Woke
up early in the morning in my hotel La Maison Tamoule because I was
unimaginably excited about my one night trip to Tranquebar. I ate breakfast,
walked around the neighbouring streets looking for gifts to take home. The streets were empty as it was Independence day.
There were some great shops selling clothes and footwear. Don’t miss the
factory outlet of Hidesign if you ever visit Pondicherry. After almost emptying my wallet
there I went to a cute little Italian restaurant called La Pasta on
Vysial Street. The lady chef there makes
excellent fresh pasta and sells it to people who pick it up on their way home
from work. She suggested I try her meat lasagne, which I did. I was eating a
decent Italian meal after a long long time. I quickly ate and went back to the
hotel to pack my stuff and relax a little before my
journey. My taxi arrived right on time. I was ready to go!
It
was approximately a two and half hour drive to Tranquebar, Nagapattinam district. Tranquebar is also known as
Tharangambadi or the ‘place of the singing waves. The drive there felt
like years as I was travelling alone. I
was told to stop by at Chidambram as it is on the way but I didn’t have enough
time. I love travelling around South India because there are just so many things
to see. The colourful houses (magenta, orange, bottle green – just name your
favourite colour), palm trees, beaches, et all. You do get a little more
attention if you’re fair though, which gets a little annoying at times. You see
lots of Neemrana Hotels’ boards directing you
to Tranquebar. Tranquebar is also supposed to have
the thickest ozone layer in India. Wow. There’s a good chance you
would’ve never heard of this place if you are from North India or any other
part of the world, except for Denmark maybe (will be explained later).
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| Danish Land Gate, Tranquebar. Built in 1792 |
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| Street restored by INTACH |
I
reached my hotel - The Bungalow on the Beach in Tranquebar a quaint town in
Tamil Nadu. I was taken to my room called Queen Anna Sophia named after a
Danish Ship. The colour theme of the room was blue. Yeah, I did suddenly get an
overdose of that colour with the sea and all that.
Queen Anna Sophia opened up into a common verandah, which looked at the vast, gigantic, empty Ocean with a couple of fisherman boats which were minuscule. There was a colourful Hindu Temple on the left and the
Dansborg Fort on my right. I had
carried my portable speakers (I’m usually pretty
equipped when travelling) so I put on my iPod and let John Mayer, Jack
Johnson and Pink Floyd help me unwind. I
sat there with a cup of Earl Grey tea, without
a sound staring into the sea for about three to four hours, and that wasn’t
adequate time. For the first time in months I didn’t want to see my cell phone,
laptop or any other gadget, rare it was. And I wasn’t the only one happy doing
nothing. The guests in the neighbouring room were doing the exact same thing.
This is considered to be abnormal behavior of people
that reside in my part of the country.
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| Queen Anna Sophia |
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| The Pool at The Bungalow on the Beach |
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| The Common Room on the first floor of The Bungalow on the Beach |
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| Reception at The Bungalow on the Beach |
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| The Bungalow on the Beach |
I
was told that dinner was laid out downstairs and would be served soon. The dinner
at The Bungalow on the Beach was served in a
corridor by the swimming pool. I always ask for suggestions from the
steward (you should too). So I asked for a seafood sizzler and crème caramel as
he suggested. Fresh fish! My epic day had its perfect ending. I ate at a
tortoise’s speed, hoping the day wouldn’t end. I went back to my room, tried to
read a book. I was sleeping before I could reach the page eight of the book. Typical.
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| Dansborg Fort, Tranquebar |
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| Gate House, Tranquebar |
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| Courtyard, Gate House |
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| Garden of Gate House |
The
next day I decided not to waste time. I went down for breakfast and left to go
see Gate House and Thanga House (also with Neemrana
Hotels). The Gate House is a two minute walk from The Bungalow on the
Beach. It has six rooms and is a restored traditional Tamil home. Thanga House is
also a traditional Tamil Home near The Bungalow on the Beach on a street which
is restored entirely by INTACH.
After
that I went to see the Dansborg Fort, which is the second largest Danish fort
in the world. Tranquebar was a Danish colony from
1620 to 1845. I could see the fort from my room as well, but I had to
visit it. There was also the governors residence which will soon be converted
into a museum and a 17th century church.
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| Dansborg Fort, Tranquebar |
The
Tsunami hit Tranquebar on the 26th of December, 2004 and nearly 800
persons died but the 400 year old Danish Fort was not affected at all. The
oldest Lutheran church in India was also built here in Tranquebar in 1706. I
studied History in school till the 12th grade and I didn’t have an
inkling about any of these facts.
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| Our Lady of Angels Church |
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| Karaikal |
After all that sightseeing, I went to take a stroll and relax
by the beach. After an hour or so I decided to leave Tranquebar to visit
Karaikal, another major port city of South India. Karaikal is a 20 minute drive
from Tranquebar. It is known for the Karaikal Ammayar Temple & The Church of
Our Lady of Angels. I took approximately 15 minutes to see the entire town and then I left to go
back to the Pondicherry Railway Station to take a train back to Bangalore.
