mypangongso: September 2009

"It was just great! We stayed in this pretty bamboo cottage, cycled to our fresh organic food, swam or simply bummed around on the hammock. And this adorable Dalmatian simply adopted us while we were there, following us around everywhere", said a friend, talking excitedly about her three day weekend retreat somewhere on the outskirts of Pondicherry. I was intrigued.

A couple of months later, while randomly surfing channels on TV, I come across a feature on this innovative website, http://petvacations.in, which was all about helping regular folk take breaks with their pets. Especially 'desperately in love with their dog' folks like my husband and I!

So off i went to their site, to figure out pet friendly resorts and retreats in around Chennai. The site instantly gave me a number of a place in Pondicherry, and it turned out to be The Dune, the retreat my friend was talking about. Lovely Happenstance!, I thought, as i hopped off to check out the resort site, http://thedunehotel.com. After being blown away by the striking eco friendly rooms and facilities, I quickly made a reservation.

Last week we spent a blissful three days on the property - in a quaint little hut on stilts made completely of bamboo and recovered antique doors, windows and furniture all painted in mint green pastels. All positively radiating Indo French chic! Add to that a super friendly staff, great food made with organic ingredients and an eternity pool!

What could be a better way to introduce Olive, our 10 month old puppy, to the joys of vacationing! She sure couldn’t resist the hammock or a splash in the pool or for that matter, a gentle Dalmatian called Panku!