A Girls' Trip to Puducherry (Part II)
Puducherry is a beautiful place.
The beaches are pristine, the cuisine wonderful, the whole architecture of the town will leave you in awe. Winters are the best time to visit as the humidity is manageable & though the afternoon sun is harsh, the breeze is cool & soothing. And the early morning walk on Rocky beach is something to be never missed!
So we were a group of 5 wise ladies who had booked train tickets from YPR(Bengaluru) to PDY(Puducherry) & s hotel nearby, well in advance ( more so that no one can back out than for the fear of hotels getting overbooked). We decided to avoid the Christmas/NY crowd & chose a moderately peaceful December weekend for our first ever girls' only trip.
We chose this hotel Le' Mirage and it was good! The location was excellent, as we simply walked down to it after we got off the train. The only disappointing part was the mean lady at the reception who seemed pretty confused about the early check in rules but confident about trying to rob us dry.
The rooms were clean & nice, although for no good reason we got a smaller room in spite of paying the same for both.
If you're interested in early morning cycling tours, then do book them in advance. We missed out on it. Also there are places where you can get a very relaxing full body massage for as low as 1k! Y
The Ashram is a must visit, and you need to collect the tickets for entry into the meditation centre for the next day, should you wish to meditate. Otherwise you can simply go for a visit in the morning, avoid the afternoons as its pretty hot and you have to walk at least a kilometre inside.
Puducherry traffic is a dream come true for Bangaloreans. There are no rules, there are no speed limits apparently either & caution is thrown into the wind very harshly. We had 2 Fast & Furious riders with us as well, but you need to very alert when riding your 2-wheelers in the market area. Our unfortunate friend experienced this first hand as she landed on the road with the Activa on her. Thankfully there were no serious injuries.
It is a safe place as we saw vehicles along the market area as late into the night as 12am. Not too crowded but hotels remained opened until late. But be very wary of the luring eyes & road Romeos you will encounter at tourist places. Somehow I never came across this issue on any travel website or reviews. But here the local miscreants are aplenty-we encountered a group who kept staring & then even managed to video call their friend while turning the screen to face us! Another group openly took photos! We eventually cancelled our plans to go the nearby botanical garden as we expected everything to be worse there.
Paradise beach is great, but if you are lazy and decide to take the late ferry, then be prepared to miss out on all the fun. Apparently all the shacks shut down well before 2pm and so do the water activities. We literally had to eat Cup-a-noodles for lunch! And the ferry leaves in 2hrs, so if you're buying a round ticket, be sure to head back on time.
South Indian breakfast is available at all the nooks and corners. the KFC here is the worst by the way! For the French cuisine and the party animal in you, head off towards Rocky beach as there are many good places there.
One weekend in Puducherry is enough if you plan to just chill but if you wish to explore the place, try for a long weekend, as most of the good things are to be had early in the morning.
And if its a girls' trip, be prepared for it to become awkward with stalking, leading to change of plans & upset group members. And try not to wear too many short dresses, even girls will stare !!
Be safe and have fun!
The beaches are pristine, the cuisine wonderful, the whole architecture of the town will leave you in awe. Winters are the best time to visit as the humidity is manageable & though the afternoon sun is harsh, the breeze is cool & soothing. And the early morning walk on Rocky beach is something to be never missed!
So we were a group of 5 wise ladies who had booked train tickets from YPR(Bengaluru) to PDY(Puducherry) & s hotel nearby, well in advance ( more so that no one can back out than for the fear of hotels getting overbooked). We decided to avoid the Christmas/NY crowd & chose a moderately peaceful December weekend for our first ever girls' only trip.
We chose this hotel Le' Mirage and it was good! The location was excellent, as we simply walked down to it after we got off the train. The only disappointing part was the mean lady at the reception who seemed pretty confused about the early check in rules but confident about trying to rob us dry.
The rooms were clean & nice, although for no good reason we got a smaller room in spite of paying the same for both.
If you're interested in early morning cycling tours, then do book them in advance. We missed out on it. Also there are places where you can get a very relaxing full body massage for as low as 1k! Y
The Ashram is a must visit, and you need to collect the tickets for entry into the meditation centre for the next day, should you wish to meditate. Otherwise you can simply go for a visit in the morning, avoid the afternoons as its pretty hot and you have to walk at least a kilometre inside.
Puducherry traffic is a dream come true for Bangaloreans. There are no rules, there are no speed limits apparently either & caution is thrown into the wind very harshly. We had 2 Fast & Furious riders with us as well, but you need to very alert when riding your 2-wheelers in the market area. Our unfortunate friend experienced this first hand as she landed on the road with the Activa on her. Thankfully there were no serious injuries.
It is a safe place as we saw vehicles along the market area as late into the night as 12am. Not too crowded but hotels remained opened until late. But be very wary of the luring eyes & road Romeos you will encounter at tourist places. Somehow I never came across this issue on any travel website or reviews. But here the local miscreants are aplenty-we encountered a group who kept staring & then even managed to video call their friend while turning the screen to face us! Another group openly took photos! We eventually cancelled our plans to go the nearby botanical garden as we expected everything to be worse there.
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| Paradise Beach View |
South Indian breakfast is available at all the nooks and corners. the KFC here is the worst by the way! For the French cuisine and the party animal in you, head off towards Rocky beach as there are many good places there.
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| Sunrise at Rock Beach |
One weekend in Puducherry is enough if you plan to just chill but if you wish to explore the place, try for a long weekend, as most of the good things are to be had early in the morning.
And if its a girls' trip, be prepared for it to become awkward with stalking, leading to change of plans & upset group members. And try not to wear too many short dresses, even girls will stare !!
Be safe and have fun!
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