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| | The TRAVEL LOVERS! Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Travelogue: Pondicherry | Views: 5783 | | Oct 29, 2006 2:57 pm | | Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
X Y | | Travelogue: Pondicherry, State of Tamil Nadu, India
Author: Kiran Rao
The upward journey
Another holiday loomed up on me, and I pulled out my much-abused map of South India and crossed out all the destinations I had already covered. This got my attention to Pondicherry, a sleepy little seaside Union Territory ensconced inside the state of Tamil Nadu. At 320 KM from Bangalore, it appeared like a good getaway for four days by road.
Without further ado I packed a few clothes, swimwear, camera and standard travel gear, loaded into my 2.6L Turbo SLX Scorpio, fired up a club CD and burned rubber at 7:00 AM. The national highway till Krishnagiri is a dream ride by Indian standards, and cruising north of 120 Kmph was easy. Making a left at Krishnagiri on to a two-lane state highway was disappointing, as I had to drop speed to an average of 70 Kmph, however the road continued to be top quality barring a few tire-chewing potholes. The scenery was pleasant with endless rows of trees on either side meeting at the top middle of the road, creating a tunnel. The CRDi engine hummed smoothly and belted out enough power to make the drive absolutely pleasurable through the towns of Tiruvannamalai, Gingee and Villupuram and eventually Pondicherry in six hours. Word of caution, I got held up at least 45 minutes at the railway crossing between the towns of Mattur and Uttangarai, where the personnel manning the crossing decided to let four trains through before allowing traffic across. Also, be advised the drive gets very slow through the town of Tiruvannamalai, which is a temple town thronged by thousands of devotees.
Arriving at Pondicherry
I did some online research on a few beachside resorts in Pondicherry (Hotel Pondicherry Ashok, St. James Beach Resort and Chunnambar Beach and Backwater Resort) and even made a reservation at St. James Beach Resort. However, when I arrived to check-in, I found the quality of these resorts very poor, and the attitude of the staff downright unacceptable (when I refused to check-in at the St. James Beach Resort, the staff asked me directly “why, do you have a budget problem?”). I left the beachside East Coast Road and drove to the French part of the town along the Goubert Avenue, where the hotels were more mature and modern. The Park Guesthouse, owned by the Aurobindo Ashram, at the end of Goubert Avenue is worth checking out for those in search of a regulated clean place to sleep at. This place has quite a few restrictions though, no smoking or drinking on premises, gates close at 10:30 PM, no TV sets or phones in rooms and no room service. There are several 3 and 4 star hotels lining Goubert Avenue, but I found the price range of Rs 2000 to 4000 per night to be a bit excessive. I finally checked into the Ajantha Guesthouse at Rupees 800 per night inclusive of taxes. It was a good place to stay, with a clean A/C room and hot water. The services, however, are not up to par and expectations must be scaled down accordingly.
Pondicherry
In compliance with the general weather of Tamil Nadu, the climate at Pondicherry was hot and humid. I took a shower and stepped out, only to be covered with greasy sweat within minutes. I realized the order of the day would be freshen up, leave hotel for food, and head straight back to hotel room as I craved the dry cool of the A/C and the heat had sapped my energy up. In spite of this unpleasant setback, I managed to venture and investigate the town. I did not have a checklist type agenda, with checkboxes against a couple of must-see places. I wanted to discover the spirit of this town with French-Dutch past, mentioned prominently in our history and heritage.
I quickly realized and note strongly here, the elemental purpose of visiting Pondicherry must be to find peace to meditate, serenity for the soul and enlightenment for the mind through spirituality, not to experience a rustic quaint town steeped in French heritage.
The smells and sounds of heritage are overrun by petty Indian commercialism dominated by survival-based needs than artistic perseverance. I saw more stores selling cheap plastic goods, two-cent clothes and chintzy roadside food than I saw anything extrinsically evident of the town’s antecedents. Positively, in this part of the town all the roads and lanes are called “Rue de …” which in French meant “Street of …”.
Some quick facts I discovered
1. Swimming on all beaches in Pondicherry is banned by the order of the government, after the death of four boys in the sea
2. The beaches are black sand, not white like the western parts of India
3. There are no refreshments or shade available at any beach, carry your own water, beer or anything else you want to do there
4. Most restaurants advertise a bewildering array of menu items, but almost all the menu is not available. Many of my culinary experiences went “we don’t have that sir”, “we don’t have that either sir”, and “we stopped serving that sir”.
5. Don’t take public or private transport as most items of interest are concentrated between Goubert Avenue and MG Road, all very walk-able distances from each other
6. Don’t expect anything interesting to shop
The absolute saving grace I found was the Hidesign hotel called The Promenade located on Goubert Avenue. This hotel was truly commendable for its quality of food, attitude of its staff and interior ambience. Their dinner buffet spread was lovely and comes with a greedy selection of desserts, all international class. A pitcher of your favorite cocktail costs only Rupees 375, so it was a good Sangria- or Margarita-fest every night. Another excellent place I found was a French Café called Hot Breads at the intersection of H.M Kasim road and Jawaharlal Nehru Street. They have an international selection of freshly made breads and cakes. Lastly, I advise against eating at a place called “Peepin” (right next door to Hot Breads), the food was below par and made me sick too.
Over the next few days I visited the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, Paradise Beach and several heritage buildings of interest. The Auroville is an international settlement of 1700 people from 35 nations with the objective of “realizing human unity”. They request all members to renounce religion, but there were many religiously named items inside the settlement. I left the place unconvinced. Paradise Beach is the only “white sand” beach in Pondicherry and costs Rupees 60 boat ride to get to. It’s an absolutely abandoned stretch of a thin layer of golden sand over black sand, with no shops, no shade and just about nothing to do. The place was full of families with screaming children, making my experience tad worse.
The Orphic Spirit
In my personal opinion, Pondicherry had lost much of the tourist value but remains a strong force as one of the spiritual centers of the world. Rampant commercialization has robbed this quaint old town of its essence, and small-minded people with no worldly wisdom run the tourism industry. Almost everyone wants to cater to the thousands of foreigners who come through in association with Auroville, but they have no clue how to do it. You will see endless streets of cheap goods, clothes that look like used kitchen washcloths hung outside by the dozens, a traffic sense that’s befuddling, abandoned beaches, hordes of staring locals, and weather that will suck the élan vital out of you. Lot must be said of the omnipresent stature of The Mother, Sri Aurobindo and Auroville in this town, you will find hundreds of scholars from around the world here doing various types of research in arts and humanities.
The Sound Of Goodbye
When it was time to mount up my Scorpio again, I was relieved to escape the acerbic weather. After grabbing a quick breakfast at The Promenade, I bade my favorite staff farewell (they had seen me at their hotel every single night), stopped at the Hot Breads café to buy some unique breads and cakes, filled up with diesel and hit the road back to the familiar, my home that’s Bangalore. As I passed the last visible sign of this sleepy town, I cerebrated over this place that enabled an underbelly of sentience overlap an icing of petty commercialism coexist nonetheless in harmony.
More Information
For more information on Pondicherry: http://www.tourisminpondicherry.com
For more information on Auroville: http://www.auroville.org/index.htm
For more information on Sri Aurobindo Ashram: http://www.sriaurobindoashram.org/index.php
The Pondicherry Tourism Department can be contacted at:
40, Goubert Avenue
Pondicherry - 605 001, India
Telephones: (+91-413)-2339497/2334575/2330532.
Fax: (+91-413)-2338389Private Reply to X Y | | Oct 29, 2006 3:29 pm | | re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
N Iyer | | Kiran,
That was crisp yet adequate basic info for anyone who wants to go to Pondy. My experience with Pondicherry is all of a day trip from Chennai and except for the beautiful ride on East Coast Road and the streets starting with Rue...it doesn't bring back any exceptional memories.
I guess unless one checks into one of the hi-end resorts like Taj and laze on the beach and the air conditioned confines of the luxurious rooms plus a spa experience thrown in, there isn't really much. Especially not as much as we expect from this sleepy little place.
The heat is just too much to make it an ideal getaway, especially if you are coming in from cooler climes of Bangalore. I liked the way you described the drive and the attitudes of people around. I remember lunching at a French cafe that served some excellent French Onion soup and breads. Forget the name though. It was a terrace kinda restaurant and despite being December, it was HOT.
Looking forward to more such travelogues.
Cheers
Nandita Private Reply to N Iyer | | Oct 29, 2006 11:19 pm | | re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Devil's Trill | | I had an entirely different experience at Pondicherry and it was lovely everytime I went there - at last count, I've been there 6 times. to be short:
1. the drive from Chennai to Pondi along the ECR is unarguably the best drive in India, along the sea. A few hours spent at Mahabalipuram are totally worth it, in between.
2. one must try hiring a cycle and bicycling along the beachfront in the evenings - its lovely.
3. A good idea for someone without own transport is to rent a 2-wheeler, readily and cheaply available
4. Shopping-wise, Pondicherry is an amazing place to buy handmade paper (the best in India), ethnic, hand made leather goods, amongst the most beautiful lampshades in the country (both paper and cloth-embroidered), wonderful stuff made of Kora grass (I bought a beach mattress which has lasted me 5 great years), good 'Auroshikha' brand incense sticks and of course, the hidesign factory outlet, which if you're lucky, will be well stocked with products at 60% discounts.
5. I've stayed with a few friends who stay in Auroville and the experience was amazing - the concept of community self-service is really great - though a few junkies have spoiled the ambience as everywhere else. The idea of having a lotus pond and a little jungle in your backyard and living in a modern house made by your own and friends' hands is very very tempting.
6. The auro bakery serves amazing bread - just lovely.
7. The hidesign hotel is the best in the area. Agree about the hotels - the grotesquely modern looking Mass hotel is extremely unkempt from the inside. Surya international where I stayed once was much better. Friends have previously rented small bungalow-cottages and stayed there.
8. Its a great idea to bike around to the neighbouring villages in the villupuram area - you'll find groups upon groups on women working on handicrafts - which can be picked up at 1/3rd of the rates in a Dilli Haat.Private Reply to Devil's Trill | | Oct 30, 2006 6:24 am | | re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
N Iyer | | Pranav,
your post sure inspires me to revisit Pondy next time I'm in Chennai! But need to stay in the Auroville...
And hey sorry, I forgot to mention that i bought tons of candles and incense sticks. It's almost two years now and I stilll enjoy the wonderful smells of the Auroshikha products.Private Reply to N Iyer | | Oct 30, 2006 7:14 am | | re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
sandra d | | hi kiran,
both pondy and hampi are on my must go to list....thanx for the info...keep them coming..
cheers Private Reply to sandra d | | Oct 30, 2006 5:15 pm | | re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
S~ | | Agree with pranav,
Hidesign Brand is from pondicherry, they have an showroom there
Aroville has their small scale industry thing going great...they makes some amazing aroma items (Inscence sticks,aroma oils,scented candles) .They also make some amazing hand made pottery and paper.
Private Reply to S~ | | Oct 31, 2006 5:12 am | | beware of travel agent 'deals' in shady hotels! - Pondicherry | # | 
Yosha Feet | | Just one advice to all those going to Pondi...please don't stay in any insipid hotel! And beware travel agents trying to sell you 'deals'... they'll put you up in shady hotels.
There are lovely guesthouses and home stays in Pondi, try and book your accommodations with them.
Have fun in the sun! :)
xx
YoshaPrivate Reply to Yosha Feet | | Nov 11, 2006 5:35 am | | Ashram stay / Homestays | # |
N Iyer | | Anyone know of people who can let us stay in the Ashram at Pondicherry on the 23 and 24th December, will leave 25th morning...I hear there are many homestays too, but none listed in the travel sites...
Can someone help? I tried all the ashram guest houses, but they are already booked to their brim for the christmas hols. Sadly, I couldn't book in the highly recommended by all- Park Guest house!Private Reply to N Iyer | | Nov 11, 2006 5:50 am | | re: Ashram stay / Homestays | # |
Rangarajan R | | If you contact them directly, they will help you. Even homestays are arranged by them.
Rangarajan-New Delhi Private Reply to Rangarajan R | | Nov 11, 2006 5:58 am | | re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
Vijay Nayak | | Kiran and Pranav:
Liked both perspectives on Pondicherry. Great info which will be of immense help when we plan a trip there next Jan. Had been a few years back and stayed at the Ashram GH at the end of the promenade and can remember we did the few relevent streets cycling. Were expecting a lot in terms of French Cuisine but could barely find good stuff in a couple places!
Private Reply to Vijay Nayak | | Nov 21, 2006 11:23 am | | re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Vibha Shah | | Kiran thats a an excellently written travellogue.
I am a Pondicherrian so I can vouch for that!
Pranav's view point as well as those of others are true too.
Theres a lot of mindless comercialism happeneing here which killing the ambience of a "quaint colonial town".And i for one am not for it!Goodness sake, Pondy,in most places looks like any mushrooming satellite township in southern india!
The Ashram and Auroville are making efforts to keep the old flavour alive.Sadly there are many of us tourists who are in for budget stays or just want to enjoy (sans disturbing the existing calm).
Look fwd to more travellogues!
Will keep popping in on this network at regular intervals now! :-0
Vibha
Private Reply to Vibha Shah | | Nov 23, 2006 2:56 pm | | re: re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Praveen Paul | | Everyone above me...... super stuff.. I'm more of an off beat traveller, like to stay in cheap / backpacking accomodation... so here goes my 2 cents abt pondi...
Pondy is now called puducherri... ny way I first hit pondy while i used to live in chennai... and then from Bangalore....
Places to stay:
Budget:
1) park guest house: coz everybody has spoken abt it I won't
2) Homestays : In the french part of Pondy... You can find info abt this at local hotels like Rendezvous.
3) Cotteges: In Auroville .. You can stay with the communities...
4) Farm houses : there are farm houses on the way to auroville.. itz off the beaten track.. the best way to get there is to make fiends with the people in auroville and they will show u the way... they have the best parties ever.....
Medium
1) the hidesign promenade: notin to say
2) Hotel de pondicherry : opp the park guest house..if u really want to go to relax this is the place to be... a old french bunglow very very tastefully converted to a hotel...no TV's nophones ...just great decor and u....peace
i don't like any other hotel so i willnot suggest them..
Food :
Breakfast : At the bakery... this is after you turn to auroville from ECR....the place to go...super place
- auroville bakery : heavenly pastries and cake blocks....plz try the bluebery muffins.....
Lunch : I can't remember the name of the place.... it like 50mts away from the park guest house... they make unbelivable pizzas.....their food really roks...
Dinner : I haven't got over this place called Rendezvous...They make the most amazing seafood in the planet....some white wine and te seafood.... It can't get better than tat.
Must Do's :
go to matri mandir... The walk there is worth it.
Listen to wat people say at the auroville centre...coz u will understand the place much betterthen.
Get a massage at the auro spa.... it is on ECR after the auro beach.
Go to the temples near by... they are really nice
visit the churches.
Don't dos
Never stay in hotel MASS or an other Big hotel...it is not worth the money or time
Don't go to the cabret....you r wasting a lot of money
have fun in Pondyyy.... Itz a great place..
Private Reply to Praveen Paul | | Nov 24, 2006 5:21 am | | re: re: re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
sandra d | |
thanx praveen...very useful info...especailly about the food:)blueberry muffins being a favourite.. Private Reply to sandra d | | Nov 24, 2006 7:23 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
Vibha Shah | | Parveen,
the restaurant making great pizzas abt 50 mts from Park GH is called LA TERRASSE !
am enjoying reading abt pondy from a visitors point of view!
vibha Private Reply to Vibha Shah | | Nov 24, 2006 12:32 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
Praveen Paul | | Thankz Vibha....tat was the name i was looking for Private Reply to Praveen Paul | | Nov 25, 2006 2:05 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
N Iyer | | This is great, am getting plenty of info on what to do when Im there in December! Aurp Spa sounds like fun. Private Reply to N Iyer | | Nov 25, 2006 8:40 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Preeti Vijaykumar | | I had been to Pondy couple of times too and it is DEF one of my favourite places to spend a quiet weekend away from chennai.
We once stayed in Hotel De Lorient. Great ambience. Dunno how authentic the Creole cuisine is , which they serve there. But I liked the food.
But learnt quite a few things from this thread - Auro Spa, Auroville bakery, Hidesign outlet....
Shd def try these on our next trip.
Private Reply to Preeti Vijaykumar | | Dec 25, 2006 3:01 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Anuradha Goyal | | Sharing my Pondy experience:
http://anuradhagoyal.blogspot.com/2005/09/weekend-in-pondicherry.html
Regards
Anu Private Reply to Anuradha Goyal | | Dec 28, 2006 5:08 am | | 2 days in Pondy | # |
N Iyer | | Just got back from our Pondy and Chennai trip.
Spent over 2 days in Pondy, the homestay suggested by Vibha was just perfect. An old French style house choc-a-block with antique and beadwork ( the lady of the house makes these quaint and beautiful hangings with beads) - which is a few steps from the Ashram in the French Quarters of Pondicherry. We'd recommend this homestay for anyone who doesn't want to stay in a hotel. She was the first person in Pondy to throw her house open for visitors almost 15 years ago and is features as one of the stay options in Lonely Planet too. Contacts are provided at the end of the post.
Since the idea was to just unwind and relax, we didn't have much of a tourist agenda. The drive from Chennai on ECR road was breathtakingly beautiful and unbelievably smooth - reached Pondy in just over 2 hours, by lunch time.
Lunch at Rendezvous on Rue Suffren was good as usual. We'd eaten there in our last visit too. French onion soup, spagetti, salads were good, but I found the gateaux to be kinda dry.
We started with the shopping for the usual stuff at Auroshikha for candles, incense sticks and aroma oils - as most of the shops are closed on Sundays.
After a nap, we went around searching for Repos beach - which was strongly recommended by our friend as well as the home-owner. As we took off on ECR road, we asked several people about Repos but no luck. The owner of Ramana art gallery enlightened us on the fact that Repos was washed off in the Tsunami (someone correct this please) - and now the only beach with sand is the Auro beach. After some more asking around, we finally reached there - but I wasnt much impressed by the cleanliness or the crowd. Juhu beach in today's times is much cleaner. After enjoying the breeze and the waves - we set off to the promenade for a brisk walk to build up an appetite for the dinner. It almost felt like entire visitor crowd at Pondy was there. There were some open air concert in progress as well as a village 'nautanki' performance.
We made a reservation at the loungue at the Hidesign hotel - Promenade - but unfortunately found their attitute to be very highhanded and not so customer friendly. So we decided to chuck the idea of dining there and went to Le Club (a short walk from La Terrace) instead. Food was decent and the ambience was wonderful.
Sunday morning started with a walk on the promenade. The air was cool and crisp - there were quite a number of people up by 7 am working up a sweat.
Breakfast at homestay was fresh from the bakery- croissants and bread with orange marmalade washed down by strong coffee with the Pondy edition of Hindu by the side.
A walk to the Ashram followed. The flowers and plants in the ashram are soothing to the eye as well as the mind. Got some postcards for friends from the Ashram bookstore where people were jostling each other for space. After visiting the Ashram and the Vinayakar (Ganesha) temple which is a minute from the Ashram, Auroville was the next stop. Auroville is a good half hour drive from the Ashram - especially with the swerving mobikes and cycles on ECR road. It took us almost 15 minutes of twists and turns from ECR road to reach Auroville. Being a Sunday most of the stops inside of Auroville were closed. The much talked about bakery too:( But the boutiques, gifts and pottery stores were open. I would vote for the pottery, rustic yet perfect finishing.
Back to town we visited some spiritual bookstores and stopped by Le Terrace for lunch (thanks to all the hype on the network :) Food was just OK - may be we should have stuck to the pizzas. The place was full of firangs - i wonder the real cheap prices were pulling the long term visitors in.
Late afternoon was spent strolling around the busy Nehru street and Mission street. Casablanca on Mission Street (Rue de Cathedrel) is a good place to shop for the pottery and handmade paper products available in Auroville, if you dont have the time to visit the latter.
For christmas eve dinner, we realised we hadn't exactly reserved a place - after phone calls to several diners, Rendezvous was the place which could accomodate the two of us. The atmosphere was very festive and bustling with guests.
After breakfast at the homestay and a delightful conversation with an Amercian couple in their 60s about their 3 weeks in India- we left for Chennai, with a sense of peace and happiness in our hearts.
My revisiting Pondy was all thanks to this Pondy thread on Travel Lovers.
Contact for homestay:
Ms.Patricia Michel
3B
20/28 Rue Francois Martin/ Rue Dupuy
Pondicherry - 605001
Tel: 0413 2220321 / 2335130
Email: m.patricia@rediffmail.com
Private Reply to N Iyer | | Dec 31, 2006 6:04 am | | re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Ram Sridhar | | Great reviews on Pondicherry (or Puducherry). I appreciate all the valuable points posted by fellow ryzers. As a person lived in Pondy for nearly 8 years,I have few observations to make. Pondy is a very friendly and warm place. Great beaches, small but compact city,so many things to shop.
Like Pranav has mentioned Pondy has great handmade items (in leather,paper,papermache, straw, ceramic etc.). Almost all people know Aurobindo Ashram and Auroville but very few mention about Pondy's excellent Hindu temples; VishnuTemple,Shiva Temple and the evergreen Manakula Vinaygar (Ganesh) Temple. Sincerely speaking dont get
There are a lot small restaurants where one can enjoy tasty,not so pricey,vegetarian and nv food.Great bars and hotels.My sincere suggestion would be not to follow anybobdy's advice.Go and look for yourself. Dont follow your auto/taxi drivers' suggestions. Better to stay in apartments rather than in hotels.Good,comfortable,clean apartmentsare available from 1 day to few months'stay,at very affordable prices. I totally disagree with KR's statement that Pondy has lost much of its tourism value.
Pondy has to develop beach tourism in a big way. Too many beaches,too little restaurants or refreshment stalls in most of the beaches. If properly developed and promoted by the government, Chennai-Pondy East Coast Road will become famous like Australia's famous Gold Coast stretch .Will the government do it?
Try these links:
http://tourism.pon.nic.in (official Pondy tourism website)
http://sarovarhotels.com (for stay in Le Dupleix or The Promenade)
http://anandhainn.com
http://hotelannamalai.com
http://www.thedune.in
http://kailashbeachhotel.com
Please dont get lured by websites of some beach resorts like St James Court Beach Resort-the website looks great, everything is hunky dory. But the real place is a shithouse.
Private Reply to Ram Sridhar | | Jan 15, 2007 2:54 pm | | re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Ranjit Paranjpe | | Does it make sense to include Mahabalipuram in a 3N/4D trip from bangalore? We plan to travel by car. Will we be able to do justice to Pondi, Auroville and Mahabalipuram within that time?
Private Reply to Ranjit Paranjpe | | Jan 15, 2007 3:06 pm | | re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
~Trinity ~ | | i would say you should include mahabalipuram too. Its a world heritage center..and check if u can stay in any of the resorts by the sea..i stayed at GRT temple bay and it was just awesome :) Private Reply to ~Trinity ~ | | Jan 16, 2007 4:49 am | | re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Srikant K | | hi ranjit,
Please call on 98805 89363 and speak to timmy, he will arrange the package for you.
regards
Srikant Private Reply to Srikant K | | Feb 04, 2007 4:45 pm | | Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Basab Ghosh | | Me and my wife are planning to travel to Pandicherry from Chennai on Feb. 10, stay overnight at Pondicherry and return on 11th. I appreciate the info I gathered from this thread. I shall appreciate further if anyone can point me towards a clean, hygenic and quiet place to stay for the night of 10th. (2 adults in a double bedroom) in Pondicherry and give me sight seeing directions. We will be travelling by car.
CheersPrivate Reply to Basab Ghosh | | Feb 11, 2007 2:53 pm | | re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
Basab Ghosh | | Well, we travelled by road from Chennai to Pondicherry on 10th. and returned today. Couldn't make a reservation at any hotel from Chennai, the stock answer was, 'no room' or 'come here and we shall see'. Well, we decided to go anyway. The drive out of Chennai city was a pain you know where as usual, but once beyond the toll plaza, the Fusion just took a life of it's own and galloped at 120 Kmph + most of the way, taking the numerous bends in the road in it's stride. The drive was exhileratiing for me. Once there, tried several hotels and guest houses on Rue Goubert (including the Hidesign hotel), but did not get any room. Luckily, got accommodation at Sea side guest house (they wouldn't book on phone from Chennai, but found they do take advnce bookings, what is the criteria, I do not know!). The room was clean, comfortble, air conditioned and with a sea facing balcony (Charges - Rs. 775/- per night for a double room). They do not allow guests to smoke or drink in the premises, including their rooms. They have a dining room, where you have to order in advance to eat. No restaurnts. Parking is an issue, one has to park on the street behind the guest house. I liked the accommodation. It is very near the Promenade Hotel, so had our lunch there. A fixed buffet for Rs. 280/-, with moderate number of choices, but good ambience and tasty food! Enjoyed the lunch! Came back to guest house and slept off the beer! Woke up with just enough time to make a visit to the Aurobindo Ashram before it closed for the day. Walked around and along the promenade, listened to the Police band playing and then decided to go back to the Hidesign hotel for dinner. Didn't want to have the buffet again, so wanted to go to their roof top restaurant. No go! No seats were available, they couldn't tell how long we will have to wait around and they wouldn't take a reservation for a later time! Got a feeling they did not want our business. Probably we were not dressed sharp enough for their taste. Walked out dejected and decided to walk around and find another restaurant in the vicinity. By chance only found a small joint called Bamboo hut (on a roof top), promising Indian and Chinese cuisine. It was clean (I believe most restaurants in Pondicherry are, to cater to the foreigner clientelle). Made a discovery in their menu! They had 'Bengali river fish'! Well, fish curry and rice, what more does a Bengali need? Had a sumptuous dinner, the fish was cooked Bengali style (the owner turned out to be a Bengali) and tasted good. We (me and my wife) were both satisfied and contented.
Returned to the hotel and had a sound sleep undisturbed by mosquitoes (heard that is a real menace there).
Morning, got ready, had breakfast, and checked out. Went scouting for some memorablia to bring back with us. Alas! ALL ASHRAM SHOPS ARE CLOSED ON SUNDAYS! So we left town without anything to show for our trip (except the video footge). On the way, went to Auroville, looked at Matrimandir (from outside), they don't let visitors go inside. Had lunch (forgettable) at the restaurant at visitor's centre and started back for home (even the boutiques there were closed for lunch!).
The drive back, once outside the Pondicherry limits, was again exhilerating, till we reached about 50 Km from Chennai, then it started raining! But the Ford was still very sure footed and was easily doing 90 - 100 without any sign of yaw. Must say, the road construction is very good, it doesn't become slippery in rain. Once we hit the Chennai city limits, it was another matter! We spent almost as much time doing the last 10 - 12 Km, as we did the first 135 KM!
All in all, I enjoyed (I loved the drive), my wife didn't as much (no shopping!). :)
Private Reply to Basab Ghosh | | Feb 12, 2007 7:16 am | | re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
Ernie Martin | | Basab, thank you for sharing your experience in Pondicherry. You write well! You seem to have good time in Pondicherry (except no shopping for your wife:-)). I'm surprized tourist boutiques are closed on Sunday. Maybe many of the store owners in Pondicherry are Christians and observe by closing their shops on Sundays?
Cheers,
Ernie
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http://positivelivingandbeliefsystems-network.ryze.com/Private Reply to Ernie Martin | | Feb 12, 2007 1:59 pm | | Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
Basab Ghosh | | Thank Ernie! Although there is a very pronounced Christian influence in Pondicherry, The Aurobindo Ashram is definitely non Christian. Though Sri Aurobindo was born a Bengali Hindu (I share my last name with him) and died a Hindu, he practised and propagated allegience to the eternal truth through Yoga and meditation, sans any trappings of ANY religion. The Ashram does not profess to belong to any religion.
I was equally surprised to find all tourist shops run by the Ashram (and believe me, they run almost all the shops in the French quarters) to be closed.
Cheers!Private Reply to Basab Ghosh | | Feb 19, 2007 6:34 pm | | re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # | 
If U really wana do Gud...Nothin stops U just do it!! | | wow! must say ..great inputs from everyone here!!lots of info...
so finally hwere does one stay..park guest house?or a home?how d we book for he guest house...which are the best months to go to pondy?
thanks:)...keep "pond"erin:) Private Reply to If U really wana do Gud...Nothin stops U just do it!! | | Feb 20, 2007 2:44 pm | | re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
Basab Ghosh | | My recommendation, if you are not fussy about not being able to smoke or drink in the room, is Sea side guest house on Rue Goubert (a sea facing room).
You may also try the private accommodation listed in Nandita Iyer's post.
The front desk person of the Park guest house kept warning people about mosquito menace. We didn't meet a single one in Sea side guest house.
The right time to go there is by Mid March. It will be turning hot thereafter.Private Reply to Basab Ghosh | | Feb 28, 2007 3:59 am | | re: re: re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
N Iyer | | Wanted to share with you folks, some pics of the beautiful homestay, the details of which are given above.
Private Reply to N Iyer | | Feb 28, 2007 5:28 pm | | Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
Basab Ghosh | | The pictures did not show. may be you should use photobucket Private Reply to Basab Ghosh | | Mar 01, 2007 6:16 am | | re: Travelogue: Pondicherry | # |
Vibha Shah | | strange. yesterday i cud view the pics.Today i cant.Very good pics Nandita. Private Reply to Vibha Shah | | |
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