Pondicherry Trip

Pondicherry Trip
Decided to take off to Pondicherry on Republic Day and enjoy the weekend.

Left home at around 7am ( about an hr later than expected!!). Traffic was normal till the end of Electronics City. And thent he road became a pleasure to drive. Shantala offered to drive & I obliged. Missed one road near Krishnagiri, but didn’t loose track too much.

For about 30-40km afterwards, the roads are BAD. Thankfully, before approaching Chengam, the roads were great and stayed that way till Pondi. One piece of advice, if you can avoid Tindivanam, please do. The road leading out of town is as busy as any road in City Market.
Reached Pondi around 1pm (5 ½ hrs drive). Drove straight to Beach Rd to search for accommodation. We had booked a place in the city, but on a hunch thought we’d enquire closer to the sea. Went all the way up Beach Rd and found a formidable white building called Ajanta Sea-View. Place had 4 rooms, all at 2k/day and booked. Managed to catch a glimpse of a ‘Rooms Available’ sign around this corner (Rue De Bazaar St. Laurent). Appears that 2 brothers run the place. The Younger one has rooms at the back which face out to the sea too, without the sun getting in your face. All in all, paid 700 bucks for a room on the 2nd floor of the guest house (this one is also called Ajanta Guest House). Were thrilled with the bargain we got, and right in the French Quarter of Town!!! The view is something. Plus, there's a constant breeze blowing in, which made using the fan redundant.



Had lunch in the bigger Ajanta hotel. Awful food. I had a fish with tartar sauce that promised to be ‘never before tasted’. That rung true. The guy gave me a bone dry fillet with a cup of GHEE (his version of tartar sauce). Needless to say, the missus (who is shuddha veg) got some tasteless vegetable in ‘white sauce’. We ate grudgingly, knowing that we needed to get some energy for the walking around in the evening.

Evening saw us walking the French quarter. Some pretty quaint little houses with bougainvillea at doors. Walked up beach road (crowded because of rep. day). Sat on the rocks facing the sea. Was a lovely sight. Looked like the whole town was in the area.
Had dinner in the hidesign hotel, Promenade. The buffet was absolutely superb, especially the salads-sun dried tomatoes, slivers of raw mango (HEAVEN!!!).

Decided that we’d get up early and see the sunrise. Made plans and were up and out at 5.30am. Cloud cover prevented the sighting till at least 6.45am. In the meanwhile, took a nice long walk up and down Beach Rd. Probably walked around 5km and felt real good afterwards. Landed up at Hotel De Pondicherry, a heritage hotel almost a stone’s throw away from where we were staying. Service was bad, food was average. Decided we’d give this place a pass the next time.

Visited Alliance Francaise that is right opposite. Lovely setting to learn the language. The front faces the beach rd, while the back opens to a quiet road with lots of shade. Decided that this is the place to learn the language (if & when…).


Also happened to locate a marvelous colonial furniture store that restores old stuff. From first looks, and on closer inspection, the restored stuff was quite reasonable for the kind of furniture available, plus the joins felt almost seamless, and that is difficult to do. This one is located right next to De Pondicherry. Walked on and discovered the Neemrana hotel, De Le O’rient. A fantastically situated heritage place that deceives passers by. Rooms open into a courtyard and have airy windows.



Also located another furniture store that was probably twice the size of the previous one. Same road as the O’rient. Same resolution made. Must buy when moving into a place of our own….
Lunched at Le O’rient. Ordered the days special, calamari in pepper sauce. Supposedly creole, but was more south Indian than New Orleans. Shantala ordered some exotic vegetarian stuff that appeared more like kaay rasa made by her mom. All in all, a disappointing experience.
We decided to go to Auroville and on the way stop at the paper factory
On the way we see ‘Tirupur Outlet’ and that’s it. All those visions of great clothes at cheap rates comes to the mind. A dockers,Columbia and few garments later, we are around 1200 lighter, but satisfied with what we have.
We then drove to the paper factory at the end of Beach Rd. Great place to spend some time, especially looking at the different types of paper made and the raw materials used. Apparently, they even make paper out of banana bark (we bought a couple of sheets). Even though half the factory was shut, the person there was kind enough to show us around and explain the process. We also happened to notice how they get those designs on the paper. It’s a process called ‘marbling’. Brilliantly simple, but so exquisite.
Anyway, I buy a handmade photo album, bounded in silk and zari for around 200 bucks (yup, definitely worth it). Shantala bought a lot more, totally around 500 bucks worth, but I am told its cheaper than b’lore. Anyways, we were off the Auroville.
The east coast road till the end of town is like any small alley in b’lore, but gets better out of town, Auroville is around 6km inside. We see foreigners galore on 2 wheelers. Didn’t get to see much of Auro since we went late. Had spirulina juice for the first time though- tastes yum!!
All this while, we realized that we have not ‘touched’ the sea. Decide to do so on the way back. Some small road leads to the beach. We parked and walked along the shore. Collected a few shells and headed back. While backing the car out, it gets caught in the soft sand. Seems there is no way out till a group of people literally lift the Uno out. Drive back to Pondi and decide to have a nice dinner. In the process, discover the delightful Villa Helena, GREAT ambience. Will definitely stay here in the future. Ultimately land up in a lousy place called the Rendezvous for dinner. Same old story with the food, but this time some good wine saved a disaster.
Next morning, I go for a quick ‘cycle-by’ of the French quarter, snap my last few photos, and then we have lunch in a place right opposite Helena. This place uses a wood fired oven to cook their pizza’s. Have a couple, ok taste, and then head back.
On the way, stop at Gingee fort. Awesome place. Climb 500ft via 600+ steps at 3pm.

Exhausting, fulfilling and very humbling. Plus, got a very willing gecko to pose for me.

End of trip.

Pointers
Pondicherry is a great place to go to if you like to walk. Best advice is to avoid the city and try and stay in the French ¼. Try the Ajanta Guest house, especially if you’re with friends, even better if its just the wife/husband & you. We used it only to crash out, othertimes we were out. Thought we’d skimp on the stay and enjoy other things, turns out we got the best of everything!!!.
Do go to Auroville for at least a day. We were unable to go to the Matrimandir coz we reached late.
Else, it’s a fun place to be. And don’t forget the bicycles (3 bucks an hour) and 2 wheelers you can rent pretty cheap.