Tranquebar was a nature lover's paradise. We saw quite a few beautiful birds, including this eagle (hawk?) that was building a nest in a tree on the hotel grounds.
The Bungalow on the Beach sits right between Dansborg Fort and this old temple, which locals say dates to the 14th century.
There's a stretch of sandy beach right next to the temple, and we watched this woman use a net to gather shells.
She'd gathered quite the collection, and many of them were just gorgeous.
You could see evidence of puja on the sandy beach by the temple. Puja always involves fruit and flowers, along with water, oil (or ghee), fire, and sound (often a bell or drum).
John took Johnny and Evie back to the beach later in the afternoon, while Samuel and I played at the pool. Samuel used to be fearless when it came to the ocean, but now the waves scare him.
Evening waves crash on the old part of the fort ...
I really loved our time in Tranquebar. It was one of the more relaxing trips we've taken, and it was an interesting little piece of India's history that I had no idea about before we went.
We made the 6-hour drive home all in one go, passing sights like this along the way ...
We broke up the drive with a stop at Auroville, the not-exactly-a-religion-sort-of-hippie place that I wrote about here. We had a nice lunch and then walked out to see the Matrimandir (after sitting through the propaganda ... er ... introductory video first).
I make fun of Auroville, but I actually find the place fascinating. This is a group of people intent on finding peace and on creating a model for the world. I don't think they're going about it in quite the right way, but the intent is definitely a good one. It reminds me of that scripture that says there are many people who are only kept from truth because "they know not where to find it." That's Doctrine and Covenants 123:12. People are very serious about their search for truth, and they should be.
Samuel was really taken with the Matrimandir. He kept grabbing my chin, forcing me to look at it, and saying, "Mom! Did you see THAT?!"
Here we are sitting under the banyan tree at the center of Auroville. I have to praise my kids for being great travellers. They handled the long drives really well and behaved reasonably well through the whole trip. I love that they get excited about learning new things and seeing new places, and I hope they keep that excitement throughout their lives.
The Bungalow on the Beach sits right between Dansborg Fort and this old temple, which locals say dates to the 14th century.
There's a stretch of sandy beach right next to the temple, and we watched this woman use a net to gather shells.
She'd gathered quite the collection, and many of them were just gorgeous.
You could see evidence of puja on the sandy beach by the temple. Puja always involves fruit and flowers, along with water, oil (or ghee), fire, and sound (often a bell or drum).
John took Johnny and Evie back to the beach later in the afternoon, while Samuel and I played at the pool. Samuel used to be fearless when it came to the ocean, but now the waves scare him.
Evening waves crash on the old part of the fort ...
I really loved our time in Tranquebar. It was one of the more relaxing trips we've taken, and it was an interesting little piece of India's history that I had no idea about before we went.
We made the 6-hour drive home all in one go, passing sights like this along the way ...
We broke up the drive with a stop at Auroville, the not-exactly-a-religion-sort-of-hippie place that I wrote about here. We had a nice lunch and then walked out to see the Matrimandir (after sitting through the propaganda ... er ... introductory video first).
I make fun of Auroville, but I actually find the place fascinating. This is a group of people intent on finding peace and on creating a model for the world. I don't think they're going about it in quite the right way, but the intent is definitely a good one. It reminds me of that scripture that says there are many people who are only kept from truth because "they know not where to find it." That's Doctrine and Covenants 123:12. People are very serious about their search for truth, and they should be.
Samuel was really taken with the Matrimandir. He kept grabbing my chin, forcing me to look at it, and saying, "Mom! Did you see THAT?!"
Here we are sitting under the banyan tree at the center of Auroville. I have to praise my kids for being great travellers. They handled the long drives really well and behaved reasonably well through the whole trip. I love that they get excited about learning new things and seeing new places, and I hope they keep that excitement throughout their lives.
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