Destination Puducherry

-
I embarked on yet another train journey within two weeks of traveling to Kerala in 2010. This time it was on Lallu's Garib Rath. One has to pay for the blankets and pillows and there are 3 sleepers on the side also. Other than these differences, the poor man's chariot is like any other train in India.

My destination this time was Puducherry (Pondicherry) .Did you know Puducherry consists of four non-contiguous regions: Puducherry, Karaikal, and Yanam on the Bay of Bengal and Mahé on the Arabian Sea.This place still retains its evidence of French History. Though i had visited this place about 12 years ago, I was keen on rediscovering the place and its french cuisine.

As this was more of hang out with friends and sight see trip, I chose ginger. For the uninitiated traveler, ginger is an affordable, very clean option for budget travelers by Tata.This place was indeed all it promises to be.
As suggested by all travel shows/book, we started our weekend by visiting Auroville which is about 15kms from Puducherry.As one week prior reservation is required, I could not visit the inside of Matri Mandir.Instead I had to walk 1 km back and forth to view the meditation hall from a distance.


I would say skip it and just head out for the beach. The closest from Auroville was of course the Auro Beach. A dirty crowded expanse of a beach. But that didn’t dither us from revisiting the place next morning and enjoying the waters



















Puducherry has Sri Aurobindo Ashram, a museum in an old French villa, rocky beach with chow patty hangover, some French heritage buildings and of course churches and temples. We did the tourist route with just one thing in mind: we needed to head out to paradise beach as soon as possible


Paradise beach was the cherry on the cake. We had to take a 15 minute boat ride to reach this estuary. The beach is clean, the waves just right, not very crowded as access is limited and best part is there are change rooms. I loved this place.


Yes, It was worth visiting Puducherry  for a quick weekend break!

Location: Puducherry, Tamil Nadu
Date of travel: September 2010

Tip: Avoid taking the private travel buses as they are pathetic. Stick to Ksrtc.
Must do: lounge around in Paradise Beach
First: Experience the nature's phenomenon at the mouth of estuary
Location: Puducherry, Pondicherry, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Destination Aihole

-
Image
The cradle of Hindu temple architecture, Aihole or Aryapura was the destination to learn and experiment on the temple architecture. Under the patronage of early Chalukyan kings, the Chalukyan style of temple architecture was refined here between  the 5th and 8th century.  The preview of Aihole given to us by the guide at Pattadakal was enough to excite me about visiting the ancient school of architecture, You wonder if you have arrived at Aihole as the narrow lanes leads you into the chaos of a village life but the complex of ancient structures in various states of disintegration  make you think you have time traveled. The proximity of the timeworn stone monuments and the present day village dwellings raised a lot of questions. The encroachment of these temples was even more intriguing. Be it the cattle housed in these structures, smoke bellowing out or the colorful clothes drying on a line between intricate carved column, all of it just amazed me. When we arrived at one of the b
Read more

Destination Punakha Dzong

-
Image
If I had to choose my favorite structure, It would be the bridges without any hesitation. Bhutan renewed my fascination for bridges with their traditional cantilever bridge called the Bazam. Tintin's knowledge about architecture was limited. My questions on the location of  the toilets, kitchens inside the Dzong  or how the water supply/ drainage worked  and other queries must have driven him mad or made him think that the mountain air had made me go bonkers. So my hopes of understanding the bridge through Tintin was futile. Punakha Dzong is undoubtedly one of the most elegant structures in Bhutan.  To get to the main building , one has to cross Mo chhu through one of the most beautiful bridges I have come across so far. Most buildings in Bhutan are a replica of their ancient self. Due to natural calamities or fire, almost all the prominent sites in Bhutan have been rebuilt in the recent years. The Punakha bridge is no different. You can read more about it here. http:/
Read more

Citadel Acropolis Of Athens

-
Image
Faded reminiscent of a lavish bygone era, Acropolis is a collection of multiple monuments. The current state is due to foreign occupation, pilfering of foreign archaeologist, inept renovations and of course nature's fury. Along with these factor,the indifferent visitor who do not respect the history have made it worse. Does this  remind you of multiple monuments across India. History repeats itself no matter the location. A short climb up the flat rock outcrop and one reaches the propylaea. It is the gateway to the cradle of history. Phidias was the lead architect. The first sight of Doric columns from a distance, the most easiest to sketch was underwhelmed by the crowds. But as we got closer to the gateway, the temple of Athena Nike with ionic columns and the scale of the Doric columns gave us the first preview of what can be expected inside the citadel of acropolis. Stairs Leading to western facade of Propylaea The reconstructed Temple of Athena Nike in tetr
Read more