Pondicherry aka Puducherry

The weekend of October 2nd, we went to Pondicherry or as known in the surrounding areas, Puducherry. We did not start early, nor had we planned anything what we would be doing there on reaching. We had just made the reservations at Le Maison Blanche.(This was the only place we were getting rooms at such short notice) The rooms were ok, but the A/c was not working and that was not a good thing as its quite balmy in Pondicherry, not what I expected maybe in the month of Sept - Oct. I heard that the weather rarely goes better than that and it usually is struck with very humid and hot summers and the time period from oct - dec is the most comfortable for walking around a a visit. Apart from the A/c, the rooms were good, breakfast was very sumptuous and the swings and outdoor areas of the house was to die for. The plants and old furniture really did add to the whole place and each room had pictures of Hindu gods ( I do not know why). The only reason for this I could think of was , they got these pictures with the house and decided to evenly distribute it through the house.

We did not get to visit too many places, but what I did see was the beach, the Promenade ( Hidesign hotel), L'Orient, the lovely amazing shopable market, and a sand statue of Gandhi to commemorate Gandhi Jayanti.

I shall not go to into too many details, but here are some pictures of our lovely vacation. One thing though I should say is that there were these toy lights which were being sold at the beach, and you can just swirl it behind someone and make it look like a halo!

And, that is exactly what is happening here :)

Here is the sand statue of Gandhi ji

The church on the beach side.

Something interesting to remember and very apt for a coastal town I thought.

To Visit #1 : Pondicherry

I have been planning a trip for close to 2 weeks now, and I am yet not sure where it shall be materializing. So, I thought why not put down all the information which I gathered for these trips down here for anyone’s benefit.They are not too much and mostly you might find it on you searches too, but then this will also serve as a diary for me in case I do decide to go to these places a while later ;)

When we started, the location was uncertain, so I thought Pondicherry. Then over some time I thought maybe the better option would be Goa, with its better beaches and a larger crowd for a better party. Post that, there was a serious shortage of people who were free/willing to make a trip to Goa during Christmas break, now we start on a trip planning for Coorg and Bandipur.

I shall go over all the various things I had tagged as my to-see places at all the above locations. I am thinking, I love travelling and I have so many dreams to see the smallest to the biggest of towns and cities. I am going to record all the tit bits that I find through my searches as blog entries. I am going to have a list of all places which are worth visiting.

This one is going to be for

Pondicherry/ Puducherry

Plage: 8kms from the town centre, you can see the small quiet creek flowing and joining the sea. The beach is beautiful and you can even pitch a tent on the sea side.

Serenity: 10 minutes away from the town will take you to this calm beach perfect for swimming.

Sri Aurobindo Ashram: This ashram has been set up years back and most of the old French buildings are ashram offices, libraries and institutes. Some shops are also around this area where many ashram produces are available for sale.

Jawahar Toy Museum, Puducherry Museum, Puducherry Art Gallery: I could not gather much information about these, but they are said to be housed in one of the old grand French structures, so I had decided to visit them too.

Old Light House: Build during the French era, and not in use at present but one of the few in India

Aayi Mandapam, Bharati Museum: The first is a huge memorial built by the French for a temple dancer who lived 300 years before the French, and the second is the residence of a Tamil Poet which has been turned into a museum.

Easwaran Koil: An old Tamil temple, with typical Tamil street houses lining the roads adjacent to the temple. The houses have a covered veranda till the street.

Churches: Notre Dame des Anges, Church of Capuchians

Hotel de L’Orient: The best heritage hotel in Puducherry, have heard it is worth a visit, even if too

Hotel Lagreene: This is the convent where you can see intricate embroidery being done by girls

Shopping: Household shopping paradise is what Pondicherry is famous for. Leather, pottery, handmade paper from the factory and handicrafts which are from all over the southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu

Food: Boulangerie which serves authentic French pain et croissant is something not to be missed. One can taste some French food, though some comment that the French cuisine is not in its full grandeur in this past French colony. The Chunnambar beach resort on Cuddaloare road has a floating restaurant which can also be experimented with.