It was on 22nd December, 2017 people in my office were discussing about their Christmas and New Year plans with their friends, boyfriend and girlfriend etc. But as a Single stud I was thinking about what to do since I had no such plans. But suddenly an idea struck in my mind how about going to Pondicherry. It was a long cherished desire to visit once. I asked few of my friends and cousins but no one agreed since they had their own set of plans. So I thought that why can’t I explore Pondicherry alone and I heard that Christmas celebration would be good over there. So I decided myself to go over there as I wanted a break to come out of the busy schedule and some unexpected events occurred in the life. I checked for train and buses availability but sadly everything was booked, so the last option was available was to go in train but in General coach. I packed my bag and started my journey from Mysore to Pondicherry on 23rd December. I had no clear idea what to do over there. I had just listed out few places to visit over there. Since most of the hotels were booked I thought to stay in the Youth hostel because it would be affordable.
I reached Pondicherry early morning but the train journey was not so good because it was so much of rush. When I came out the railway station, Pondicherry welcomed me with a beautiful view backdrop behind the Church. From there I reached youth hostel, luckily I got a room over there because I had not booked earlier. The youth hostel was near to a sea shore which give me a magnificent view of the sea. It’s very affordable and good for the solo backpackers. I got freshen up and after my breakfast I started my exploration. I hired a moped from the local shop which is the best option. I started my journey by visiting Auroville. The Auroville is such a beautiful and nice place to visit. This place represents the complete different perspective of the present world where we live in. It’s such a serene place to live in where there are no conflicts between mind and the body. There is a beautiful circular structure for meditation. The place was surrounded with calmness. Near to auroville there is a beach called auroville beach. The beach was so good and the mild air breeze was moving around which I could feel. After spending some time over there I went to another beach called Serenity beach. The name itself suggest that it was so serene and peaceful. There were huge rock structures near the shore where we can sit and enjoy the amazing view of sea. Later moving out of that beach I went to the main beach of Pondicherry, its Promenade beach. There is Gandhi statue present near the beach. This beach was bit crowded since its present in the heart of the city. There are many restaurants and other eatable joints near the beach where we can sit, eat and enjoy the sea view. I enjoyed my evening by sipping a cup of coffee and gazing at the sunset. I met a guy over there who came just like me as a solo backpacker. We shared our experiences with each other.
After sometime I thought to return to my room to take some rest and I had planned to visit the church at midnight to see the Christmas celebrations. Around 11.30PM I left my room heading towards the church. The road was filled with lighting and it was so colorful to see. I reached the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church which is very famous over there. This was the main purpose to visit Pondicherry, to see the Christmas celebration. I reached the over there and the rituals were already started inside the church. I sat inside and observed all the things happening over there. At exactly 12AM, the bell rang and the celebration was at its peak. People were wishing each other and few were exchanging gifts too. It was so bliss to watch all these. I prayed over there and came back to my room. I made my plans to explore other places next day.
After having a good sleep, I woke up and got ready and started the journey. The first place which I visited was Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The ashram was very silent and peaceful. After spending a peaceful time over there I went to explore old French colonies. These colonies were constructed when Pondicherry was under French control in pre-independence era. The colonies were very colorful. It is very well planned and maintained well. Later on I visited French memorial opposite to promenade beach before heading to botanical garden. The botanical garden was big and beautiful to walk around. It has one small train which showed the entire garden on the rails. After spending some quality time over by interacting with few people I need to rush back to railway station since my train was at 04.30PM. I traveled back to Mysore via Katpadi, B’lore. Again sat in General coach since there was no reservation available. The journey was hectic due to huge amount of rush. But it gave some good experience in the middle of this.
What I loved in Pondicherry is that those magnificent vast beaches and places, mouth-watering food especially wood fired pizzas, amazing people including foreigners and last but not the least the beautiful Christmas celebrations. I had captured all those moments in my camera. This solo trip gave immense satisfaction to myself and a huge sense of relief.
