Hello Steemit!
I graduated a few months ago, and along with the 'one last times' of many things in college, for our 'one last trip', we visited Pondicherry in February. It is also called Puducherry, but throughout this article, I’ll be using Pondicherry. For starters, Pondicherry is one of the seven Union Territories of India. It is located in South India and is famous for its French architecture, beaches and alcohol at comparatively lower prices.
We took a train from Bhubaneswar (where my college is situated) to Pondicherry. The train moved at a slow, painful pace and we reached 4-5 hours late, at 2 am. Here’s some useful advice: if you were to travel to Pondicherry, and you reach anytime after 10/10:3 30 pm the public transport fares increase up to a certain percent (as far as I remember, it doubles). I cannot clearly remember but do keep in mind that it increases. We stayed at Club Mahindra, a resort with its own private beach. There are a bunch of other living facilities. One of my friends had a Club Mahindra membership, so living (minus food and activities) was free for us. We reached the resort at 3am. The paperwork in the reception took some time so by the time we freshened up and had our cup noodles (thank goodness for the emergency food we carried), it was 4am. We were too tired to do anything so we went straight to bed.
The next day, we woke up pretty late. We woke up right during lunch time and missed breakfast. For the rest of the day, we hung out in the beach and walked around the resort in evening.
We planned to explore the city on our second day. We started the day by going to Auroville. Despite the large number of people who visit the Auroville village, it was very peaceful and quiet. You can sit at Auroville for hours and meditate or just spend some quality time with yourself.
Next, we went to explore White Town. White Town is where all the French architecture is situated. It is a lively place and it is right beside the Rock Beach. Words won’t describe how pretty the place actually was, so here are some photos instead!
That night, I had one of the best dinners throughout my life so far. We ate a roof-top restaurant, facing the sea. I love the sea. I think that I become a better person when I visit the sea. I’m calmer and I feel refreshed, despite the long hours of travel. The food tasted better and the wine made me ecstatic. That night and the night after (which was our last), we drank in the shacks, by the sea and had long conversations. I don’t remember what we talked about, but I remember feeling pure joy and happiness. It was one of my most memorable trips and I’m thankful it was in Pondicherry. If you’re visiting India, and would like to just sit back and relax, Pondicherry is definitely the place for you!
That's all for now. Thank you for reading and have a great day ahead!