Auroville Tale ~

Hey I'm back to finish my Pondicherry solo-trip tales.

~ Part Three ~

Read other two here and here!

After my amazing time at Pondicherry, I headed to Auroville. It's a spiritual township around 30 mins away from Pondicherry. I had booked to stay at Atithi Griha looking at some beautiful pictures and it turned out to be really nice. The room I got was pretty neat. I was so dead tired after Scuba diving that I dozed off. After around 2 hours I woke up, got dressed, clicked lots of pictures, asked directions and went off the see Matri Mandir. I actually lost my way but reached at the place. The night view of the amazing architecture was beautiful. I was so close and it looked magnificent. I heard and saw lots of owls probably all Spotted owlets. An excellent place for nature watchers. I got back through a scary, almost lonely dark route. Do not roam alone at night in Auroville, at least on foot.

There was no dinner at the place and eating places were quite far, so I gobbled up my snacks. Craving for some tea I asked at the counter. He said that he doesn't serve tea but would make a cup of lemon tea for me while he makes some for himself. I happily agreed. So we had a good chat over the tea. He said that he's a Nepali, doing odd jobs here. He's been here for last 10 years. Random topics came in like the Nepal earthquake, different places in India, foreign people staying there, how he gives vehicles on rent, how he waits for the bullet trains to be launched in India so that he can go home in a faster way. I shared my journey till now and he was amazed :)  After a while I was off to my room and fell asleep. Quite an exciting day it has been.

   
 

***

I woke up right before the breakfast time. There was brown bread, papaya, watermelon served along with various beverages, jam and butter. There was a North Indian family who joined there and much later a foreigner couple. After sometime a Cheery Indian girl joined me up and asked if that's it for the breakfast or she missed anything. We had a good laugh over the boring breakfast served. We Indians are used to heavy spicy food even in the morning. We chatted up while eating. I shared my side of story and she did hers. She was doing a solo art exhibition in Auroville and  has done solo trips before. Isn't amazing meeting other Solo travelers especially women. :) She was off and I has some time in hand before I left for my journey to Chennai. 

I simply strolled there, relaxed, looked around the place, played with the doggies & took lot of pictures.

I checked out around 11 am and walked out to again see Matri Mandir in the day light. This time I took a public route and saw it from quite far. I was awestruck with the golden look of Matri Mandir. The place was flooded with tourists. I took a bus from there to the main entrance. At the entrance one can find lots of eateries and boutiques and shops. So buy your souvenirs from there like I did! Quite an expensive place I must say. I had a typical Thali in lunch with rice, dal, papad etc and went in search of an Auto. I got with a cheap deal. The auto person left me till the main road and there he helped me find a bus to Pondicherry Bus stand. That is what was left in my journey, a travel in the local public transport. I got a seat and enjoyed the Tamil songs. 

From there I took a bus to Chennai. It went through ECR road which had the beautiful Bay of Bengal by it's side. I reached Chennai in 3 hours. After that I took my train from the Indian Railways and reached my city Bhubaneswar the next evening. 

This was a really short stay in Auroville. I wished to stay longer to understand the concept behind the place and have a learning. Somethings remain pending to happen next time. 

An everlasting bunch memories for me.

His name is Mani. I love this pic

Atithi Griha which means the Guest's home in English.

Me in my-made sparrow dress.

Nice isn't?

Camera timers :D

Matri Mandir in evening ~

A fountain there! It was so peaceful.

The morning in Auroville.

The room !

Puppy love <3

The room looked better now with Mani posing.

around the place ~

Beautiful in the day!

Read more about Auroville here : http://www.auroville.org/ 

You can book your place and volunteer for various programs through it. 

 

An experience of Scuba Diving!

Hey, HAPPY NEW YEAR friends !!!!!

~ Pary Two ~

Hope you read the 1st part of my solo trip: Part ONE. 

My start activity at Pondicherry had been Scuba Diving. I did it with 'Temple Adventures' group, India's first and only East Coast PADI Scuba Diving Center. Yeah! I had been too stupid to be doing it but Oh My God what an thrilling experience it had been.

The experience I had was worth all my hard-earned money. I was almost broke after it. :D Neither it's too easy, nor too hard. I freaked out at first in the pool session & was sea-sick in the boat ride. But once you are through the outside wavy-sea and get the feel of the calmness inside, watch those thousands of fishes around you of various varieties, you forget everything and just enjoy. For the first timers, the trick is to breath easy and stick to your instructor. Trust your instructor. They completely take care of you. All you need to do is enjoy <3 

My instructor at pool session was Rob and Rajesh who very patiently taught me all basics of Scuba. The equipments, the sighs, breathing in-out, equalizing and stuff. My instructor at sea was Rajesh and he was super cool (only I behaved stupidly, scared from it). The mightly sea is very different to experience on the boat and going deep inside scared me like shit. I thought I'd die inside it. I thought why the hell I even thought of doing this. But  he took me inside very nicely, kept asking me if I was okay and finally showed me various colorful beautiful fishes. I saw so so so many fishes all around me. It was a  stunning sight, I'll never forget.  We went 13 mts deep inside with the help of a rope for me to hold. It was put by another diver. 

I was so proud of myself to overcome my fear and do it.

Along with my trainers there were expert divers who came for a weekend session or who were taking their courses like rescue-diving or deep-sea diving etc. They were so cool. They give you lot of confidence. I was the only one for the first time dive and they made me so comfy and encouraged me a lot. And true to their words, I thoroughly enjoyed it !!! What Fun!
.
I loved the scuba world, hoping for a more confident session again somewhere.

Find the complete details of the Scuba center 'here'

Enjoying! My all OK sigh!!!

Moi! with the beautiful fishes at background.

 

With my awesome instructor Rajesh.

Gorgeous, aren't they ...

yo!

:)

....

The place in Pondicherry.

Inside, all kind of Scuba equipments are also sold here. Cool!

Guys! they all were expert Scuba people :)

The boat taking us to the deep deep sea ...

 

Me and the shoes and my equipments

My 1st Solo trip, Pondicherry!

FOLKS!!

Can’t wait to share my happiness!

I’m back from an amazing solo trip to 'Puducherry' (Pondicherry) India. Although I have travelled alone a lot of times but planning, making all bookings, managing all expenses, dreaming and executing everything was different here. A bit scared in terms of safety, dealing with strangers, expenses etc. I'm an introvert kind of person so it was actually a big step for me. 

AND It has been an wonderful experience! Extremely awesome!!! Meeting new people, making friends, interesting places, amazing experiences, superb food... living near the beach, cycling, strolling, walking around... a lot to share from my trip to 'Pondi'.

I'm quite a budget traveler. I'll add all details of places and bookings in the end. 

One special thing about it is that, it's was funded from my earnings of new craft business. 

Another special thing was I did Scuba Diving!  Yeahh!

 ~ Part ONE ~

Ruskin Bond <3

When you're alone for some time, you learn to observe more and you enjoy in a different way. Something to read and music can keep the boredom away!  

Aurobindo Ashram's New Guest House. It was a basic neat room, cheap and safe. 

Sufficient for a solo traveler like me.

I reached around afternoon, checked in my place and freshened up. The auto-rickshaw overcharged me for a very short distance. Mind it, always get detailed info about your places. 

That day in town went in walking around, tried sinking in the place, getting along in the crowd. The Promenade beach was just 2 min walking distance. WoH!

It's the popular stretch of beachfront, lined with big black rocks in the city. These rocks are actually granite boulders put by Govt to stop soil erosion. Even in the afternoon quite a number of people were on the beach. Stray people. Stray dogs. And stray ME. I tried relaxing and freeing my mind. There was no need to get conscious of people. No need to get intimidated. They all are people for God's sake!

The beach and me

In a short span of time, I actually had a good sight-seeing. The famous 'Mahatma Gandhi' Statue (it's just on the beach), saw Park Monunemt (Aayi Mandapam) in the nearby park called Bharati Park and the French War memorials.

 

Statue and memorials

After quite a good walking I was hungry and came to this famous 24 hrs coffee lounge 'Le Cafe' which overlooks the beautiful rocks and sea. It's very much on the center and the best option for food there.

 

I had a veggie grilled sandwich and Caffe Frappe :)

Weather was pleasant and with evening it started getting crowded. If you have really nothing to do, be there, relax and enjoy the breeze ~  

***

With my pretty bicycle, above is a nearby lane!

Second day I was completely in form. Confident. I rented a bicycle from the guest house at 75 INR for a day (that's really cheap). For the beautiful lanes in white-town, bicycles are the best way to roam. I might be cycling approx after 12 years!
Also I carried a map and and marked where I needed to go. The map was super useful.

The city is well planned, you'll not get lost. People will help out if in trouble. In case you don't know French or Tamil, English works superbly.

I explored and saw the beautiful churches, temples, local shops, people, pretty houses and so much more. The Botanical Gardens were closed for some maintainance. One would witness lot of foreigners for obvious reasons of this being a french colonial place in 1950s, so may be kinda local there and also it's a huge tourist spot. 

There is this White Town section where these French impression can be see. Neat lanes and gorgeous trees all around. One can find interesting eat-outs and boutiques in between. Then there is this market place that is typically like any other city in India. All these touristy places are easily accessible. Pondicherry is a good place for foody people. Lots of nice options to eat out from French to local Indian Cuisine. Can be a bit expensive for a solo traveler though.

Solo travelers can use timers for their pics, ask shamelessly to strangers or else selfies are always there.

The beautiful Churches

- Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Immaculate Conception Cathedral
- Our Lady of Angels Church

The (South) Indian palate while on the move!
(l-r) Surguru at Heritage Town - It was great! Food and ambiance both.
Saravana Bhavan at Jawaharlal Nehru Street - This Pondy branch was very okaish. Quick budget food.
A Cafeteria at Auroville - Hmm it was good. 
Hotel Ahana, just in front of Railway Station - Good food and value for money.


 

 

Gossip near the beach :)

Pondy Urban Streets!

Tried a crisp Waffle with Chocolate sauce at the Indian Kaffee Express!

 

'Sri Aurobindo Ashram'
The samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

White Town

Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple - beautiful Ganesha temple

Wood-fired oven baked pizza! Yum

A common sight! :)

Random selfies, the lanes, the museum, an 18th century Light House!
The Puducherry Museum was small, but has a exclusive collection of some of the finest art works. Beautiful scuptures, paintings, objects from the 18th to 20th century. Swords, coins, mirrors, gods. Furniture from French dynasty; beds, dining set, liquor storage, cutlery and what not. Decors, animal carvings, clocks, rocks and transporting vehicles. I loved all these.  

The 'Bakers Street' for the French taste buds! 

What interesting house!

 

Me at the Promenade Beach :) 
Everyday in my Pondicherry ended with being on the beach side. I loved the sea. The beautiful, calm, soulful sea. You see lots of people with family, friends or alone. Even people befriending the dogs. Like me, all came to find some quality relaxing time watching the splashing wavy mighty sea. 

***

There are few good tips to follow: Wear simple, comfortable clothing to blend in. Best would be loose cottons and easy slippers. Use a sunscreen/umbrella/scarf. It's hot. Keep drinking water close, you'll sweat a lot. Forget Makeup girls.. Mascara/Kajal or lip balm will do. Keep cash handy. 

* Ashram guest house was booked through here. I stayed at New Guest House, which was 400 INR/day. It's very basic with rules and regulations. One can find lots of near-the-beach better staying places also.
* South-Indian food may cost 70 INR minimum, while French food may cost 200 INR minimum for a single person.
* Photography is allowed inside the Churches while no photography is allowed inside Puducherry Museum and Temples.
* The Aurobindo Ashram has specific timings for visitors. 8 am to 12 noon and from 2 pm to 6 pm. Again no photography/ no shoes allowed.
* Smartphone users can have Zomato.com installed. Helps with good restaurant reviews. 
* After around 6 pm no vehicles are permitted in the beach side. 

 

Two more posts will follow ~ Scuba Diving and Auroville. Stay in touch.