I am currently staying in Bangalore which is kind of the center of southern India and so makes it easier to travel around by car. 26th Jan was a Monday and so we got a long weekend to travel. We decided to take a trip to Pondicherry as it is only 300Kms from Bangalore. With a good road it should take something like 3-4 hours but with the potholes it almost took double of that. People in south India don’t seem to believe in any kind of traffic rules and probably think that you have to be a chicken to follow a few. There was a point when we were not sure if we were a left hand drive country or right. The highways in Tamil Nadu are very well maintained; the bumpy ride started when we left the highway and went on to drive thru the little villages of Tamil Nadu towards Pondy.
We stopped at a roadside shade in one of the villages where they were making fresh breakfast of idlis, dosas and vadas. It was yumm…mmy.
We passed Thiruannamalai on the way and saw a huge temple complex and decided to pay a visit on the way back. At Gingy (pronounced as Singy) we came across an old township/fort, took some pictures and stuff but didn’t really climb the mountains and visit the fort.
After lunch and a nap at the Hotel Atithi, Pondicherry we set out to check out the Pondy beach. It was breathtaking blue water; you pretty much can’t see anything on the horizon. We walked, sat, chit-chatted along the beach for a while. During the walk around town, we came across a lot of interesting shops carrying artwork, antiques etc. Even found a fun café (if I remember right, the name of that café was Bindaas café) to sip a cup of coffee or just to read a book in the evening. This place was an art gallery with a dance/tai-chi/Yoga activity center in the backyard and the café on the terrace.
Next day we started off by visiting Aurobindo ashram, nice little place with a small, cramped garden with amazingly beautiful plants. It has the Samadhi of Guru Aurobindo which is always very well decorated by flowers and has people praying and meditating around it.
Next stop was Auroville, the most secluded yet famed spot near Pondy. Auroville is serene and peaceful, it sure tempts you to attend at least one workshop to see it in detail otherwise there are too many restrictions as to what you can see as a tourist. We visited Matri Mandir but the whole fun is to go inside and meditate but obviously that entry is highly restricted.
The picture of the Banyan tree below is the center of Auroville, it is much older than Auroville and has formed a number of mini-banyans around itself. We tried our hand at some monkey business too.
Later we drove to Auroville beach; the sand was very rough and harsh on feet. Water was very forceful and violent making it more fun to get wet. This is also a must see beach just like Pondy beach.
Next day morning we got up early to head to the beach to check out sunrise but to our surprise the sky was beautiful red just before sunrise and it turned dark, blue sort of gloomy after sunrise. The shades of red color vanished from the sky making us think that it was sunrise gone backwards.
On the way back we did visit the Thiruannamalai temple, it was a large temple complex with beautiful white Gopurams. We did not stand in lines for any darshan we just checked out the temple and pushed off.
We stopped at a roadside shade in one of the villages where they were making fresh breakfast of idlis, dosas and vadas. It was yumm…mmy.
We passed Thiruannamalai on the way and saw a huge temple complex and decided to pay a visit on the way back. At Gingy (pronounced as Singy) we came across an old township/fort, took some pictures and stuff but didn’t really climb the mountains and visit the fort.
After lunch and a nap at the Hotel Atithi, Pondicherry we set out to check out the Pondy beach. It was breathtaking blue water; you pretty much can’t see anything on the horizon. We walked, sat, chit-chatted along the beach for a while. During the walk around town, we came across a lot of interesting shops carrying artwork, antiques etc. Even found a fun café (if I remember right, the name of that café was Bindaas café) to sip a cup of coffee or just to read a book in the evening. This place was an art gallery with a dance/tai-chi/Yoga activity center in the backyard and the café on the terrace.
Next day we started off by visiting Aurobindo ashram, nice little place with a small, cramped garden with amazingly beautiful plants. It has the Samadhi of Guru Aurobindo which is always very well decorated by flowers and has people praying and meditating around it.Next stop was Auroville, the most secluded yet famed spot near Pondy. Auroville is serene and peaceful, it sure tempts you to attend at least one workshop to see it in detail otherwise there are too many restrictions as to what you can see as a tourist. We visited Matri Mandir but the whole fun is to go inside and meditate but obviously that entry is highly restricted.
The picture of the Banyan tree below is the center of Auroville, it is much older than Auroville and has formed a number of mini-banyans around itself. We tried our hand at some monkey business too.
Later we drove to Auroville beach; the sand was very rough and harsh on feet. Water was very forceful and violent making it more fun to get wet. This is also a must see beach just like Pondy beach.
Next day morning we got up early to head to the beach to check out sunrise but to our surprise the sky was beautiful red just before sunrise and it turned dark, blue sort of gloomy after sunrise. The shades of red color vanished from the sky making us think that it was sunrise gone backwards.
On the way back we did visit the Thiruannamalai temple, it was a large temple complex with beautiful white Gopurams. We did not stand in lines for any darshan we just checked out the temple and pushed off.
Tips from the trip:
Hotel Atithi is top-notch for stay, service and food.
DO NOT even enter the restaurant called Rendezvous, it is worse than pathetic.
If planning for a dinner by the pondy beach, don’t miss Hotel Ajatha, the food is not bad but you pretty much pay for the view which is out of this world.
Hotel Atithi is top-notch for stay, service and food.
DO NOT even enter the restaurant called Rendezvous, it is worse than pathetic.
If planning for a dinner by the pondy beach, don’t miss Hotel Ajatha, the food is not bad but you pretty much pay for the view which is out of this world.
