6 BEST THINGS ABOUT PONDICHERRY

1) Beautiful,relaxing beaches..- there are many cool places to hangout. e.g-rocky beach,paradise beach,auro-ville beach,light house beach...etc.

2) Auroville & Aurobindo asharam- this little peaceful oasis is dedicated to Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.Their samadhi, in the center, is always beautifully decorated with flowers and has people meditating around it. To enter inside the golden globe you need to pre-book your ticket 1-2 days before by personally visiting to Auroville around 11-2pm.

 The area around the samadhi of Sri Aurobindo allows visitors to sit and pray/meditate or just absorb the deafening silence.

The Ashram is a spiritual center for the practice of Integral Yoga and is the major draw in Pondicherry. It is one of the most popular Ashrams in India for Westerners. It is also considered one of the most affluent.

            

3)Heritage walk- If you thought that Pondicherry is a small fishing town with a laid-back air and lots of French people milling around. Remember that Pondicherry is a union territory (named Pondicherry and having 4 areas: Pondicherry, Yanam, Mahe and Karaikal), so it is by no means a 'small city' and by no more means by a 'laid back air'! Parts of Pondicherry are reminiscent of its French association, but they form a very small part of the town. Yes, the streets in this part are named in French, but they have their Indian versions as well.you can easily roam around onfoot.

 

4) different style,but awesome birayani..- few places like- food paradise, J.A.Arcot.....etc

5)Low taxes ,especially in indirect  category(VAT,GST,sales & specific tax).- this makes this city more cheaper & attractive- e.g-many people 

come for cheap booze,electronics & electricity,vehicle,petrol..etc.

6) last and most important, - this city has JIPMER  :P yay..!! proud of it :) \/

-ankit suniyal  (date-5 july 2014 )

Pondicherry to Pichavaram

We went on a bike trip from Pondicherry to Pichavaram
It was a journey of approx one hour. Pichavaram is approx 71 km far from Pondicherry.
Basically people go there  to see Mangrove Forest, you try to go there in groups to enjoy and reach around 9-10 am in the morning as in evening the beach is closed. After reaching there you have to buy a ticket either for motor boat or  manual boat. It is better to choose a motorboat as it will be faster but  costly. They take you in between the forest of Mangrove to a beautiful sea shore. It will be hot and humid there due to its climate so carry a cap/hat, water bottle & goggles. Don't miss to see the Nataraj temple in Chidambaram which is approx 16 km far from there.
Overall, it's an OK place  to hang out.
Rating- 3.5 /5

You can reach Pichavaram by

1) Your personal vehicle is the best option

2) Take a local bus to Pichavaram, local buses are easily available from the Pondicherry bus stand

Pondicherry to kanyakumari

It was an awesome trip to Kanyakumari with friends.

You can get a direct train from Pondicherry to Kanykumari
Or catch a train from Chennai or villupurum to Kanyakumari.

 You try to reach the Kanyakumari early morning, after arriving at the railway station, go to the Sangam side (5mins walking distance) and get a cab/ bus for Kanyakumari Darsan. 

There are approx 6-7 tourist places to visit in Kanyakumari. It is a very small place everything is nearby only (walking distance).

Don't miss to see the Sangam, Thiruvallur statue, and the sunset point.

To see the Thiruvallur statue you need to buy the ferry ticket available near the Sangam.Try to reach there early as there is always a long queue for it.

Reach sunset point in time, it will be better to hire an auto/ local transport.It is approx 2-3 km far from the Sangam. Sunset at sunset point is amazing, don't miss it at any cost.

Pune to mumbai

Mumbai-a city of dreams

1) The best way to reach Mumbai is through train, as it will drop you to Shivaji terminal. From there you can visit gateway of India / Taj hotel/ main tourist spot, which is 2-3 km.
Either you can choose to walk (5min distance) or take a local bus to the Gateway of India

* don't miss to see Shivaji terminal at night, it's amazing and a world heritage site

2) A second option  is to reach Mumbai is through bus. Take a bus from Swargate,Which will drop you to Mumbai west,
It will be a very long journey full of traffic jams and etc.

Trip to Elephanta caves

To see Elephanta caves, you need to get a ferry ticket.
It is available at ticket counters near the Gateway of India.

Try to get it from the Government ticket counter. You can get it from private counter also but it will be costly & unreliable.
Tickets are available only from 10 am to 3pm. So be there on time.There are no tickets available for the deck seat.

It's an awesome journey in the ferry, in between the sea you get to see a beautiful island.
After reaching the island you can get a ticket for toy train  or can choose to walk for 5 min.
To see the Elephanta caves you need to walk approx 300 stairs uphill to reach on the top. There are lots of many restrauntants and shop on the way.
It's an awesome feel to reach there on the top, sweating and tired.
There are 7-8 caves and stones are carved with pictures of Hindu God & goddess. It will be good if you hire a guide there, as there is an amazing description / stories of the paintings. 
 The last Ferry leaves at 4 pm, so be back to the ferry before time. 

Rating: 3.5/5

Trip to Queens land chennai

From Pondicherry it falls on Banglore- Chennai high way. It's a 2-3 hours journey.
It's an amusement park opens between 10am to 6pm.
It's an OK  place to have fun with friends. They give special discounts on producing  the students ID card. For the bulk booking,  please make sure to call them before reaching there.
Few Rides are very good, but the duration is very less.

Rating - 3.5 /5

You can reach there by

1) The best way is to book a cab.
It is on a highway, little far  away from the main city. Local bus & autos are rarely available

2) Get a direct bus to Chennai main Koyambedu bus stand . From there you can book a cab . Which will cost you less.

Trip to Mumbai

Mumbai a city of dreams

We started our journey from Pune to Mumbai
Me and my friend took a bus from the Swargate bus stand of Pune

1) The best way to reach Mumbai is through train, as it will drop you to Shivaji terminal. From there you can visit gateway of India / Taj hotel/ main tourist spot, which is 2-3 km.
Either you can choose to walk (5min distance) or take a local bus to the Gateway of India

* don't miss to see Shivaji terminal at night, it's amazing and a world heritage site

2) A second option to reach Mumbai is through bus.. Which will drop you to Mumbai west,
It will be a very long journey full of traffic jams and etc.
Then from Mumbai west you need to get a bus to gateway of India or Shivaji terminal

*Near gateway of India you can get a bus for Mumbai Darshan

* to see Elephanta caves you need to get a ticket of the ferry near the gateway of India. Try to get it from government counter. You can book it between 10am to 3 pm
Also from there you can book a ferry ticket to go and see islands like Mandava etc.

*you can choose to stay in a dormitory in the Shivaji terminal railway station. It's only 250rs for a day, full AC & clean room.
You need a railway ticket and can book it on the spot.


Click on the link given below to read about Elephanta caves http://suniyaltraveltips.blogspot.in/2015/09/trip-to-elephanta-caves.html