Young tourists

At Auroville in Pondy, our first stop to buy crockery.

In the pool in GRT hotel in Pondy. That was the most memorable part of their four-day vacation.

On the Thanjavur route... nature's call.

At the majestic Big Temple of Thanjavur. Never thought I'd make it. But there are times my husband can surprise me!

A four-day vacation when we saw a part of Tamil Nadu - Pondicherry, the predictable weekend hangout for Chennaites; Kumbakonam, the land of the innumerable temples where we made the faux pas of asking where the temple is; Thanjavur, the land of the Brihadeeswara temple and paddy fields; Velankanni, a Malloo Christian's favourite pilgrim centre; Chidamabaram, the temple town; and Pichavaram for a boating in the mangrove forest. The 800 km my husband drove those four days wasnt tiring - we stopped at a hotel each night.
The first day it was Sunway GRT Grand. The hospitality was awesome, the room was comfortable and pool just enough to keep the kids happy. The complimentary breakfast was fantastic. The kids made friends with a front office executive, Sonal, and also the swimming instructor, and were most reluctant to leave.
The second day, we stopped at Hotel Gnaanam as recommended by a reporter colleague of mine. But being Diwali eve we had a tough time reaching the hotel. All the roads leading to it were blocked as it was on Market Road. So next day we had to beat a quick retreat before the shopaholics arrived. We saw the temple in its early morning glory with the sun lending a golden hue to the yellow granite blocks. The Thanjavur place, which houses the art gallery now, was a disappointment. That a king who took such great care to build a temple did not do the same for his palace was surprising.
We had to change rooms as the first one allotted to us stank of pesticide. The veg breakfast was good.
The second day we stopped at Grand Palace in Chidambaram (as recommended by some online sites) but found it a bit shady and deserted. So we took a room in Sharada Ram which looked like a hostel. The rooms were mediocre and the food even worse. The complimentary breakfast was very limited being Diwali day - the staff were on leave and it looked like it had been bought from outside.
After a wonderful lunch at GRT Pondy's Gardenia, we reached Chennai by 7 pm on Diwali - in time to burst a few crackers.