Quintessentially French and Distinctly European

"What is there to see in Pondicherry? We've been there and seen it all", the husband said tiredly. I defended that we had never seen the French Town. After a row of arguments, he agreed to visit Pondicherry. The trip was a just-like-that trip for the New Year weekend.

Journey through ECR on a bright Saturday was breezy--literally. The traffic was mild and our moods were ecstatic. We stopped at Kalpakkam to have some refreshments. Mesmerized by the spotlessly maintained township, we took a detour to enjoy the small backwaters there.




There was a small beach with colorful boats and seaweeds. We rolled our pants and plunged into the water along with our son. We were sunburnt but the cool water and the calm beach made it all worthy.

The ride through ECR was scenic and we were tempted to stop at each and every bit of water that we could see. It was almost evening when we reached Pondicherry.

The accommodation for the day was at the Aurobindo Ashram run Seaside Guest House. Pleasant sea breeze welcomed us at the Promenade, where the roar of the waves competed with the noise of the vehicles that were soon denied entry, leaving us to enjoy a walk along with the exuberant crowds. The guesthouse was simple but adequate to our needs; the USP is the location, bang on the Promenade with a balcony overlooking the sea. Do keep in mind that non-veg food and alcohol are prohibited in the guesthouse.


The bliss of a non-traffic road is something hard to get by in India...oh, how I miss Stroget in Copenhagen! When the traffic closed in the Promenade, we joined the crowd to a stroll through the rocky beach. The cacophony of many languages hit me first; I saw a mélange of people from various backgrounds. From foreigners to locals, everyone seemed to appreciate a quiet walk at the seafront. 





Eglise de Notre Dame des Anges is a quiet church in the French Town. Originally built in 1855, the church offers mass in English, French, and Tamil. The church stands tall amidst the cover of green trees, majestically overlooking the Bay of Bengal. There were no signs of tourist crowd there; the place was quiet with only a handful of people praying. The interior looked ethereal, the mellow lighting complimenting the tranquility. 




I enjoyed meandering through the streets of the French Town soaking in the street scenes and graffiti.



Bitten by the shutterbug recently, I enjoyed clicking photos to my heart's content, colorful French buildings were my favorite.







Manakula Vinayagar Temple was crowded when went for a quick visit.

Being New Year weekend, all the restaurants were full and booked: we ended up having buffet dinner at The Blueline Restaurant of The Promenade Hotel. The food and service were okay.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of the waves. Early morning in the promenade was busy with joggers and walkers. The husband soon joined them, while we enjoyed a simple breakfast at the guesthouse.

Paradise Beach is an isolated stretch of sea that can only be reached by a boat from the Chunnamber Boathouse. At 10 am sharp, we were waiting in the queue at the boathouse to reach the 'paradise'. We started off in a boat after a short brawl with the boatsman for overloading.





Contrary to the name, there was nothing paradisiacal about the Paradise Beach. It was hot, unclean and unsafe! Only good thing was that it was not crazily crowded. The little one collected some unusual shells and enjoyed decorating his sand castles. I was skeptical to get into the high waves but the husband and the son enjoyed a dip. I saw many youths tread into the rough waves oblivious to the lifeguard's whistles. If you want to visit this beach, bring your own supplies of towels, change of clothes and packed food. There were some changing rooms but no decent restaurants.


We've been to Auroville a couple of times before, so we skipped it. Soon, we were on our way back to Chennai. But I cherish the experience of walking along the French Town and to have tasted a piece of Europe in Pondicherry!

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