Hi fellas! I am Shravan and I'm an architecture intern working in Bangalore. Stuck in this 9 to 5 daily routine, I barely found time to explore some new place or make any travel plans. After months of being so involved in this busy work schedule, I really wanted a break and made a solo trip plan to Pondicherry in my mind. One day I was explaining my plan to my roommates and one of them was excited to join me, and that's how it became a trip for two and then became three as another friend joined us.
So on a Friday night, we backed our bags, had some ice cream at Corner House, had a quick nap and left to the railway station at 1 in the night. We didn't book tickets in advance and so we got general seat tickets at the counter and took a train from Bangalore Cantonment railway station to Vellore. The train was quite empty and we had a good sleep till we reached Vellore. Reached Vellore early in the morning, had some biscuits and took off to Pondicherry in a local bus.
At around 11 am we reached Auroville junction, yes it was a long journey but had pleasant views of several villages throughout. From the junction, we had to take an auto to our stay which was in Auroville. Our stay was pretty good, it was a dorm named Woodpacker and we got 3 mixed non AC dorms for just 300 bucks each. The hosts were super friendly and they helped us sort out travel around Auroville and even suggested some nice places to eat.
We quickly took bath, changed and set out to the Visitor's centre where our friend, who's working in Auroville was waiting for us. We had some French food for lunch and walked around the Visitor's centre. Then we went to see the iconic Matrimandir. People who wished to enter the Mantrimandir had to take prior permission which we got to know later. The visitor's centre is the centre hub of Auroville with various shops, galleries, restaurants and stuff to see. Later we rented cycles for just ₹100 each and cycled in and around Auroville. Then as it got darker we went to see the Auroville beach. On the way back we had pizzas at this restaurant called Tanto's which I highly recommend as the food there was exceptional.
On our final day, we had brunch at 'The Smoothie Bar' for ₹300 which was very filling and yummy and then went back to return our cycles at the Visitor's centre. Then did a bit of shopping and got an auto guy who agreed to drop us to White Town in Pondicherry city for ₹400 bucks. Once we reached Pondi, we walked along the Promenade Beach. Found this restaurant called Sea Gulls, which was along the beach and had amazing views of the beach and the lighthouse where we enjoyed our lunch with beers. Since most of the tourist spots were at a closer proximity, we decided to walk rather than take any form of transport. On the way, we visited an arts and crafts exhibition. Later we visited Aurobindo Ashram, which was so peaceful and beautiful. The vibe of the place was so peaceful that we ended up sitting and enjoying silence for half an hour. This is a must visit place if you are planning to visit Pondicherry. From there we planned to visit the Lighthouse and the famous 'Cafe des Arts' but due to lack of time we couldn't mark those places. So, as the sun set we ended up in The Pondicherry museum which had several interesting ancient artefacts. Thus our trip had to come to an end and we booked railway tickets, this time we booked 2 tier AC for ₹900 as there were no seats available in buses and we had to get a direct train to Bangalore since Monday morning we had to get back to work. Just an hour before our train's departure we had quick bites at The Storyteller's Bar. It's a fun place to hangout if you are in a group and if you don't mind spending a hefty sum on fancy food and drinks. At around 9pm we left Pondicherry and reached Bangalore at 6 in the morning.
Pondicherry is an amazing place to visit, with its fine beaches and French architecture and culture. But I personally feel that if you want to cover most of the places in Auroville and Pondicherry, you will need minimum of 3 days. Since we were there for just 2 days and one night, we couldn't cover everything. If your travel budget is on the lower side, I suggest you book a hostel like accommodation, which are plenty in number around Auroville and are pretty decent. The one where we stayed even had foreigners and we met few interesting people and had some interesting conversations. By renting cycles, you will save a lot as the autos in Auroville were charging a very high amount for short distances. That's all folks. Until next time.
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