Places to visit in Pondicherry in 2 days: This is an account of my 2-day trip to Pondicherry. The small, charming little town of Pondicherry, located on the coromandel coast of Bay of Bengal, is known for its lovely food and amazing beaches. It was the last French colony in india, and became part of India as a Union Territory in 1954.
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Mangalore to Pondicherry train: Puducherry Express
Mangalore to Pondicherry: “Gooood moooorniiiiing Pondi!!!!” – cried out the message on my mobile as the train pulled into Puducherry railway station.
Note: Pondicherry is the anglicized version of the name Puducherry. Pondicherry is also referred to as Pondy for short
That was my wife’s message, and I could feel how happy she was for me. For, I’d been contemplating taking a break from work to go to Pondicherry for a brief spiritual sojourn.
I wanted to roam around the city just by myself to soak in everything it had to offer, slowly – a very basic, down to earth, rough sort of trip.
I’d been talking about this plan to my wife for a couple of months, but I hadn’t been able to schedule a 3-4 day break from work yet.
All the while, this desire in me to go to Pondicherry just got stronger and stronger. It was quite frustrating for me, and she could feel it.
Then one day, we got a call (in my office) from a company in, guess where: Pondicherry!
They came over to Mangalore to meet us, and then invited us over to their HQ in Pondicherry!
I was more than eager to go, and here I was – in Pondicherry! I took the Puducherry express train from Mangalore to Pondicherry.
I remembered the clichéd Paulo Coelho quote: ‘And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it‘. It had just happened to me, albeit in a small way.
Places to visit in Pondicherry in 2 days
The trip lasted for only 2 days, but I eked out time in between meetings to get around Pondicherry. Do experience the splendour of Pondicherry through my camera lens, and let me know your thoughts.
Streets of Pondicherry
Pondicherry beach & French colony Pondicherry
The French colony in Pondicherry (also known as White town of Pondicherry) still displays a strong French influence – most of the streets have French names and you will find many people who are fluent in French. In the evenings, the walkway along the beach comes alive with people. Traffic is prohibited in the evening.
Arulmigu Manakula Vinayagar Temple
Matrimandir Auroville Pondicherry
Apart from French colony, Pondicherry is also popular among visitors because of Auroville. Matrimandir in Auroville has to be on your 2 day Pondicherry itinerary. Auroville is an experimental township designed to be a place where people of all countries are able to live in harmony. It is located about 15 km from Pondicherry city centre
I hope you enjoyed this post about places to visit in Pondicherry in 2 days.