Rue De Pondicherry
Pondicherry, recently renamed as Puducherry, is one of the
union territories of India. Its attractions are a coastline of 32 K.M., beaches,
backwaters, the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, the international city of Auroville and its
French heritage. There are remarkable amount of French influence still present
in Pondicherry. This town is divided into two sections: Native Town or Black town and French Town or
White Town. Still there are many streets which retains their French name, as my
blog name J
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| French Connection |
Reach There:
Pondicherry is well connected with most part of South India.
Our journey was from Hyderabad which is about 780 K.M. from Pondicherry. We
booked our bus ticket from redbus.in and started our journey. Approximate
travel time from Hyderabad to Pondicherry is around 14 hours (I am not sure
about train journey time) and we had reached there around 7:00 a.m. in the
morning. Bus tickets (AC Volvo Semi Sleeper) cost 1000 /- each.
After Reaching There:
We had already booked our hotel (Golden Sun Guest House –
Budget Hotel) from Cleartrip.com and after reaching Pondicherry bus stop we
took one auto to reach to our hotel. The hotel has great location and
everything around is accessible by walking. (Though I am not an agent of the
hotel or I will not get any commission, J
I strongly recommend this hotel). The hotel is low cost (1600 Per night) ,
nicely situated (Aurobindo Ashram, Promande Beach etc are within walking
distance) and last of all the owner is very well behaved and helpful (This was
our first trip there and they helped us in all aspect, kudos)
Attractions:
Sri Aurobindo Ashram:
This ashram is one of the most important destinations in Pondicherry for
Spiritual Seekers as well as regular tourist. It is situated in a very peaceful
lane near to the beach. The visiting hours to the Ashram for the visitors are
from 8 a.m. -12 p.m. and then again from 2 pm to 6 pm. While you are visiting this
place, please keep quiet and enjoy the positive vibration of this place. You
can also buy books of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Beware of buying something
from outside which is related to Aurobindo Ashram.
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| Aurobindo Ashram |
Promande Beach:
This beach is in heart of Pondicherry. This is a rocky beach, so don’t try to
be more adventurous here. This beach is one of the wonderful attractions for
its scenic beauty. Road in one side with some extraordinary French construction
and sea in other side had made this beach extraordinary. Don’t miss fast food
stalls in the beach. Also you can try ‘Le Café’ for breakfast or evening snack.
Check the lighthouse near to the beach. Also don’t miss handicraft shops near
to the beach. Watch out for French war memorial, Gandhi Statue in beach road.
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| View from Promande Beach |
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| Le Cafe |
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| French Memorial |
All Peaceful Roads: Here most of the road name is in French like Rue De Marine and all the roads (near to beach and Aurobindo Ashram) are well maintained. You can enjoy the serenity here. (This is not a tourist spot, but I myself had enjoyed the calmness very much that’s why I had added it here)
Church, Church and More Churches: Pondicherry had many churches (search in Google and you will get hundreds of names) and most of them are beautiful.
Paradise Beach: Here is one of the stunners in Pondicherry. Chunnambar is around 8KMs from Pondicherry. You can take a normal boat or a speed boat to Paradise beach. You can enjoy whole day here relaxing. There is one small bar available and shades are there to protect from rain and Sun.
Manakula Vinayagar
Temple: A small and beautiful temple with a good history. Probably has
acquired importance because of being only temple in the former French part. Before
entering the Temple one can seek blessings of the Elephant (Lakshmi).
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| Manakula Vinayagar Temple |
Auroville
International City: Auroville (City of Dawn) is an experimental township near
Pondicherry. It was founded in 1968 by The Mother. In the middle of the town is the Matrimandir,
which has been acclaimed as "an outstanding and original architectural
achievement. It was conceived by "The Mother" as "a symbol of
the Divine's answer to man's inspiration for perfection". Silence is
maintained inside the Matrimandir to ensure the tranquility of the space and
entire area surrounding the Matrimandir is called Peace area. You can take auto
or private car to reach Auroville and then inside from office you can collect
meditation pass for Matrimandir.
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| Matrimandir |
Numbers of meditation
passes are limited so you need to collect them early or else you can visit the
peace area and watch the Matrimandir from outside. The areas surrounding
Matrimandir is awesome and enjoy the calmness here.
Auro Beach: This
is situated opposite to Auroville International City and one of the dirtiest
beach in Pondicherry. Personally I did not like this beach.
Government Museum: If
you are a history lover and then you can spend one lazy noon in this museum. Collection
is quite good but there is lack of good English speaking guide in this museum.
Bharathi Park:
Enter here, take some picture, take some rest and leave for other destination.
Eat:
Pondicherry had wide range of food starting from authentic
South Indian food to Sea Food to authentic French food. While travelling
everyone should try French food once atleast. (Bong Tip: If you feel you are missing Bengali food, try searching at
the road just behind Aurobindo Ashram, you will find one Bengali Restaurant)
Drink:
Yes, here comes the show stopper J Pondicherry is well known for
its drinking culture. You will get almost all (yes, almost all) type of liquor
here (that’s too almost in half price). There are many bar and wine shops
present throughout the city. I had seen police create some problem after 11
p.m. so beware.
Buy:
Try exploring weekend roadside market; you will get many
things cheaper. Try exploring handicraft shops (search for govt shops) and buy
a lot of handicraft. Buy some t-shirt form Offbeat Pondi store. Also check some Dubai stores.
Roaming within City:
To roam within city you can rent a bicycle, or gear less scooter. You need to
submit any of your identity cards and some caution money and then enjoy the
city.
Here is one video of lonely street in Pondicherry, near
beach road:
