This trip had me really excited and I couldn't contain myself as I was about to explore and get into a little bit of French Culture in India. Well I would definitely love to visit France in my coming years. So departed Bangalore on 7th of April 2018 via Bus to a Union Territory and what is known as a French town Puducherry (Previously known as Pondicherry). The journey via bus took approximately 6 hours and 30 mins. On early arrival to the town, me and my friend started taking a morning walk towards the Rock Beach from the bus station (approx 30 mins walk) as we had a hell lot of time to kill since our Air Bnb check-in was not possible before 11:00 am. It was indeed a beautiful morning and right in the middle of the beach walk way, a small cafe by the name Le Cafe stands where we decided to have our breakfast. A cup of Coffee and Le Croissant. Was it perfect? Ummmm in my opinion it was not, the cafe as fancy as it looks does not hold any good as half of what was in the menu was not available and the service too was very slow. However, I did enjoy the sunny morning and did not allow this to affect my trip further. Finally, at around 11:00 am the check in at our Airbnb rooms were done. We stayed at this very cool thatch cabin by the name A La Villa Creole which is located at the prime location of White Town situated near the Rock Beach. To sum it up, my first day in the French Town although started a bit shaky but it did end up in a positive note. I got to explore the Little White Town which quite frankly is spread approximately between 5 to 6 kms in total and in my suggestion the best way to one can explore the vibrant colored houses of French Architect is on foot rather than a two-wheeler. This gives one more time to be in awe and admire the way people have kept this section in tact and to its original habitat.
Day 2 started off with a quick lunch at the Indian Kaffe Express and immediately took off in our two wheeler to the village that was once destroyed by the tsunami and has re built itself "Auroville". This is another famous place that one must visit, especially to admire the big golden meditation dome constructed in the middle of the village. Just a heads up, one cannot go near or inside the dome which was a bit disappointing. However upon inquiry, we came to know that if one has to visit the interior of the dome then a booking has to be done a week prior for meditation purpose. The drive towards Auroville is definitely something to enjoy which will take one through the green lush and avenues of tall trees just giving the right amount of soothing breeze to enjoy the whole travel. Hence after spending about 5 hours in the area, we headed back towards the White Town and thus as the sun was setting, it was time for my visit to this Little French Town to be ticked off from my bucket list.
To sum it up, I had set a huge expectation from this small town which definitely did not meet. But on a positive side, I did get to see and feel a small amount of French Culture just by looking into the architects and history of it. Now I am much more excited to learn more about this culture and cannot wait to visit France and share this experience here itself. Well then à bientôt France hopefully in 2019.