Chronicles of a desi nomad: Pondicherry

Where else in India could you bike to a beach one minute and feel like being in a quaint European Village the next?

There's something about Pondicherry. A small beach town tucked away at the southeast coast of India, which was once a French colony as can be seen from its architecture and local influences.

Giving its more famous and commercial counterpart Goa a miss, we decided to spend the Valentines' day weekend in the much closer, Pondicherry. To get there, we took an overnight sleeper bus from Bangalore and reached the town early in the morning.
We checked into our hotel "The Only Place"- and much to our delight and comforting our sea-deprived city eyes, the room turned out to be a Tree-house like wooden shack which overlooked the sea!
(This for a very reasonable 800 a day!)

Admittedly, there wasn't much to do in the part of the Pondicherry we were in, and altogether skipping the famous Aurobindo Ashram (a self sustained community) From strong cynicisms about its commercial motives and general laziness, we decided to chill in the shack, enjoying sultry noon naps against the sounds of the sea waves in the not so far distance and spent most part of the night lounging at the rather peaceful Auro beach, against a bright, comforting glare of the full moon.

Waking up in a wooden shack, perched atop a height against the sounds of the morning sea can never be easy, but alas the weekend was nearing its end too soon, and irresistible as the thought of soaking the feeling and the view was for the rest of the day (and our lives..sigggh) we set out to explore the better known Pondicherry.

The next day we explored the French Quarter and although it's only a very small precinct of the area, one can see the French influences right from the various "Rues" (French for streets) to quaint little yellow villas and cafes dotting up the place. Perpendicular to the French side, is the promenade road, a long coastline, the views of which can be savoured while sitting on a bench across the road or on the rocks lining up the sea.

Perfect for a weekend trip, and longer if you can spend days through the heat and moisture, Pondicherry doesn't disappoint. Just so.

Here are a few photos from the trip that may help you get a bit of Pondicherry with me.