“Madras Manathil is now the Singara Chennai!” The Tamil phrases interpret as Madras at heart is now the beautiful Chennai. Chennai needs no big introduction. People of Chennai are the city’s biggest asset. They are reliable, helpful and warm-hearted. Weekends in this city can be well spent by taking long drives to places around it. From Filter Coffee to Cappuccino, from temples to Bike and Barrels, theme parks inside the city to long drive destinations, the city has all of it. It was a weekend, and all of us were quite exhausted with our routine schedules. To take a break from the hectic period of time, we planned for a road trip to Pondicherry. We were a group of 8 people who wanted to spend the whole day exploring the roads that lead to Pondicherry and have fun there finally! So, here I will let you guys know a few places where we stopped by. The distance between Chennai to Pondicherry is 156 kilometers if you take the East Coast Road. 3 hours is enough for you to reach Pondicherry without any break. I thought to rent a bike online since my bike was yet to be serviced. After doing a bit of research I finally got a bullet on rent from wheelstreet. Everything was set we wanted a trip with a lot of explorations and pit stops. Here are a few places where we checked in on the way.
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| Cholamandal Artists’ Village |
This village, 9 km from Chennai has over 20 resident painters and sculptors, who live as a community. They run the Artists Handicrafts Association and a permanent exhibition that displays sketches, metal, terracotta sculptures, handicrafts and paintings making the village a self-supporting entity. Theatrical and dance performances were also held in open-air theatres in late evenings which was a visual treat!
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| Kovalam beaches |
Located 40 kilometers south of Chennai, this beach is popular for fishing. An ancient Catholic church, Dargah and temple available on the beach are special tourist attractions. A private luxury beach resort, Taj Fisherman’s Cove is there for people to avail when they stay near the beach with the sea view. We had a talk with the fisherman and went for shallow sea diving and sea surfing. Little bargaining is required for reducing the price at which they take you for the ride. We relaxed on the shore for a long time and then had a turtle walk as well! Trust me, it is worth the time!
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| Muttukadu Boat House |
Not very far ahead, the first long back-water bridge is present and the start of the bridge on the right is Muttukadu Boat House. This boathouse is a TTDC initiative and is quite an amazing picnic spot to try all sort of watersports like jet-skiing, pedal boating, rowing, and canoeing, etc. Some of us went along the calm sea tides by rowing and the rest tried the jet-skiing for the thrill.
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| Mahabalipuram |
Mahabalipuram lies on the Coromandel Coast that faces the Bay of Bengal. This place is listed among the UNESCO world heritage sites and it has shore temples, rich carvings that will inflame your imagination, especially at sunset. The place also has luxury resorts and cottages where you can spend time in leisure. We spent hardly one hour here and then trotted away to Pondicherry
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| Pondicherry |
Also called as the “Little France”, Pondicherry has the French flavor in it with the colonial mansions, boulevards, and placid promenades, spellings on signboards and buildings, names of roads and public places. Walking along the colorful streets is a delight, especially when you walk a group of people. To list some places to visit here, you can go to botanical gardens, serenity beach, French quarter and temples. Pondicherry has people who follow very different cultures and languages. To treat your eyes on the streets and amazing places, you definitely need two things, a group of people and a bike. Bike rides are always content to heart and make us feel complete during the ride. Roam around the colorful streets, attractive places in bikes. What if you guys don’t own a motorbike of your own? You can always rent one! We used rental bikes to travel and had a great experience. Happy Riding guys! 🙂
