PONDICHERRY - A FRENCH COLONY NEIGHBORING EXPERIMENTAL TOWNSHIP OF AUROVILLE.
When we think about the Weekend gateway for a Couple of Days from Bangalore, there are a lot of places that come in our mind, like Mysuru, Chikmangaluru, Sakhleshpur, Mahabalipuram, The Grand Canyon of India and many more. But if you are looking for a perfect blend of Simplicity and Tranquillity, Pondicherry is a perfect destination.
So weplanned 2 DAYS TRIP TO PONDICHERRY AND AUROVILLE FROM BANGALORE. My earlier trips were mostly towards western Ghats of India, so this time we decided to explore the Sunrise Side of India.
Duration of the Trip - 2 Day Cost of the entire trip - INR 5000 Mode of Travel -2 Wheeler ( City Tour ) Travel Route - Bangalore- Hosur -Thiruvannamalai - Pondicherry
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Trip Begins
We started our weekend trip on Friday midnight from Bangalore which was scheduled by a Volvo from Madiwala to Pondicherry, after an hour's delay due to heavy rain the bus finally arrived, and the journey towards this Indo-French City started as our Bus was on its Runway (with potholes) to take off with bumpy rides.
Promenade beach
Arrival at Pondicherry
It was 7:15 AM, and we had reached our destination PONDICHERRY
The City is quite humid for Travellers who are habitual of pleasant weather of Bangalore, but u will enjoy this humidity also as this Territory had more ways to please its visitors than the weather.
Places to visit in Pondicherry : The city hosts many Tourist Places, below are some which were covered by us:
Auroville Matrimandir Auroville Cafe's Serenity Beach Promenade Beach French Town Paradise Beach Our Lady Of Angels Church
Breakfast on Beach side The Celebrity movement
Once we reached Pondicherry, we were surrounded by auto drivers, and for that minute I felt like a celebrity. We didn't use auto as we had a plan to rent a 2 wheeler from Vijaya Bike rentals and its barely a half kilometer distance from the bus stand. Vijaya Bike 2 wheeler rental agency had great reviews and the proximity to bus stand was convenient, so we came pre-decided to take the vehicle on rent from them and after meeting them we realized that the renting bike from them is one of the best options in Pondicherry, we reached in half-hour and took a Vespa with sunny color for our Trip.
The best part about the shop is they give an absolutely perfect Introduction of the Town, that too with a map about the Places to visit Must visit food eateries, No entries of the town and their timings.
With all these important information our City Tour Started, we strolled around as we haven't made any planned itinerary and it was a pure Extempore, so went towards the experimental Town of Auroville.
one of the deserted Boat standing in Backwaters of Bay of Bengal Temple on the way to Auroville - Different from its league
Auroville A Foodie's Paradise
Auroville has some dynamic Restaurants and Cafés and a complete package for gourmet lovers. You will find lot's of Pizzeria's serving hand-tossed, wood-fired thin-crust pizzas to the bakeries serving lip-smacking desserts.
We booked our stay in Auroville and after a great afternoon lunch. We moved to the nearest sightseeing place - serenity beach, The beach was not up to our expectations as local people were sitting and drinking alcohol in public, and this was the primary reason why the beach was unclean. it's not advisable to step in water as you may hurt your leg with a broken bottle which had been waiting to cling to you. we stayed there for a very small time for seep hunting.
After a not so good experience on the previous beach, we came to the city's main beach "The Promenade beach" for an evening walk. This beach is a smaller version of Mumbai's Marine Drive, a good place to sit, relax, write, talk and watch tides which changes with the movement of Moon.
Promenade Beach
This Beach is located next to the French colony, the architecture, cleanliness is worth watching, the place is serene and will take you in memories of James bond movies ( did you recall the tune?). This French Town has some of the Great Restaurants and Beachside Bars. The beach is calm till the evening and becomes vibrant once the sunsets as no vehicle movement are allowed on the main beach road the which results in pedestrians strolling around the beachside with a lot of eateries open. It's a great place to enjoy the evenings.
Beach in Night Becomes More Happening and Crowded than a Cricket Stadium
In the night we came back to Auroville and had our candlelight dinner at Tanto's, with a pleasant ambience, their Calzones which are filled with ample cheese to make you sluggish, and all you will need is a Good Nights sleep.
Day 2
We started the early morning as didn't want to miss the Sunrise, we reached the Promenade Beach at 5 Am and were ready to spot the sunrise, a Govt Run Restaurant - La Cafe' is open 24Hrs, as we were waiting for Sunrise sipping our Coffee, HOLA !!! we spotted some dolphins. The scene was so amazing it made me forgot that I can click some images also. after some time the sky started turning bright and the Dawn was breaking.
Tides Break free with Rise of SunView From la cafe'
After a good walk during sunrise, we went to our hotel to freshen up and Post check out we reached the Great Auroville.
Auroville
Auroville - a town withno Religion, no Racism, and a place for youth that never ages.
The more you observe this town the more it will amuse you
Auroville is an experimental town located approx 9 km from Pondicherry on the Chennai Road (ECR Road), this place is very beautiful and very much connected to nature as it is nestled in between 3 villages.
We visited the video room first to understand the objective to establish Auroville, post that we visited Matrimandir - a Spherical shaped meditation venue made with a million and half small spherical coins of pure gold.
Matrimandir is surrounded by 12 Gardens
Matrimandir is a point where the world comes to standstill, the stress will fade off, the mind will be at peace, and it will take some time to remove eyes from this Meditation centre.
Matrimandir is an about a kilometre and half walking distance from visitors point, electric shuttles are also available for people with health complications. And for returning from Matrimandir there is a shuttle bus service free of cost which drops you to the visitor centre.
this small ride gives little insight about the Experimental town
Small Restaurants are established here which serves traditional French delicacy which must be tried, this area has its own diversity yet unity as all the people working gets the same salary, the transactions are cashless and the trust among each other is on the sky-high level.
one of the Restaurant in Auroville
Is Auroville the best visited places ever ?
As a Tourist, you might find some places bigger and better than this place, but if you see the culture you ll just wonder what if the whole world was like this and yes the world would have been a better place.
Matrimandir with lawn , on the left there is an amphitheater to conduct mass gatherings
Post visiting Auroville we came to the main city of Pondicherry, To have pondicherry special dish "Wood-fired pizza". Over the conversation during lunch in Café Xtasi, some of the fellow travelers recommended PARADISE BEACH.
Have you tried a 24″ Pizza?
After a huge Pizza, we left for the Chunnambar Boat House, which is approx 7 km from the main city towards Chidambaram town. The Boathouse connects the City to Isolated Paradise Beach and charges INR 205/- per person which includes a round trip of the beach. (Ticket Prices may Vary)
it was finished by 2 Hungry creatures in 18 Minutes
Paradise Beach
This is one of the best beaches I have ever visited. It justifies the name Paradise Beach, Clean sand, Clear Water and very limited eating options are available were some of the main reasons make you feel you are on LONG BEACH of CANADA.
Reached yohoooo !!!
After spending the great evening at the PARADISE, we came towards the city and to conclude the trip we again jumped back to the Rock Beach and took nice blueberry and coffee ice cream from GMT ice creams (Located just next to alliance Françoise)
Ice Creams are just heavenly
While walking towards our rented Bikes, we could see the town has started bustling, as the live music could be heard from the cafés in the French Town, we walked towards the end of this journey and could feel the city has left a big impression on us, the always welcoming locals or the Restaurants with different ambience from one another we are always complimenting the architecture of the city.
Our last destination was
"Our Lady Of Angels Church", It's located on the beach front the church and its architecture are splendid and the words are not enough to describe it.
Located on the main Beach - Church architecture is a Simply Great
After the visit to above, we returned our bikes and came back to Bengaluru with tanned faces, lots of memories and with a promise to return back 🙂
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