We started our day from here at around 6AM. We literally ran to this place from the hotel so that we might not miss the sunrise. The Goubert Ave. is just beside the Rockbeach and is so quite and peaceful. Closed for vehicles from 6PM to 8AM. A thoughtful decision to encourage cycling or strolling along the sea-side. There are not too many such places one can come across in the country. One can meet a lot of people jogging and walking in the freshness of the sea breeze. Few people were also meditating
If you come here when vehicles are allowed to pass, this place becomes crowdy and dirty, it seems so different.
To go or not? Eff everything and let's just go. Yes, before going to Pondicherry I was so puzzled. Thought it's gonna be so boredom as this city has not many places to explore, even some of my friends said too. So I decided to come up with a plan that we(I and my friends) couldn't feel same as the others. After a whole week's research on the internet, I came up with a plan for 2 days. So, this is what we did in Pondicherry on those 2 days:
It is actually a non accessible beach. I say so because of the huge boundary filled with black rocks acting as a wall so that one cannot enter the water. A beautiful place to spend a couple of hours at any time. But one must definitely visit here during sunrise and sunset. Idle place to relax in the cool breeze.
We spent about 2hrs walking in the beach and watching the sunrise. There were people around us meditating, cycling and also skating. There was also a movie shooting going on that day. It was all fun.
Nothing soothes the soul like a walk on those eye-catching black rocks which goes hand in hand with the waters.
There's this French restaurant in the middle of the beach where we decided to have our breakfast. We ordered a cup of coffee and Le croissant. Service was slow but the food taste is fine. Nice ambience and sitting. Open sitting available which makes our time superb with the sea waves. Not everything in the menu is available which is very disappointing. We came back to our hotel, took a shower and began our day.
We rented bikes for our day in some random shop which our auto driver took us to. It costed us 400 bucks per each bike without the fuel. There were all sorts of bikes available even the Hayabusa but the cost is so damn high. I got a Vespa. Helmets were not provided. We came straight to visit this church. There's nothing special about this place. We came here just took some photos and left very soon. If you don't have much time you can skip this place.
The first best part of the trip..
We rode the streets of White Town aka French Colony. In the very beginning we got lost into two groups on our way. Later, by using the Pondicherry Map which the bike renter gave us and also the Google Maps we found each other. That time, we getting lost and searching for each other was all fun.
One can find Boutiques, Cafés, Bars and French restraunts everywhere in this place. You would definitely doubt if you are in India, such an amazing architecture it is! I don't know whether the colonies in France be the same but I can assure you that these are not Indian.
Every place here in this Town will give you a thousand amazing backgrounds as almost every wall is beautifully painted with amazing pictures, in front of which you can shoot your own portfolio. BTW, showing some drama is necessary. Lol!
Also we came across Sri Aurobindo Ashram which is in the same area but couldn't pay a visit for time being.
As soon as we felt like we were done exploring the streets of the White Town, we came to a French restaurant named Café Des Arts. This place made us feel like home and there are both open and closed serving areas as well. We preferred the closed one as we were so fed up since morning. But this place is not air-conditioned which was very disappointing.
After having a deep research over the menu card, we ordered Ham n Cheese crepes and Lemonade. Was it perfect?? Umm... in my opinion-No, it was not. The food here is over priced and is not that great, probably because that was my first time tasting a crepes. However, we did enjoy the sunny morning and did not allow this to affect our trip further.
Later we headed our bikes to a place named Auroville which is 12KM from Pondicherry to visit Matri Mandir, a must see in Auroville. Vehicles are not allowed inside so we have to walk for nearly 5KM from the entrance.
It was a fun filled nature walk. There were birds chirping, peacocks and monkeys on our way. Also there are stones over which pictures of flowers were drawn and their relation with the spirituality is explained clearly. People can also reach the visitor's center by cycles which are given on rent and a bus facility is also available.
Later while reaching the Mandir, we came to know that no one are allowed to go inside, but I was told that they will allow us inside and the photography is prohibited. Our bad!! We were not allowed.
The way is more memorable than the destination itself. No wonder, I love the journey than the destination itself.
Being so tired and hungry, we ordered Falafel and Sublime Cheese Cake here in Well Cafe which is so close to the Matri Mandir. The service was good and the taste is also fine. We were a bit tensed that monkeys would come, as it has open serving area only. But they took great care of us. Though there are many Cafés out there, many suggested this cafe alone probably because they are very nice people and has a good heart.
Having filled our bellies, we reached the Auroville Beach(Auro Beach). It is a normal sand beach unlike the one we visited in the morning. Not a well developed one. No shops available. We were here for nearly 3 long hours resting ourselves in the sand and taking photos. Being very tired, we did not go in to the water. We just sat there, enjoyed the sea breeze.
The beach just next to the Auro Beach is the Serenity Beach. It is as same as the Auroville. Apart from this, there is a pier built by the black rocks. Few shops selling fishes are also available. However we left soon as it was getting dark which might affect our return to Pondicherry.
Here comes the second best part of the trip...
After our visit to Auroville, we returned back to Pondicherry and finally reached this place. This is the Bike BBQ and the food here is amazing, one must definitely give a try. The chicken was so good. Perfectly barbecued. The meat was neither under-cooked or overcooked. Go for the wings. They are the best. However the Prawns were a disappointment. Extremely tiny and overcooked. They could have been so much more better. Nevertheless it's a great street food and it is prepared with a lot of hygiene. Not many items are there for vegans.
All I can suggest you is to end your beach walk with having a smoky starter from this bike, nice to stand and watch the BBQ in progress. You could expect totally a different flavor than the usual BBQ.
After resting a while in the hotel, we left to Rockbeach once again to experience it's night view. We grabbed a cup of thick shake and were sitting on the shore of the beach, watching the moon, it's reflection in the water, the waves, cool breeze and that feeling, were all the best. That was one of the finest nights we've ever had in our life. The water currents were so high in the night. Also make sure you visit Pondicherry on a full moon day, the Moon's reflection in the waters is stunning.
As I already mentioned that the Goubert Ave. is a vehicle free zone after 6PM, you can have late night walks and can also go for good photoshoots on these roads so did we.
As far as I know Le Café is the only restauraunt that is open 24/7. We came here again at around 1:30AM and ordered some food and coffee. The place being opened to the beach was amazing. That night we called our dinner "The Moon Light Dinner"
Later we left to the hotel finishing our day and the third best part is that knowingly or unknowingly we did almost everything as planned which we never do so. Lol!
We woke up very late this morning, got ready as fast as we could and returned the rented bikes and started our journey in the auto.
We left to Chunnambar Boat House, but our hanger pangs couldn't wait for us go that far. So we got down here at this restaurant. The price for our ride was so high and we failed at bargaining. One big mistake we did was not renting our bikes for the 2nd day as well. I suggest you to rent bikes for all the days you stay in Pondicherry. Otherwise you would end up wasting all your money and time only for the travel.
The view from it's terrace is so amazing. We waited for a while to get a table so that we can have a better view of the sea. We ordered some seafood(only starters). Having seafood beside the seashore with eternal tides and cool breeze is a next level combination. I could still remember that moment, though I'm writing it now.
As expected, the food is so tasty and price is also high. It is a Bar n Restaurant so almost every table was served beer except our's which we insisted not to. We were not allowed to stay for longer time as there were others waiting for our table. One must definitely visit this restaurant and have seafood, that too on the terrace. Wait for the best place, don't pick some random one.
We came to Chunnambar Boat House at about 2PM. One can take a ferry from here to reach Paradise Island or the beach. House Boats, speed boats are also available. But the cost is too high. We took a ferry which costed us about 300 bucks per person for round-trip. We waited a while for our ferry to come. Got our life jackets, entered the ferry and our ride was all on.
So far.. so good!!
Our ferry drove us across the blackwaters filled with thick green mangrove forests, which took us 20-30min to reach this place. This beach, unlike others is adorned with golden sand and is very famous. It is developed almost to all sorts of fun. ATV riding, Horse riding and Rain dance are the special attractions in the beach.
There are a few shops along the main entrance to the beach, and you can get fresh coconut water and some simple snacks - don't expect any fancy street food though. The cost is high!!! This is the best beach in Pondicherry and one must definitely visit.
People can also bring extra clothes so that they can go into the waters. Dress changing rooms are also available. The currents in the water were so high and life guards were also there, advising people not to go deep into the waters. We spent a couple of hours here in the beach and returned to Chunnambar boat house in the same ferry.
At last we were clueless what to do, so we decided to go to the Mall just because it is air-conditioned. We did some shopping there. Later, we found a good spot to settle, made ourselves comfortable, ordered some food and rested for a while.
Finally it was the bye-bye time and we left the city. So after our visit I found that all my assumptions were completely wrong. Every moment in life teaches us some lesson that is to be learnt, so did this trip which is "Kindly don't listen to what others say, just go and experience it by yourself"
