[shandilyapiyush]

The long weekend during dasara arrived and I was super excited to finally travel again! Destination? Pondicherry. This was my first time in Pondi and I loved the place, seemed to be pretty easy going.

Car - 2013 Ertiga petrol.

Route taken : Hosur-Krishnagiri-Tiruvannamalai-Pondicherry.
The same route was taken along the return journey too.



Chose to leave early in the morning by around 530am to try and avoid traffic. The traffic wasn't too bad considering the long weekend.



The roads are really good and sticking to cruising speeds of 90-100kmph was easy on the 6 lane highways and the state highways being 2 lane are maintained well. Was stopped at a checkpost and the cop checked my DL, it was a very quick check and was back on the road. With a quick stop for breakfast at Tiruvannamalai, reached our place of stay by 1145am.



Day 1

Checked into our room and visited Auroville Beach followed by lunch at Tanto's. Went around Auroville and drove to white town to have a quick look around and finish our dinner.







The lunch at Tanto's was my favorite meal of this trip.







Lip smacking ravioli & truffle funghi spagehtti.





Panna cotta, chocolate gelato & caramel custard.

After driving around and having a quick look around white town, decided to drop into 'Canteen 18', a burger cafe for dinner. Extremely cozy, retro, and awesome jazz music.









Day 2

Visited Rock Beach, roamed around white town and visited Serenity beach.

Started off our day early and visited Baker Street for breakfast.



Went onto rock beach and spent time until lunch and walked around white town.



Parked a little away from rock beach and had to walk to the beach. Pondicherry's way of how the houses are built and the older buildings were fascinating. There were tourists everywhere and it was nice to see the jolly mood amongst people present. It was extremely sunny and humid, one must stay well hydrated else you'll definitely feel drained out!



Rock beach area was extremely clean and the path to walk around is well made. Lots of small restaurants, cafes and shops alongside a few government buildings and beachside resorts. Benches are placed all along the shore and one can sit and take in the beautiful waves hitting the shore.





French War memorial.



Douane Customs office Building built by French.





Tried some gelato at Gelateria Montecatini Terme and I loved it. Immensely helped to beat the heat!

[shandilyapiyush]

Day 2 continued

Lunched at Le Dupleix.







Assorted veg tempura.



Baby broccoli and mushroom soba noodles.

Stayed in the vicinity post lunch.







HIDESIGN Factory Outet.

It was a tiring day, decided to have dinner at Tanto's as it was very close to our room. Thoroughly enjoyed the meal again





Day 3

Visited Paradise beach and left back to Bangalore.

Went to Auroville Bakery and tried a variety of Croissants and other baked items.





A wide variety of breads.

Post a heavy breakfast, we checked out of our room and went to Paradise Beach.





I was amazed by how clean this beach really was.
There are a few activities like paragliding, ATV ride, kayaking etc.







Lunched at 'Celine's Kitchen'. Awesome restaurant and yummy food.







Paneer tikka, biriyani & rotis with extremely tasty kofta.



Mushroom vepudu.

We visited the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus just before leaving back home. This church is simply beautiful and is huge! The architecture is very pleasing to the eye.





Started the journey back to Bangalore by 5pm.





Reached Bangalore by 11pm.

Other thoughts,

The drive both ways was extremely peaceful, the roads are mostly in very good shape apart from a few places where road work is going.

I'd upgraded the Philips XV 60/55 bulbs to a pair of Philips Rally 100/90W just before the trip and was very eager to test them out. Man, they did not disappoint. These bulbs are in a separate league of their own. Driving back home after dark did not seem daunting, these bulbs light up the road really well and offer good throw. Driving on the 2 lane state highways was easy, the road remained well lit even with oncoming traffic. The high beams are insanely good. One doesn't really need the highbeams all that much as the low beams get the job done most of the times. Highbeams made the most stubborn drivers/ignorant drivers switch to their low beams. Overall, I'm mighty impressed with the higher wattage bulbs.





Photos don't really do justice in showcasing really how good these bulbs are compared to my old setup.

The roundtrip was a tad bit more than 800km and the average fuel efficiency was 13kmpl by tank to tank method.

Apologies if the post was mainly focused on food
Suggestions if any are most welcome.



Ending with a photo of the trusty old car getting refueled.

Thank you for reading along,
Piyush.

[aah78]

Note from Support: Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

[ex-innova-guy]

Lovely travelogue! Thanks for sharing!

My college friends and I had gone for a trip to Pondicherry over a long weekend in April 2022. We visited most of the places mentioned in your travelogue and the food in Pondicherry was just amazing. We had rented 2 wheelers and you can find many options for that.

Sorry for hijacking your thread but I would like to share some pictures clicked on similar locations and a few others from the rest of the trip.

Originally Posted by shandilyapiyush

Attachment 2525888

Originally Posted by shandilyapiyush

Attachment 2525885
French War memorial.

Sunrise at Rock Beach


At a Local fair


Very deserted Auro Beach


Friends at the Serenity Beach

[naveen.raju]

Nice summary of the trip. Looks like the place was crowded due to the long weekend. We had gone couple of months back and we chose the weekday to beat the crowd.

Tanto, Le Dupleix were totally empty which is not the case otherwise.

Here's the list of restaurants we tried. Might be useful for others:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post5617655 (A Guide: Eating out in Pondicherry)

[MT_Hyderabad]

Relived my visits from Hyderabad to Pondicherry. Thanks for sharing.

I have visited three times in four years, and every time during new year.

Trip to Pondicherry is incomplete if one does not visit Pichavaram Mangrove Forest! Try it out next time.

Please be aware, last year they sent 50% people back due to extremely high footfall during new year. We were lucky that a large group decided to go back as few of them did not get the token and they gave their's to us. We could get the tickets using their token.

[raptor_diwan]

Nice trip, man! We used to visit Pondicherry every weekend before the lockdown, but we had to stop going there afterwards due to the heavy crowds. To be frank, after the lockdown, it seemed like every destination in India became quite congested. It's wonderful that you had a good time during your visit, and those food pictures were amazing!

[Kkumar]

Nice travelogue and great photos. I think that the entire trip can be summarised in one word “lip-smacking”.

[100Kmphormore]

Apologies if the post was mainly focused on food

You need not. Beaches, automobiles and great food = bliss . I had done a similar trip to the Nilgiris and these sort of trips are in a league of its own. The taste of the burgers and pizzas, especially Open Kitchen and Cafe Diem, Nahars Sidewalk cafe still linger on more than a year after that trip. The added benefit for us motorcyclists is almost always the calories are burnt out even before we reach home, thanks to riding in the sun, wearing heavy motorcycling gear and breaks to stretch and walk around, while just having snicker bars or steamed food like idli sambar at the most while returning back.

[vijuk21]

Thanks for sharing all the names of the restaurants on your way to Pondy. I will surely try them on my trip to Pondy and revert.
I do travel a lot and try out many places but never post such reviews. Will start doing them. Thanks my friend.

[xcentrk]

Nice pictures and thanks for sharing. I had dinner at Tanto couple of times and both time we had to wait for over an hour. Apart from that, the food was delicious. Will try other places you have mentioned soon!

[Car-go-man]

@shandilyapiyush- Nice travelogue and pics.
Could you please share the name of the place you stayed?

Also, are the beaches rough or safe enough to enter with kids?

[antonylejos]

A well needed Foodlogue of Pondicherry!

Thank you for sharing.

Last time when I had been to Pondicherry, found it very difficult to find correct food points. I will use this as a guide next time.

[clix22]

Hello Everyone,
I am partly based in Pondy and if anyone needs any assistance please feel free to reach out. Can suggest some hidden gems for food. Don't want to spam the group so please DM.

[shandilyapiyush]

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

Lovely travelogue! Thanks for sharing!

Sorry for hijacking your thread but I would like to share some pictures clicked on similar locations and a few others from the rest of the trip.

Thank you! Awesome pictures mate.

Originally Posted by naveen.raju

Nice summary of the trip. Looks like the place was crowded due to the long weekend. We had gone couple of months back and we chose the weekday to beat the crowd.

Tanto, Le Dupleix were totally empty which is not the case otherwise.

Here's the list of restaurants we tried. Might be useful for others:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post5617655 (A Guide: Eating out in Pondicherry)

Thanks! Weekdays would definitely be better. I'd to wait for a good amount of time before landing a table at Tanto & Le Dupleix both.

Originally Posted by MT_Hyderabad

Relived my visits from Hyderabad to Pondicherry. Thanks for sharing.

I have visited three times in four years, and every time during new year.

Trip to Pondicherry is incomplete if one does not visit Pichavaram Mangrove Forest! Try it out next time.

Please be aware, last year they sent 50% people back due to extremely high footfall during new year. We were lucky that a large group decided to go back as few of them did not get the token and they gave their's to us. We could get the tickets using their token.

Thanks! Will visit the mangrove forest on my next visit.

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan

Nice trip, man! We used to visit Pondicherry every weekend before the lockdown, but we had to stop going there afterwards due to the heavy crowds. To be frank, after the lockdown, it seemed like every destination in India became quite congested. It's wonderful that you had a good time during your visit, and those food pictures were amazing!

Thank you, the trip was real fun. Maybe the lockdowns that kept everyone confined to their homes for long periods of time made people want to venture out more and enjoy the newfound sense of freedom after the covid situation became better. I had a bad experience with traffic and crowds on a trip to Munnar during the month of May earlier this year.

Originally Posted by Kkumar

Nice travelogue and great photos. I think that the entire trip can be summarised in one word “lip-smacking”.

Thank you! Haha, it was 'lip smacking' indeed.

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

You need not. Beaches, automobiles and great food = bliss . I had done a similar trip to the Nilgiris and these sort of trips are in a league of its own. The taste of the burgers and pizzas, especially Open Kitchen and Cafe Diem, Nahars Sidewalk cafe still linger on more than a year after that trip. The added benefit for us motorcyclists is almost always the calories are burnt out even before we reach home, thanks to riding in the sun, wearing heavy motorcycling gear and breaks to stretch and walk around, while just having snicker bars or steamed food like idli sambar at the most while returning back.

Riding on a hot sunny day with all the gear definitely helps burn out all the extra calories consumed, lucky you motorcyclists for being able to have a calorie-guilt free trip

Originally Posted by vijuk21

Thanks for sharing all the names of the restaurants on your way to Pondy. I will surely try them on my trip to Pondy and revert.
I do travel a lot and try out many places but never post such reviews. Will start doing them. Thanks my friend.

Looking forward to seeing you post, we'll love it!

Originally Posted by xcentrk

Nice pictures and thanks for sharing. I had dinner at Tanto couple of times and both time we had to wait for over an hour. Apart from that, the food was delicious. Will try other places you have mentioned soon!

This is true, even I'd to wait for a while for both the meals I had at Tanto, but the food made the wait worthwhile.

Originally Posted by Car-go-man

@shandilyapiyush- Nice travelogue and pics.
Could you please share the name of the place you stayed?

Also, are the beaches rough or safe enough to enter with kids?

Thank you! My place of stay was "Tint of Mint". I'd highly recommend the place. It was extremely clean and a security guard is present 24/7 along with a dedicated secure parking area.

Maps link - https://maps.app.goo.gl/GiMjgsEh5wTk44TN8
Please not that this property is in Tamil Nadu and not Pondicherry.

The beaches are safe to enter with kids. Paradise beach I think is the best of the lot, extremely clean and has loads of activities that kids will enjoy. I saw lot of families and little kids enjoying in the water at Paradise beach.

Originally Posted by antonylejos

A well needed Foodlogue of Pondicherry!

Thank you for sharing.

Last time when I had been to Pondicherry, found it very difficult to find correct food points. I will use this as a guide next time.

Thank you! You could also refer to this thread - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ndicherry.html (A Guide: Eating out in Pondicherry)