Viewing Point

The details for visiting Matrimandir are available at http://www.auroville.org/contents/252. The entire township of Auroville is dotted with greenery, and has a tranquil feel to it. The entrance/ exit area houses a café and a souvenir shop, Kalki, which offers perfumes, incense, fragrant oils, bags, jewelry, etc.

For lunch, we halted at a small eatery called Punjabi dhaba, which served mouth-watering paneer dishes, piping hot rotis, and soothing buttermilk.

After Auroville, we headed towards Auro beach, a pristine beach with white sand and blue waters. We spent some time relaxing on the virgin beach and then headed towards Chunnambar Boat House to reach Paradise Beach.

Pristine Auro Beach

We literally rode from one end of Pondicherry to the other and reached Chunnambar Boat House just in time for the last ferry! At the boat house, we bought our tickets and boarded the last boat (4:30 pm) for Paradise Beach.

Paradise Beach as seen from the boat

While the beach is beautiful, it is quite crowded and commercialized. We spent time walking along the sea shore and then took the boat back to the boat house. On our return journey to the pier, we saw the sun setting over the ECR.

Sunset @ Paradise Beach

It was then time to return to the city. On our way, we halted at Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, one of the oldest churches in Pondicherry. And then our hunger pangs took us to Café Ole, which serves an amazing dessert called Brazilian chocolate treat. Right next door is another famous outlet called Zuca chocolates, from where we bought a delicious pastry called Masterchef cake. We then went back to Manakula Vinayagar Temple. This time, the queue was negligible and we were able to explore the huge temple and pray in peace. The temple is beautiful, with paintings and carvings all over, depicting various forms of Lord Ganesha.

After offering our prayers, we spent some time in street shopping before heading for dinner. For dinner we went to Surguru, a pure vegetarian South Indian restaurant. The restaurant was very much in demand as we were kept waiting for about 15 minutes before being given a table. One drawback about the restaurant is that they don’t serve all dishes at all times; we had to choose from dinner-specific dishes. Nevertheless, the food was delectable (especially ghee roast!), and the service was quick and efficient. (Tip: Check out their menu beforehand and decide what time you would like to visit this place). After the yummy dinner, we called it a day and proceeded towards our homestay.

Day 4:

This was our ‘check-out from Pondicherry’ day. But we still had a few eating joints to visit on our list. So we woke up early, went for a walk on Rock beach, followed by breakfast at Le Café. Le Café is a 24-hour open, sea-side café. However, it has limited variety available before 8 am.

Morning walk @ Promenade

After breakfast, we walked towards our homestay, and on our way, we clicked pictures of the colorful French quarters, and had a quick halt at Baker Street, a famous bakery in Pondicherry. It has a good collection of chocolates and other desserts, and serves continental breakfast as well. From there, we returned to La Maison Radha, packed our bags, and checked out.

French Quarter

We took a rick back to the bus station, and boarded a bus for Mahabalipuram (also called ‘Mammallapuram’). The journey was supposed to take about 1.5 hours, but took 2.5 hours, thanks to the driver’s speed. Nevertheless, we reached Mahabalipuram in the afternoon, and started exploring the place. This city has ancient ruins of beautifully carved stone temples and megalithic burial urns, and has been classified as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

Arjuna’s Penance

Some of the famous attractions in this town are Shore Temple, which is one of the oldest structures dating back to 700 AD, and Five Rathas or the Pancha Pandava Rathas, which are chariots dating from the 7th century. The Five Rathas are complemented by some enormous stone animals including a large elephant.

Stone Animals @ Five Rathas

In the central hillside area of Mahabalipuram, there are some magnificent sculptures carved straight out of rock, including Arjuna’s Penance (also known as the Descent of the Ganges), and Krishna’s Butterball, which is a giant natural rock perched on a hillside that defies all laws of physics.

Krishna’s Butterball

Other notable sites are Mahishamardini Cave, which has the central carving of Shiva, Parvati and Murugan, and Varaha Cave, which has four impressive carvings of Vishnu, Gakalakshmi, Trivikama and Durga.

Shore Temple @ Mahabalipuram

We started our sightseeing from Arjuna’s Penance, had lunch in between at a small restaurant, and ended at Shore Temple. This town also has a beach, called Shore Beach, right behind Shore Temple, but it was very crowded. After completing our sightseeing, we took a rick back to the main road, and boarded a bus for Chennai.

Shore Beach behind Shore Temple

In Chennai, we alighted at a place called ‘Guindy’, and took a cab to the airport (about 6-7 km from Guindy). Alternatively, one can also take the metro from Guindy to the airport. We then took a flight back to Mumbai, with our hearts full of beautiful sights, and our taste buds full of delicious memories.

Tips and tricks:

1. Food: Pondicherry is a foodie’s delight! Have a list of restaurants ready before you reach Pondicherry, and be open to different tastes and cuisines (people usually either like South Indian or continental, not both; but I’d suggest to try whatever the city has to offer). Also, as mentioned above, some places have time-specific menus; so keep that in mind while planning your meals.

2. Haggle: Right from autorickshaw drivers to street shop owners, you will have to negotiate with many, if you don’t want to spend more than necessary.

3. Pack light: If you are following the same itinerary as us, you will be carrying your luggage around while sightseeing in Mahabalipuram. Therefore, ensure that you pack light so that your bags don’t bog you down.