Pondicherry's new name is Puducherry..
We recently visited Puducherry and the kids liked every moment of the trip. For me, it was a slight disappointment, as I had great expectations in looking forward for more attractions. Having visited Goa a number of times, I expected to see a similar "colonial" touch at Pondi. Except for a few streets where one gets the buildings built in the french style, the majority of the city looks like any other Indian city. I liked the walk along the tiled pathway along the Pondi beach. The absence of the vehicles during the evening is a welcome break and one can enjoy the peaceful walk. The Aurobindo ashram is a must see attraction, so is the auroville city. The kids had great time at the auro beach. Strangely, there is hardly any night life at Pondi. Restaurants shut down their shutters around 930 or 10pm. The pubs and the other watering holes close by 1030pm, again a disappointing aspect!.
The drive from Bangalore to Pondi took about 7-8 hours with some breaks in between. We took the most traveled route, ie via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Tiruvanamallai, Gingee and so forth. The stretch from Krishnagiri to Tiruvanamallai was worst, riddled with so many potholes, some competing with the craters on the moon. The return route was quite comfortable, we traveled from Pondi via Kanchipuram and then on the tolled national highway. Enroute we had a brief stop over at Kanchi for lunch. The meals at the famous Saravana Bhavan (hq at Chennai) was quite good. We had a quick darshan of goddess Kamakshi devi and left for Bangalore.
My suggestions to anyone traveling to Pondi;
1. Travel in a SUV or a Mini Van (especially if traveling thru Tiruvanamallai). I am glad we made that decision.
2. Leave Bangalore early morning and try the Kamat Upachar ( between hosur-krishnagiri) for breakfast. Adyar Anand Bhavan is too crowded on a week end/holiday.
3. Accomodation is available in plenty ( if booked in advance). Call the hotel before booking online, sometimes you are better off with the offline booking.
We recently visited Puducherry and the kids liked every moment of the trip. For me, it was a slight disappointment, as I had great expectations in looking forward for more attractions. Having visited Goa a number of times, I expected to see a similar "colonial" touch at Pondi. Except for a few streets where one gets the buildings built in the french style, the majority of the city looks like any other Indian city. I liked the walk along the tiled pathway along the Pondi beach. The absence of the vehicles during the evening is a welcome break and one can enjoy the peaceful walk. The Aurobindo ashram is a must see attraction, so is the auroville city. The kids had great time at the auro beach. Strangely, there is hardly any night life at Pondi. Restaurants shut down their shutters around 930 or 10pm. The pubs and the other watering holes close by 1030pm, again a disappointing aspect!.
The drive from Bangalore to Pondi took about 7-8 hours with some breaks in between. We took the most traveled route, ie via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Tiruvanamallai, Gingee and so forth. The stretch from Krishnagiri to Tiruvanamallai was worst, riddled with so many potholes, some competing with the craters on the moon. The return route was quite comfortable, we traveled from Pondi via Kanchipuram and then on the tolled national highway. Enroute we had a brief stop over at Kanchi for lunch. The meals at the famous Saravana Bhavan (hq at Chennai) was quite good. We had a quick darshan of goddess Kamakshi devi and left for Bangalore.
My suggestions to anyone traveling to Pondi;
1. Travel in a SUV or a Mini Van (especially if traveling thru Tiruvanamallai). I am glad we made that decision.
2. Leave Bangalore early morning and try the Kamat Upachar ( between hosur-krishnagiri) for breakfast. Adyar Anand Bhavan is too crowded on a week end/holiday.
3. Accomodation is available in plenty ( if booked in advance). Call the hotel before booking online, sometimes you are better off with the offline booking.
