On Christmas Eve, your family requests that you pack a bag for Christmas dinner and an overnight stay. While I’m always prepared no matter where you call me, packing is usually straightforward for me. However, this time, I have to consider packing for my toddler. Fortunately, since it’s just a one-day stay, I didn’t need to plan extensively.

On the Eve of Christmas

Christmas wasn’t a tradition in either my home or my husband’s, but the influence of Netflix introduced the idea and love for celebrating it. Inspired by shows depicting friends and families enjoying good food, having fun, and decorating Christmas trees, we decided to embrace the cozy festivities. This year, we got a cute little Christmas tree, adorned it with beautiful fairy lights, and shared the joy of decorating it as a family. On Christmas Eve, we packed a couple of outfits and drove to a hotel just a few kilometers away from our home.

My husband surprised me by booking a palace instead of our usual hotel. Given that it’s Christmas, we took it as an excuse to indulge a bit :). The hotel’s ambiance was truly impressive, adorned with exquisite artistic pieces throughout the palace. Our luxurious room offered a beautiful view, and as I entered, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of sadness, knowing I’d miss this view tomorrow when our stay came to an end.

On the spur of the moment my husband dropped a bombshell, that we are extending our trip for the next two days. I was taken aback, realizing we hadn’t packed enough clothes. The silver lining—he suggested we shop for new ones on the way. When a woman hears she can shop, especially for clothes, how could I resist the temptation? 😂 So, I happily agreed, elated as if reaching the end of the world (well, maybe just the end of India).

In the evening, we leisurely walked along the private beach, feeling the warm sand beneath our feet as we gazed out at the vast sea. The salty breeze wafted through the air, touching our lips. The sea was huge, it felt like it could swallow us through its dancing waves. I have this weird feeling whenever I look over the sea, it’s mesmerizing, it can make you feel calm, and at the same time it can bring out the darkness inside your heart, my stomach churns at times looking at huge nature gift.

The cherry on top was the Christmas dinner, and I was utterly astonished. The array of diverse foods and desserts was impressive. The sight of a tempting turkey on the dinner table, a recurring image from the Netflix series, was finally realized during this festive dinner.

My heart was feeling happy and my tummy was gruelling with a grinning sound. Had a deep sleep that night and we were all set to drive to Pondicherry, early the next day.

Pondicherry

The first thing when Pondicherry was decided, I started to hunt for restaurants where the local cuisines were available. Started early we reached by noon and pit stopped at kamatchi mess, a famous non veg restaurant in Pondicherry. The prices were very nominal and I saw people from different economic statuses, just to relish their taste buds.

After we had finished our lunch, we hit our room relaxed for some time, and decided to go shopping, my most exciting part of the journey. We took a walk with my toddler to a nearby shop. My kind advice is, when traveling with a toddler, don’t plan. Whatever you plan, in the end, everything changes according to their mood.

He wanna walk for some time, he wants to be carried by Mama for something, and wants to be carried by Dada for some time and sometimes he does not want to move from one place for a long time. So as a result he was cranky after our 20 minutes of shopping and we hit the room back and made him sleep.

The plan to explore a local cuisine restaurant and savor French food vanished as my son fell asleep. We opted to swiggy it, but on Christmas day, all the restaurants we had in mind were bustling, and our orders were canceled. Regret settled in, acknowledging the unpredictability of our journey.

Eventually, we settled for a meal at the hotel – the usual food, but surprisingly delicious. Perhaps, hunger taught us that simplicity can be tasty. On the contrary, dining in the room with dimmed lights, creating a candlelight effect, my husband and I spoke in hushed tones, ensuring not wake our sleeping son. I must admit, that night was simple yet beautiful.

Yelagiri

The next day my husband put a question to me, if should we stay here for a day and explore Pondicherry or shall we leave for Yelagiri and stay there for the next two days. I didn’t want the trip to end, I had two more days which was what was running through my mind and we ended up in Yelagiri after 4 hour’s drive.

Day 1

We laid ourselves in the hotel room, just basking in the cold breeze accompanied by the warm air, we drenched ourselves in the hot burning fire before us from the fire camp. We wandered through the resort, enjoyed the moment with the family, and we were happy looking at my son, he was more than happy to be in the outside world rather than being kept him house arrest all day. Poor guy didn’t know his freedom is just for another day.

Day 2

The subsequent day we went to Fundera Park, main tourist attraction in Yelagiri. My toddler was joyful looking at the ko..ko..ra..ko hens, squeaking rabbits, feeding quak quak ducks, patting grazing goats and cows, and the best part was watching different birds from different regions in one place. He was excited, scary and happy at the same time. That marked our sole visit in Yelagiri.

One thing I forgot to mention – we ended up wearing the same outfits from the first day of the trip since we couldn’t shop in Pondicherry due to my son’s sudden change of mood :). Thankfully, we had perfumes with us, saving the day. While looking for shops in Yelagiri to buy clothes, we couldn’t find any renowned branded showrooms. Finally, we stumbled upon a local shop, quite small like a house. Upon entering, we discovered a few decent t-shirts for me, my son, and my husband. I must admit, it made me realize how exorbitant prices are at branded showrooms.

As we came to the end of the day, we returned to our room, concluding it with a restful night. The very next morning, we bid farewell to the place we stayed, the end of an unplanned and spontaneous four-day journey. This unplanned vacation turned out to be a significant success for our family, filled with numerous beautiful memories, thoroughly enjoyed and cherished.

Xoxo,

Mita