We boarded Orange Travels Sleeper Bus from Mehdipatnam, Pillar no. 57, Hyderabad at 6 PM on 7th October. It took us around 14 hours to reach Pondicherry. We reached our exact destination Puduvai at around 8:30 AM the next day. But the bus ride was very comfortable.
Since our Airbnb booking was from 2 PM, we first took an auto to go to Le Cafe at the Rock Beach for breakfast. Honestly, I did not like the food much but the sea view from the cafe was definitely commendable. At 10 AM, we left for Sri Aurobindo Ashram which is at a walking distance from Rock Beach. This is one of the most peaceful spiritual places I have ever been to. After meditating there for 2 hours, we had to leave at 12 PM because the ashram closes down from 12 - 2 PM. For lunch, we chose to go The Pasta Bar Veneto. Beers were costly but the barbeque chicken was too delicious. The food was worth the money. Finally, after lunch it was time to go to our Airbnb which was a penthouse on Pappammal Koil Street. It was a lovely stay with a sea view, bathtub and our host Tenzing was really helpful. I would recommend anyone going to Pondicherry to try out this Airbnb. The rate is Rs. 5000 per night and you have to book it for 2 nights minimum. Its also an ideal stay for people going in groups of 4 or 5. The place has extra bedding ready apart from the bed for large groups. Tenzing helped us in renting our Vespa which was Rs. 400 per day. After resting for a while, we headed out for a walk along the Promenade Beach and Rock Beach in the evening. Since all the streets linking directly to the strand are blocked in the evening, you are left with no option but to walk. We also had ice-cream from this popular place - Gelateria Montecatini Terme. You will get a variety of delectable flavors over here. Also, the churches in White Town are absolutely gorgeous. For dinner, we decided to use swiggy since our airbnb had netflix and other podcasting channels. We ordered pizza from Cafe Xtasi and sandwich and pasta from Hot Breads and combined the dinner with watching Friends on Netflix! Except for the veg pasta, all the items were tasty. I particularly loved the bread from Hot Breads.
The next day we went to Cafe des Arts for breakfast. I just loved this place both in terms of food quality as well as ambience. After breakfast, we headed for the Chunnambar Boat House to visit Paradise Beach. It is a delightful experience to sail through the backwaters to reach Paradise beach. Motor boats cost you Rs. 300 per person. The beach is very clean and the sea water is crystal clear blue. Its an ideal beach to take a dip. You have washrooms to change clothes too. After eating some fish fry at a shack on the beach which was not too good, we came back for the return trip and ultimately headed home because we were too tired. After freshening up, we again used swiggy for lunch to order from Dilliwala6. Its a vegetarian restaurant with really yummy food. Since I took this trip with my partner, in the evening we decided to go for a date. We chose Coromandel Cafe which was a bit costlier than other cafes but the food and the romantic ambience was again totally worth the money. While coming back from dinner, we also did a bit of street shopping.
This was our last day and we had to check out by 1 PM. In the morning, we went to the Serenity beach for a walk. We came back and had brunch at two places this time. Firstly, we went to a branch of Hot Breads. Honestly, this place has the best bakery items I have ever had in my life. Followed by this, we went to Cafe des Arts for some shakes. After checking out, we headed for Auroville. This is almost like the hippie town of Pondicherry. Most of the tourists staying here are foreigners and the township is filled with small shacks which gives you a feel of North Goa. This time we only visited Matrimandir but I would surely like to come to Pondicherry again to explore Auroville more. After coming back to White Town, we went for late lunch to Hope Cafe. This cafe is just beside Cafe des Arts and wonderful walls and food. After freshening up in the cafe itself, we went to the New Bus Stand to board our bus at 5:30 PM. We had booked Morning Star Travels sleeper bus for our return journey. But the seats and the ride were not very comfortable. So, I would suggest to stick to Orange Travels only if you are taking a bus route. So the total trip amounted to Rs. 26000 app. for 2 people. In case you are taking a flight from Hyderabad, the individual trip cost may go up to Rs. 4000 more. Also, alcohol is cheap in Pondicherry only if you buy it from local wine shop. Restaurants charge the same price like in any metro city. Coconut water is a must try. I have never tasted such sweet water anywhere before. Overall it was a very enjoyable trip. White Town of Pondicherry has a colonial charm that will make you go back in time!
