Our trip from chennai to pondy started on saturday morning at 6am.
we went to koyambedu omni bus stand( which is 1km from CMBT).
we booked the bus tickets online in makemytrip.
It took max 2.5 to 3hrs to reach pondy through ECR.
we took an auto to reach our booked hotel - devaki elite( also booked in makemytrip).
The hotel room is small but is neat and clean.The service is very good and the hotel people
are very very helpful.I felt I luckyly stayed in this place.They let me to take bath and get freshed up
after coming from an outing even after we checked out 4 hrs before.
On saturday after taking bath, we came out of hotel, it was raining heavily.I thought.
its finished I cannot go out.we took an auto and reached the govt tourism office(PTDC) which is on the
beach road.
I enquired there and took half day tour tickets, the tour is going to start at 1:30pm.
So we went for braekfast in adyar anand bhavan(a2b), where the food is so tasty that this remained as our food point for the complete trip.
we went to muesuem, which is walkable to the hotel.Spent 1hr and went to hotel.
Had lunch in a2b and went to PTDC.The trip in mini bus includes, a portugese church- one of the oldest churches in India, aurobindo ashram- the calmest and lively place I have ever seen, auroville - the green village with a marvalous architecture and a auroville beach - blue serene beach.
We enjoyes the complete trip and it is 150% worth.
We came back to the hotel and took bath and went out for a beach walk and shopping.
The next day was our 1st wedding anniversary, went to the vinayaka temple( the famous one).
Then we took an auto to Chunnambar Beach and Backwater Resort.
I felt this is the place we did a wrong thing by taking an auto for to and fro.We could have taken a bike for rental.
It is hardly 6km from the town.
We spent 4-5hrs there, its worth.
The auto driver took the opportunity of waiting till this time and came for a verbal fight with us.
Finally we had to pay some more money.
Some Information:
Package tours by Pondicherry tourism starts at:
Half day:1:30pm
Full day:9:30am
Places must to visit:
1) Chunnambar Beach and Backwater Resort
2) Auroville
3) Sri Aurobindo Ashram
4) Botanical Gardens -I could not visit this
5) Puducherry museum
6) Lord Ganesha temple
Beaches:
1) Paradise Beach(*)(OR) Plage Paradiso Beach - This is the beach near PTDC office
2) Chunnambar Beach
3) Auroville Beach
Shopping & Other Information:
1) Jawahar Lal Nehru Street
2) Adyar anand Bhavan restaurant near Vinagar Kovil
3) Tourism office on Goubert Avenue
Best advice: Take 2 wheeler for rental to roam around, its a small town and the roads are not complicated.Dont depend on autos.
If possible try to do return journey booking, its difficult to get private bus tickets from there in weekend.The
alternative is to catch a TN Govt bus, which we get for every 30 min.
By,
Ramki