This is my first travel article among the many trips I have taken so far.So me and my best friend were planning for our this year’s birthday trip which obviously has to be a beach trip which has been a tradition for us since the last 3 years.
We thought why not explore the east coast of India , since we have had enough experiences from the Arabian sea.So we finalised on Pondicherry as we started planning , we came across a lot of destinations near Pondicherry which would be worth the visit.So ,our trip got extended from a 3 days tour to the beach to a 7 day tour through the coastline of Tamil Nadu exploring Chennai, Mahabalipuram , Pondicherry, Rameshwaram etc.Though here, we won’t be visiting all of these places, my focus point would be Pondicherry.
Pondicherry, Once a French Colony, still has the French vibe from its French styled cafes to the main district buildings and the churches depicting the French architecture.Pondicherry is also home to the HQ of one of India’s finest leather producing brand Hidesign.A union territory of Tamil Nadu , it is home to majorly Tamilian population here.The beaches here are serene, silent and clean.
We were on a trip from Rameshwaram to Pondy, so we booked our cab via makemytrip and took an overnight journey to reach Pondy. Anybody who wants to reach Pondy can take a flight to Chennai and a train or cab to Pondy or there are even direct flights to Pondy from some locations with lesser frequency.Our first couple of days were booked at a resort called Le` Pondy on the Paradise beach , about 10 kms away from the White town.
I must say there are a couple of beach resorts here with 5 star capabilities on the Paradise beach.We moved into one of the beach facing villas.The restaurant of the resort had a pool view.Le Pondy was one of the beautiful experiences in itself with a private beach.The rooms were neat and clean with good amenities, the food was lip smacking and who would not love a place right in front of the beach.Early morning we went on a refreshing bath to the Paradise beach, there are a lot of sea shells that the sea waves deposit to the shore along with cute small crabs which do no harm to you while you are walking through the beach.
We had our breakfast with a pool view and immediately chalked out our plan for the day.We got ready and planned to spent the day at the Auroville.We took an auto to Auroville which costed around 200 rupees from Le` Pondy beach Resort to Auroville since it is almost 15 kms away from our resort in the outskirts.
Auroville is a small town in itself focussed on sustainable living and concentrated on the practices of Yoga.They have a museum inside explaining how the idea of Auroville came up.You have multiple souvenir stores inside where things are made out of waste, plants and Ayurvedic stuff.The cafes inside the Auroville also serve good Indian as well as European fast food but are always crowded and a bit costly.The Auroville Bakery and Boulangerie also has some delicious patisserie at serve.We had a small meal there and went on exploring the Auroville.We walked through it experiencing different ideas the people had implemented to witness the Matri Mandir ,which is a golden colour dome shaped architecture depicting the practices of Yoga.The architecture was indeed mesmerising!
Once we descended from Auroville , there is silent beach called The Auroville Beach.We came back to our resort by the time it was 5pm and quickly went to the Paradise beach to witness the sunset.The sunrise and sunsets at a beach have a different place in our hearts, don’t they?
Next morning we took a swim at the pool followed by our breakfast and went back to pack our bags , since we were moving to a hotel in the white town, The Residency Towers(a new 4 star property with technologically forward rooms also reasonable for the wallet).After check-in , we had our lunch at Cafe Des Arts , one of the celebrated cafes of Pondy which is a French villa turned into a cafe(a must visit).It has an antique decor and good European typically French food is served here.A meal for two here costs upto 1000 bucks but the food is worth it and it is a photogenic place to click some photos with your group of friends.
Similar other popular Cafes in the white town are Villa Shanti , which is a good hotel to stay too. Coromandel Cafe, Escape are some among many others.
Pondicherry is famous for its town area consisting of lot of beaches, major tourist places, markets ,cafes , museums and district buildings called as the White Town.Many places in the White town can be explored on foot or there are autos available at every point, but we need to be sure to ask them to use the meter or the autowallas quote a high price.The Promenade is one of the best 5 star Hotels here in White town, you are lucky if you get a booking here as the hotel is overbooked many times.You can also savour on some good French food at White town.
We explored the Pondicherry museum , Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple (Ganesh temple) , Immaculate Conception Cathedral(built in 1699 is an architectural landmark built by the French),Serenity Beach (for the surfing enthusiasts).We then reached the Promenade beach which is like a Marine drive of Pondicherry.The Promenade and the Rock beach are neighbours.We saw the Gandhi statue and the French War memorial here(just a couple of points at the Promenade beach).
We witnessed the sunset at Rock beach which has big stones without actually having a shore.We sat on one of the rocks for a while appreciating the cool breeze, the waves touching the rocks and watching the Sun bidding good bye for the day.We then had our snacks at the beachside Le Cafe`.
Pondicherry is famous for its town area consisting of lot of beaches, major tourist places, markets ,cafes , museums and district buildings called as the White Town.Many places in the White town can be explored on foot or there are autos available at every point, but we need to be sure to ask them to use the meter or the autowallas quote a high price.The Promenade is one of the best 5 star Hotels here in White town.You can also savour on some good French food at White town.
We explored the Pondicherry museum , Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple (Ganesh temple) , Immaculate Conception Cathedral(built in 1699 is an architectural landmark built by the French),Serenity Beach (for the surfing enthusiasts).We then reached the Promenade beach which is like a Marine drive of Pondicherry.The Promenade and the Rock beach are neighbours.We saw the Gandhi statue and the French War memorial here(just a couple of points at the Promenade beach).
For shopping, the National Handloom Market near the French War Memorial would serve you with some great gems and pearl jewellery as well as leather products.This market has many originally made and quality products to buy.
The Goubert Market is good for Souvenirs.Casablanca, is a multipurpose shop with varieties from Postcards, handlooms , good western and traditional clothes for Women, textiles, home decor and much more(This place is worth the visit).The Serenity and
Promenade beach bazaars for some street shopping , Nehru Street and M.G road for any South Indian Traditional jewellery /Textiles that you wish to take back along with you.For the best Silk and Kajeevaram Sarees , there is one huge shop of Pothy’s in White Town.
For shopping, the National Handloom Market near the French War Memorial would serve you with some great gems and pearl jewellery as well as leather products.This market has many originally made and quality products to buy.
The Goubert Market is good for antique souvenirs.Casablanca, is a multipurpose shop with varieties from postcards, handlooms , good western and traditional clothes for women, textiles, home decor and much more(This place is worth the visit).The Serenity and Promenade beach bazaars for some street shopping , Nehru Street and M.G road for any South Indian Traditional jewellery/textiles that you wish to take back along with you.For the best Silk and Kajeevaram Sarees , there is one huge shop of Pothy’s in White Town.In the beach bazaars you may find wall hangings and jewellery and some hair clips made of sea shells, that's some unique handmade stuff that you may find here.
There are two Hidesign shops, one is the factory outlet which has bags and wallets on 40% to 70% discount and is worth the visit, who know if you find a gem of a bag at a reasonable cost.The other one is a flagship store just 100 meter away from the factory outlet , which has the new collection of Hidesign products. Both the stores are located on the Nehru Street.Lastly, Our booking platform has been Makemytrip.com, we had a great experience staying at these properties as well as travelling at wee hours was safe and comfortable.With the lowest of bookings , Pondicherry alone can be explored in 3 days at a mere 10k/person including flights.Though we had a luxurious experience staying at some great properties, we had to shell out around 15k/person but it was totally worth it.
Other nearby great places to explore are Mahabalipuram, Kancheepuram and Chennai.Have a great trip to this French Riviera Of India :)
Tip:Please try to avoid trips in summer and carry all your Sunscreens and caps and scarves.
' fill='%23359391'%3e %3cpath d='M46.1538462%2c43.5714286 L41.5%2c50 L36.8461538%2c43.5714286 L36.8670256%2c43.5714286 C36.3173077%2c42.7142857 36%2c41.6851429 36%2c40.5714286 C36%2c37.4854286 38.4535641%2c35 41.5%2c35 C44.5464359%2c35 47%2c37.4854286 47%2c40.5714286 C47%2c41.6851429 46.6826923%2c42.7142857 46.1329744%2c43.5714286 L46.1538462%2c43.5714286 Z M41.4294872%2c39 C40.6150641%2c39 39.9487179%2c39.675 39.9487179%2c40.5 C39.9487179%2c41.325 40.6150641%2c42 41.4294872%2c42 C42.2439103%2c42 42.9102564%2c41.325 42.9102564%2c40.5 C42.9102564%2c39.675 42.2439103%2c39 41.4294872%2c39 L41.4294872%2c39 Z' id='Location-white'%3e%3c/path%3e %3c/g%3e %3c/svg%3e)
