Why should Pondicherry be your next destination?

Of late, I have been a lot vulnerable to situations around me. Getting over, be it monotony or person or situations or work is a little less easier. My heart was screaming aloud once again - Take Me Anywhere. I could not resist but agree to it. I suddenly realized, there is something long pending on my Wish List. "A Solo Trip"!

I started browsing for places that are safe for solo woman travelers. I surprisingly found that there are a good number of places that allow a woman to be at her best and ease with utmost safety. That was like icing on the cake. All I can say about my travel stories is, I have never been allowed to go on trips with friends. I always traveled with family and cousins. Now that I decided to go solo, I need permissions to do so. I called around 6 times in 10 minutes to get approval. It was a BIG NO, NO! I was even told, not to call again about the same.  The 7th time I called, I said - I'll take half lemon along with me. Approved! Partially Solo as it was half lemon along.

Booked my tickets and a hotel room. That was a big moment of relief. I knew am finally going to travel. It took me a week to figure out what am I going to explore in the town. Google, Friends, Blogs, Quora and what not? That kind of helped me. Soon after my tickets were booked, one of my friends was vacationing in Pondy with her family, that helped me too. My plan was for 2 days and I exactly knew what I was going to do there.

Pondicherry or Puducherry or Pondy is a Union territory of India. It lies in the southeast part of India in the state of Tamil Nadu. A very beautiful place for a perfect weekend getaway. My visit to Pondy was a memorable one and below are some of the glimpses.

Day 1: Checked-in at Hotel South Avenue, Pondicherry.  It is a friendly place, they provided me with the map and a slip that had the places to visit with highlights that are on the right side and left side of the hotel respectively. They insisted me to hire a 2-wheeler to go around the town. I instantly refused with a smile and said - I don't ride. The receptionist said I don't know how have you been managing all these days without riding. He looked at half lemon and said, at least she should learn by the time she joins college. I looked at half lemon and laughed out louder.

Image Source

Started my way towards the Promenade beach, when I rode 50m from my hotel I started wondering if I was on the right direction. Half lemon insisted on using Navigation and we followed it calmly. We saw the huge bunch of foreign travelers going in a line of cycle rickshaws. Each one of them were so friendly and joyous, they waved at us, clicked pictures and moved. When all of them got down from their cycle rickshaw, we managed to reach the beach too. They clicked a few more pictures of us and so did we. The beach here is called as rock beach as rocks lay on the shore with all the happiness in the world. They get to hear each wave that hit them every minute, they listen to the stories that the waves bring in each time. Also, they allow the people to rest on them and listen to the waves. They are beautiful in their own way.

Happy French couple on their way to Promenade

As we walked on the shore along the rocks, a lot of visitors passed by us. Amongst all, what caught my attention more was a group of college going guys and girls. Each one of them being a couple and walking hand in hand. They stared at us and one couple approached us. The girl said - "Semma Beautiful!" I looked at HL and she said that means "Very Beautiful" in the local language(3 months Chennai effect). HL started beaming with pride that she knew something, which I failed to understand. I then started thinking what was that she called as beautiful? My Hat? Dress? Camera? Sling Bag? Or this tiny half lemon? I assumed it to be half lemon. The girl asked me my name and I said, Suzi. She said beautiful again. I said thank you and walked ahead.

Rock Beach/Promenade Beach

Along the seaside are French War Memorial, Gandhi Statue, Marques Dupleix Statue, DOM Sub Invocatione Domina Angelorum Church, Nehru Statue, Manakkula Vinayagar Temple, Aurobindo Ashram, the very beautiful French colony, Bharati Park. Etc. All these can be covered in a days' time.  Visit the local handicrafts stores to buy the Candles, Soaps, Powder Soap, Hats, Earrings and leather items. These are special from the town. This place is also known for it's popularity in movies like Talaash and Life of Pie.

Ceiling of Manakkula Vinayagar Temple

French War Memorial

 Pondi is known for its heritage. Highly French-inspired town with beautiful French colony. The evenings are perfectly quiet, peaceful and  serene. Dainty Cafes and Calm beaches invite the visitors with arms wide open. It's a heaven for foodies and double delight if you love French Cuisine.

Cycling around French Colony

I took a heritage tour around the  French Colony by walk. I parked my bicycle and chose to walk as I wanted an experience with every minute detail from this gorgeous town. Aurobindo Ashram is something beyond my thoughts. People all over the world come in search of Peace here. Talking about the foreign visitors, most of them are beautifully dressed in Indian Cotton clothes, while the Indians here are more westernized.The Ashram houses the Samadhi of Shri Aurobindo and Mother. The place is highly maintained when it comes to cleanliness. The localites are very cooperative and kind. Ask for help and you get it. Auto rickshaw guys talk in a reasonably good English and one can easily manage.

A walk to Aurobindo Ashram

French Colony

Evenings are so beautiful here that, one falls in love with the place. Take long walks on the seaside, see if you don't find peace. I envy those who stay there all the while, well I'm much aware of the fact that every place has its own perks.  I sat by the shore, loved watching the waves and enjoyed looking at the kids blowing bubbles occasionally. Everything is magical, the roads are busy in the evening people of all the age group dwell there for a good number of hours.

Gandhi Memorial,  Image Source

I quickly made my way to The Indian Kaffe House, my friend insisted me to go there. She reminded me multiple times and said I'm not supposed to miss that place. Well, it was beyond my expectations. It offers a variety of snacks, shakes, and Coffees. My quick pick was Ferrero Rocher shake, Pancake with Maple Syrup and French Fries (the best I've ever had). You should probably be trying it. To add to it was WT20 Indo-Pak Match, I watched a part of it at Café and then reached my hotel just before the match resumed after rains. What more can one ask to complete the day?

The Indian Kaffe House

Day2: My next day at Pondy is as memorable as Day 1. I hired a local Auto rickshaw to reach Auroville. The thing  I like the most about it is that it belongs to none any in particular. It belongs to Humanity. Mother Mirra Alfassa found this place in 1968. It is a Universal township. A very unique golden metallic sphere is located close to the Center of Auroville, this is nothing but Matrimandir, built by Mother. This is a symbol of the Divine's answer to man's aspiration for perfection. Around 2500 people live inside Auroville, even though it is capable of housing many more.
Not every other person is allowed to enter Matrimandir, as it is typically a place to find one's consciousness and not a tourist attraction. There is a beach close to it known as Auro Beach. More about the City of Dawn here.

 Matrimandir

My next visit was to Chunnumbar Boating Camp. This is yet another scenic place. A good 20 minutes Boating took us to something known as Paradise Beach. The name is so apt, I say. One of those beaches to get inside the water. The water here is so calm and serene. After I thoroughly enjoyed the beach, I took a boat back to the Chunnumbar Camp.

Chunnumbar Boating Camp

Paradise Beach

Apart from everything else are these beautiful churches that are here. They are old and amazingly beautiful. Every Church has its own uniqueness. The evening lights make them look much more beautiful. All the 4 of them are not just buildings but God's House. The Bharati Park and Botanical Garden are just around the City. Bharati Park being my favorite over the Botanical Garden which is nothing more than a Toy Train station.

Churches around the town

Bharati Park 

Fossil Tree in Botanical Garden  

Toy Train at Botanical Garden

The last part of my stay was Shopping at Pondicherry. However, I'm not too much of a shopping person. But yeah, the options here are abundant. The handicrafts are so carefully done, yet they are reasonably priced. The candles, soaps and cologne are a must. Street shopping for people who love accessories is another nice thing to do. The city is also popular for cotton fabrics and is known as a home for HIDESIGN and other leather items.

Shopping Options

Before I checked-out of the Hotel, Half lemon told the Manager of the Hotel that she ain't a half lemon errr.. or School going kid. She smartly conveyed that she works in an IT Firm. The Manager looks at me and raises his eye brows, I just smiled and said Bye to the staff.

Half Lemon enjoying the Beach side

Everything about this place makes my heart yell out 'Take me there again!!' It was a little like soloing! I gathered a tons of memories from here in the form of pictures. And now I fall short of words to describe this City of Dawn!

Signing off only with a promise to comeback with another blog!

Luv,
V