Hippie - A Thought Provoking Novel.

Hello Readers! I have read 12 books this year & I'm very proud about it! I had a target of reading 19 & looks like I'm going to read a lot more than that. It feels truly amazing. Page after page, book after book. It is so illuminating. So much to learn from every single one. My latest read was Paulo Coelho's Hippie.

When it comes to Paulo Coelho, I'm already 100% biased & I cannot keep an open mind. Because he's one of my favorite authors! He's brilliant. He writes so eloquently & so easily takes the reader into an entirely different universe. He makes us swim even when we can't. He makes us fly even when we don't have wings. He makes us dream about life & death. And more so, he opens our minds to so many perspectives which we never would've even imagined! Hippie is such another masterpiece. Sure, it has its ups and downs. But, what a story!

It's inspired from Paulo Coelho's own life. Along with a woman named Karla, he takes the Magic Bus to travel the world. From Amsterdam to Nepal. Fascinating isn't it? That's the base story and it revolves around the life of a hippie. Travel. Music. Drugs. Alcohol. Sufism. Dance. Independence. Solitude. Companionship. And what not.

It's kind of my rule to not review amazing books because I'm not worthy of doing that. So, instead, this post contains some of the amazing quotes from the book. Hope you like these & go ahead to read the book.

"Love is to allow everything. To not spending your time thinking about the sunrise or enchanted forests, to not swim against the current, to allow yourself to be filled with joy. That, for me, is what it means to love.

It's to maintain your freedom, but in such a way that the person at your side never feels trapped by this. It's a calm, serene thing, I'd even say it's solitary in some way. Love for love's sake, for no other reason - such as marriage, children, money."

"Sufism recognizes a single truth: nothing is divisible, the visible and the invisible are one, each of us is merely an illusion in flesh and bone."

"If we stay quiet for an hour, we'll begin to hear God. But if we cry out with joy, God will also hear us and come down to bless us."

"I think sleeping is a way of talking to God through our dreams."

"A life without love isn't worth living. What is a life without love? It's a tree that bears no fruit. It's sleeping without dreaming. At times, it's even an inability to sleep. It's living one day after another waiting for the sun to shine into a room that is completely shut up, painted black, where you know where the key is but have no desire to open the door and go out."

"The more we allow the world in, the more we receive - be it love, be it hate."

"I love you and I'm not looking to explain my feelings."

"All she'd ever done in her life was outrun others, but she would never be able to outrun herself."

"She wanted everything to change, but was incapable of changing herself."

"She wished they could see her for her beauty, but all anyone ever saw was the hurricane, and they never sought shelter from it. They preferred to flee to safer ground."

In case, you are a loyal reader & actually read all of these quotes, you must have already downloaded or ordered the book, I hope! I will try to write a couple more posts about some of the books I have read by Nora Ephron. And, I will get to writing my Kochi travel posts soon enough as well! Stay tuned!!

Until next time,

April, What a Month!

Hello Readers! How was your first month of the financial year? It sure went by in a flash for me. As for my personal goals, I achieved quite a little but as for my professional goals, I won big time! So, here we go! Check out the books I read, the TV shows/movies I watched & the places I explored!!

~~PLACES I EXPLORED~~

I went to 3 places on back to back weekends; Nashik, Pune & Kochi! It sure sounds like I am living the dream, but to be honest, staying at home doing nothing is just as awesome to me. So, in all these trips I got the best of both worlds. I explored the cities & also took the much needed relaxation.

Sula Vineyards, Nashik:

I had always wanted to visit Sula Vineyards. It is something almost every person in Mumbai has done. So, finally the plan was on & I went there with my 2 colleagues. It was a 2-day awesome trip. I didn’t feel like committing an entire post to it. So, here’s a quickie.

We chose a bad time to visit but if it wouldn’t have been now, then the whole things would have gotten cancelled. It was a fun trip & everything went soothingly well with almost no hiccups. We went to Nashik by train which was a pretty quick 3-hour ride. We reached Nashik by 10 AM. We got dressed up & left soon.

Sula Vineyards is quite popular in India. It has been around since 1998 & it was doing pretty good. Most people prefer Sula wines. There was an entire Tour of the factory where wine is made along with some knowledge sharing. At the end of the tour was what everyone likes; Wine Tasting! Unfortunately, I hate wine so I barely had any. I just wanted to experience the whole thing & check a mark in the checklist!

There are many spots in the Sula premises to take photos & we took opportunity of each one of those! Check some of the photos below!

In the evening, we had a nice dinner at a roof-top restaurant. The next day we had a train to catch, but it was delayed for more than 3 hours. We had more time to lazy around & chill, but instead, we chucked the train option & booked a cab home. It was a fun impromptu road trip which we will always remember! So, that was one of my most successful trips with friends.

Pune:

I spent the next weekend in Pune. My mom & dad were already there & I thought of joining them for a day. This trip was for the sole reason of relaxing & not thinking about anything except where to eat. All of Saturday, we planned on where we will eat. More precisely, I planned on where to go & my parents just followed it. Both the places were amazing!  So, I had a nice lunch, an amazing afternoon nap, a nice dinner & then again, a wonderful night’s sleep & I was back the next day!

Kochi:

Kochi was definitely the highlight of the month! This was my 3^rd trip within the first 4 months of the year! It was a 3 days’ trip which went by in a flash. I got to see a lot of amazing places in Kochi. I will be writing a full-fledged blog on that soon!

In a nutshell, the highlight of the month was definitely some explorations & relaxations while travelling!

~~BOOKS I READ~~

If you recollect from this post, I was supposed to read these 3 novels; The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Lost Man by Jane Harper & Hippie by Paulo Coelho. But, of course, whenever I plan on reading particular books, I end up reading something else entirely. I read one novel, two poetry books & one non-fiction book. More details below!

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy:

I have very openly expressed my thoughts on this novel. You can check it out here & here. I truly do not wish to write more about it. It was a 1.5/5 stars or even less, but I know I hated it.

Love Her Wild by Atticus:

I had been following Atticus on Instagram since years now. And the fact that I was a part of his journey from online publishing to physical publishing is something I find quite amazing! So, I finally read his book of poetry & of course, I liked it. Although, I had just read Rupi Kaur’s ‘The Sun and her Flowers’ & compared to hers, it felt a bit less intense. Still, I liked the words, some were just so incredibly brilliant! Here are my favourite lines:

“Love is diving headfirst into someone else’s confusion and finding that it all makes sense.”

"Even those we love the most can be a poison to our souls.”

A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver:

I have been following Rega Jha on Instagram, who is the Founder & Ex-Editor in Chief at Buzzfeed. She is the most intellectual, self-aware & sensible young woman of this generation. I have a list of book recommendations from her & so I finally decided to read this one. ‘A Thousand Mornings’ is another book of poetry by Mary Oliver. Even though it was published in 2012, while reading it felt like it was written by someone centuries ago. That’s because of two reasons. Firstly, it had that old soul vibe to it. And secondly, it is very difficult to understand. I couldn’t understand a lot of it, so I’m sure it must be something profound. Here are some of my favourties:

“You fuss over life with your clever words, mulling and chewing on its meaning, while we just live it.”

“For some things, there are no wrong seasons. Which is what I dreamt of for me.”

Ikigai by Albert Liebermann and Hector Garcia:

This is a book I never thought I would read. I am not into non-fiction. I don’t find it remotely interesting. I read to imagine a different world & mainly as an escape mechanism. But, when it is non-fiction, it is not an escape. It’s just life & people telling how to live. And in this particular book, it talks about living to be more than a 100. So, obviously it was not my thing & I didn’t like it much.

          I thought this book was about finding something from within or finding some psychological answer to questions. But, it turned out to be just science. Focusing on diet, finding a purpose (ikigai) in life, forming social ties & so on. I didn’t expect this from the book. This is telling me what I already know & me choosing not to follow it. Because, to me, that’s not living!

          What’s the point of living to be a 100 if all your life you just followed rules & did nothing crazy? This book talks about living more than a 100, but aren’t we supposed to add life to numbers & not numbers to life? So, no. This was not my thing. I would rate it at 2/5 at best.

~~TV SHOWS & MOVIES I WATCHED~~

Watching TV shows & movies is an integral part of my life. It’s what my weekend plans are made of. So, here we are!

Game of Thrones:

(Includes Spoilers.)

I want to take a second & talk about Game of Thrones, which is the most important thing going on in my life currently. I wake up at 6:30 AM on a Monday morning to watch it live & talk about it for the rest of the week to whoever listens. I read about its theories & I laugh on its memes. The hopes & expectations that I don't have from my own life, those I have from this show.

          Talking about the first 2 episodes, there were a solid let down for me. There was no action at all. Everyone thought that they were creating a base for all the main character deaths so that we will feel more horrible later. But, then they go ahead & don’t kill anyone. So, yeah, I’m disappointed because my favorites are still alive.

        Yes, I love how Arya is the one to kill Night King. I choose to ignore the flaws in it. But, apart from that, so many disappointments. The dark episode when you can barely see anything. The most hyped Battle of Winterfell was such a normal battle with not much content. I went ahead & watched the 40-minute YouTube video of how they made this allegedly epic third episode. I understood that they wanted to portray a lot of things. It’s just that it didn’t fall through the way they wanted it to. Hence, all three episodes are 80% disappointment. All comments on this are welcome!

Made in Heaven:

While I was in Kochi, I ended up watching this entire series. It was brilliant, entertaining & also real. It focused on so many things we see today, like, infidelity, LGBTQ discrimination, class difference & so on. It was a refreshing show!

The Upside:

The Upside is this amazing movie starring Kevin Hart, Bryan Cranston & Nicole Kidman. You just have to watch it!

~~PERSONAL GOALS UPDATE~~

If you remember, I had made this list of 19 things to do in 2019 & I am slowly & steadily reaching there. While some things seem to be impossible to achieve, others are quite closer to completion. One of the most important things I wanted to do was donate clothes which I finally did. I think I must have donated more than 20 pieces of clothing which felt really amazing.

            Secondly, watching TED Talks every week is going great! I am doing it weekly without ever missing out on it. And, lastly, I have cut down a bit of online shopping. So, I’m proud of that.

So, that was April for me! Travelling, Game of Thrones, Reading & again Game of Thrones! What was your April like? What are your May Goals? Let me know in the comments below!!

Until next time,

Profound Words from The God of Small Things.

Hello Readers,

As promised, here is a post about some of the most profound words from Arundhati Roy's 'The God of Small Things.' I bashed out a lot in the earlier post about how much I hated this book. But, there is always something good in bad, so this post is all about that. Hope you find it thought-provoking.

"Human beings were creatures of habit, and it was amazing the kind of things they could get used to."

"Silence hung in the air like secret loss."

"When you hurt people, they begin to love you less. That's what careless words do. They make people love you a little less."

"Some punishments were so big that they were like cupboards with built-in bedrooms."

"He was only trying to deserve the attention that he had already attracted."

"Around her, the Air was sad, somehow. And behind the smile in her eyes, the Grief was a fresh, shining blue."

"For you what is a nonsense, for Masses it is something different."

"In her mind she kept an organized, careful account of Things She'd Done For People, and Things People Hadn't Done For Her."

"If he held her, he couldn’t kiss her. If he kissed her, he couldn’t see her. If he saw her, he couldn’t feel her."

"The emptiness in one twin was only a version of the quietness in the other. Like the two things fitted together. Like stacked spoons. Like familiar lovers' bodies."

I have been reading a lot of books these days & it feels amazing to write all these reviews & make content. I am forever grateful to my audience!!

Until next time,

Thoughts I Had While Reading The God of Small Things.

Hi Readers! I have been reading 'The God of Small Things' for a while now. When I started reading it, I got mixed opinions from people. Some said that it's the most beautiful book they have read. Some said that they never could finish it. And some who finished it, had hated it. So, I was intrigued to read it because there aren't usually such varied opinions for a book.

This post is based on the premise that I turned out to be in the third category of people. I finished the book & hated it. It is impossible to do a review on it because there's nothing in it, so instead this post talks about all the random thoughts I had while reading this random book.

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'The God of Small Things' written by Arundhati Roy is quite an acclaimed novel. It also won the Man Booker Prize in 1997, which really made me think that anyone can write blether & win a prestigious book prize. So, this post contains a lot of rants, so before hand, I will say, 'No Offence'. These are my independent truthful views & I don't intend on hurting anyone. But, this book has made me do it.

You can check out the basic storyline (if it even exists) on Goodreads & then come back here to see if my opinions make sense. So, here we go!

~~CHARACTERS~~

Why are the kids not acting like kids?

Estha & Rahel are the twins in the story. To a certain extent, I can understand how they understand when the other is around. But, the way their brain works, how their bodies act & just everything about them is so unnatural! So, this thought came up to me often, why can't they just behave like kids? Play in the garden, fight over who watches television or how to come up with ways to bunk school. Everything about those twins is abnormal & bizarre. I thought they will turn out to be like Cercei & Jaime Lannister & how right I was. 

Actually, the entire family is dysfunctional!

I have said my piece about Estha & Rahel. But, truth be told, the whole family & all the characters are weird. Firstly, all the adults in that family are divorced; Mammachi, Ammu, Chacko & Rahel. I mean, how does that even happen? How flawed can their generations really be? And, don't get me talking on Baby Kochamma. I mean, why does that character even exist? All of it is weird. Mother telling her own child that she loves her less because the child said something stupid. And on & on.

A Syrian-Christian Sexist Forward-Thinking Family.

I haven't got anything to say about it. In some parts, the family members are shown to be such forward thinkers, with getting an education abroad, working there, behaving mannerly & what not. And on the other hand, they ridicule divorced women in their own family, taunt them about it & have Untouchables serving them! I mean, what even?

Why do I need to know about the minor characters?

Just when the story becomes MINUTELY interesting, the next you know is some story in the past about some remotely minor character. Why is there any need at all to write about Comrade Pillai's history? Or their Untouchable help Velutha's paralyzed brother's history? Or Chacko's & Margaret's love story? I mean it's not like it's even a little bit interesting or important to the main plot! Comrade Pillai is just a nosy neighbor with some power. Velutha's brother is just no one. And Chacko & Margaret end up divorced! Makes no sense at all. But, I suppose these stories are 10 % better than pages & pages worth of description of a house!

~~STORY~~

Enough with all the flawed, bizarre & absurd characters, lets move on to the flawed, bizarre & absurd story.

What's with the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man?

I have never read anything as disgusting as this orangedrink man's incident with Estha. I mean, hello, what the hell? Does this even happen to upper-middle class properly mannered family’s children? So gross. I might see a significance of this incident. If this would not have happened, Estha would not have gone to History House to escape & Sophie Mol would not have died. Yes, there is a point. But, like Joey says, this is so far past the point that you can't even see the point! There could have been so many better, less gross ways to connect it with her death, but no, it had to be this horrible incident. I didn't like the book, but I started hating the book from this point onward.

What's with the Fixation with Words?

There are many many instances in the book in which a few words are repeated all the time. It isn't annoying. It isn't absurd like everything else in the novel. But, it is bizarre, like everything else in the novel. Calling Estha & Rahel two-egg twins. Repeating that Ammu loved her a Little Less. Something-Shaped Hole in the Universe. I suppose, the attempt is to make it sound appealing, but it's just bizarre.

Why am I reading this big book of NOTHINGNESS?

The story is made up of nothing. The characters are made up of nothing. The whole book is just a big gibberish of nothingness. No love story. No dramatic story. No horror story. Nothing!

And, lastly, after I finished it, I had one question. What the hell was that?

So, yes, I strongly advise that you not read this book. If you already have, I’m sorry you had to go through that. If, by chance, you read it & liked it, please let me know in the comments below how did that happen. I can try to keep an open mind & it could be very intriguing.

 Well, I'm usually a very nice person. So to make up for this post dripping with negativity, I'm going to write another post that showcases some of the brilliant quotes from the book. 

Until next time,

Gem of a Person. (Diary Logs #19)

Hi Readers! I thought of writing a diary log kind of a post. The story just came to me one day influenced from a lot of stuff that's been going on around me. So, this is inspired from a lot of women & I hope I did justice to all these beautiful ladies in my life!

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Fridays were always brimming with work for her. Attending weekly calls, sending dashboards, maximizing her targets & setting new targets for the next week and what not. Your usual legal-corporate life. She loved the work & was always happy when she was challenged. After a tough day at work, when she was about to leave for home, around 8 PM, she realized that she had a date that night. She had completely forgotten about it because she was swamped at work. She texted the guy just to check if it was still on & yes, of course, it was.

She went to freshen up. She was wearing a casual t-shirt which said 'Nope' surrounded by some flowers & blue denim jeans. She had her chic Friday look which was definitely not a first date look. She put on some makeup, looked in the mirror, let out a sigh of relief accepting defeat & finally left for the date.

It was 4 days since that day. She had a lot of fun on that evening. She rarely enjoyed so much with someone right on the first date. She knew she was funny, witty & she took an interest in him. He seemed to have had a nice time too. And yet, stone cold silence. She hated that. That feeling reminded her of all her insecurities, closure issues & low self esteem. She discussed with her colleagues & they told her she was too good for him. They said that she should forget the whole thing especially since it was just one date. Just like that, she felt better. But still, at the back of the mind, the thought was alive & waiting for answers.

A week went by & it was Friday again. She was already over him but she still needed her answers. Why would a guy not call her especially when the date went so amazingly well? Her curiosity got the better of her & she texted him. Not a hi. But a very clear cut message, very lawyerly. She texted him, “I know this isn't going anywhere but the least you could do is give me an explanation. I only want to know why didn’t you text or call? Feel free to be honest or even rude.” After sending that message, she felt a weight lift off of her. She imagined of 2 responses, either he will reply or he won’t. And, now that she had said her piece, she was fine with either of those options.

After her usual Friday weekend closures, she was about to leave when she checked her phone. She realized he had messaged 3-4 long paragraphs. The gist of which was basically, 'It's not you. It's me.' He said how she was too good for him (which she already knew, but whatever.) He said how he couldn't hurt her in case they kept dating & something went wrong. He said how she should stay the way she is & how she was such a gem of a person. She got her answer & she simply texted a 'Thanks for letting me know' & that was it.

This Friday was leaps and bounds different than the last Friday. Today, she was dressed up. Not for a date, but for herself. She wore a black dress with red heels that matched her red lips. Her eyes were a bit sad but that was about to change.

She sat on her activa & was on her way to her usual bar. She had her headphones tucked inside the helmet & there was a nice loud song playing. She decided to enjoy it. She was on the highway riding with speed, while doing head tilts, stomping her feet lightly & her fingers playfully dancing. She let the air fly her dress a little bit up which made her flaunt her legs.

Somehow those couple of inches tasted like freedom just like those couple of extra shots tasted like freedom & all of a sudden she was in a good mood. She was happy, even. She was the woman who half-danced on her active & sung lyrics to songs loud enough while not caring what anyone thought.

She looked such a lady and yet she drove like a badass. She took tequilla shots without ever throwing up or losing conscience. She over-performed at her work & yet was kind & supportive to her subordinates. She was the kind of woman who did catch feelings for a guy on their first date, because that's how she was wired. She wore her heart on her sleeve. She did suffer a lot of pain because of it, but oh, the joy she gained because of it! There wasn't anyone like her, she knew. She didn't need anyone else to tell her how much gem of a person she already knew she was.

Until next time,

March Reads!

March is undoubtedly my favourite month of the year and why shouldn’t it be? It’s my BIRTHDAY MONTH!! I absolutely love celebrating it. I don’t even get morose about aging. But, now that I turned 25, who knows, I might! Another reason why March was fantastic is because I read a lot of books! I have a list of doing 19 things in 2019 & among those, one thing is reading 19 books! Three months in, I have read 5 books & 4 of those in the month of March. Here we go!

~~THE DRY by JANE HARPER~~

The Dry is a mystery thriller by Jane Harper. After I read her book ‘Force of Nature’, I was obviously going to read all of her books! Her writing is wonderful & always leaves you wanting for more. I finished reading The Dry in about a week & I have already started reading her book ‘Lost Man’. I really wanted to do a full-fledged review on this novel, but it’s impossible to do so without giving away spoilers. And, this book NEEDS TO BE READ without spoilers.

With Aaron Falk as the main detective, the novel is about solving a homicide. In a family of four, the father (Luke Hadler) kills his wife, his young son & then himself. Or does he?

Aaron happens to be a childhood friend of Luke’s. So, the story has a link from 20 years ago when they were friends & then 20 years later where Luke is dead & Aaron is trying to find out what really has happened!

Getting to my thoughts to ‘The Dry’, well, what can I say? It’s a mind blowing story with many mysterious shocks along the way. And, the best part is that the ending is unpredictable. The writing & the thought-process of the author is intricate & will leave you astonished. It is unraveling as all the loose ends & half-way story lines of various characters tend to meet at the end giving such a satisfying feeling. The plot is so well-written that you won’t be able to stop reading until the story is finally finished!
Go and read this novel right away. I cannot stop talking about it. It is truly one of the best mystery thrillers I have read in a long time! I have rated it at 4.5/5 on Goodreads.

~~THE SUN AND HER FLOWERS by RUPI KAUR~~

The Sun and her Flowers is a collection of poems by Rupi Kaur. I had read her poetry in ‘Milk and Honey’ which I didn’t like much. But, this one, was beyond excellence. It is divided in 5 parts which mirrors the life of a flower; Wilting, Falling, Rooting, Rising, and Blooming. Every part is equally beautiful. The most wondrous thing is that it is so very relatable. Be it about the fall through or getting up or blossoming! Each and every word in that book has significance. Not only does the poetess try to be our friend with the magic of words, she also shares her own inspiring journey. It is going to be the kind of book I will always carry around with me.

I’m sure most of you have already read it. But, if you haven’t read it right away. You won’t be disappointed. I have rated it at 4.5/5 on Goodreads.

~~FIVE FEET APART by MIKKI DAUGHTRY~~

I read 'Five Feet Apart' written by Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry & Tobias Iaconis earlier in March. The only reason I was keen on reading this one is because it has got its movie adaptation which was released on 15th March starring Cole Sprouse!

I have rated it at 3/5 stars on Goodreads. You can find the full review here.

~~FORCE OF NATURE by JANE HARPER~~

I read a mystery thriller named ‘Force of Nature’ by Jane Harper. I decided to read it because it was in the list of ‘unputdownable books’ & yet it took me a long time to finish it. But, that’s my fault, because the book stands true to be on that list!

I have rated it at 4/5 on Goodreads! You can check the full review here.

For April, I am planning to read /complete at least 3 novels, which are, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Lost Man by Jane Harper & Hippie by Paulo Coelho. I have also started reading Becoming by Michelle Obama, but I think it will take some time for it to complete.

I’m already loving all these books & I hope I get to finish reading all these incredible stories by next month! Have you read any of the books from my ‘March Reads’? I’d love some more book recommendations too, so keep ‘em coming!!

Until next time!

Pondicherry - Stay & Restaurants. (Part 3)

Hello Everyone!

I have written 2 posts on Pondicherry so far. They turned out to be quite long just like my stay there. That’s why, I decided to write an altogether new post about my stay & most importantly for restaurant recommendations! Here we go!

~~AIRBNB STAY IN PONDICHERRY~~

I had tried AirBnb for my trip in Darjeeling & Udaipur. Both were quite okay, so I decided to choose AirBnB this time around as well.

It was based at a 10-minutes walking distance from the Rock Beach, named Aurodaya. It was a small studio apartment. Given the history of Pondicherry, it truly defined the concept of simple living & high thinking.
It was very clean & had all the amenities. There was access to AC, refrigerator & a stove for cooking. The AC saved my life as it was quite hot when I visited.
It was on the ground floor & in an extremely safe neighborhood. There was a small space outside for short walks.

Most importantly, the host was simply wonderful. She helped me throughout the process & was very proactive in helping me out.

~~RESTAURANTS IN HERITAGE TOWN~~

Last but not the least, time for restaurant recommendations!! I was in Pondicherry for 4 days & 3 nights & given the kind of amazing cafes they have, I was fully prepared to eat all types of food from all the amazing places. Unfortunately though, I got sick right on the 2^nd day. And which is why I was only & only on energy juice for the remnants of 2 days!
Till the time I was well, I visited 4 places, which were quite good except for the last one which gave me food poisoning. Here is my list!

Surguru:

During my stay in Pondicherry, Surguru was my survival restaurant. They have the most delicious South Indian food. It’s low-key, inexpensive but provides best quality of food. In my 4 days, I went to Surguru 3 times. The must try is their Roast Dosa, which is 2 feet wide! I also tried their plain dosa which tasted so purely amazing. Also, their idlis are delicious. They provide 3 kinds of chutneys plus sambar, all of which is incredibly tasty! I have also heard that their lunch thali is quite great! 5/5 must visit!!

The Smoothie Bar:

I went to The Smoothie Bar, just to quench my thirst in the unbearable heat. I took the most extra Kitkat-Chocolate milkshake. Obviously, it tasted like heaven. For the quantity, I think the price was justifiable. You can check this out. It’s a 4/5 from me!

Zuka:

Zuka is a famous food outlet in Pondicherry. It is famous for all of its chocolate products & especially their hot chocolate. After a lot of cycling, I took a break & went here to have a hot chocolate. It comes in a small cup with a chocolate spoon which dissolves in the hot cup after stirring. The taste was quite nice. But, given the quantity, it was quite expensive.

There were many chocolates there, which were also expensive. But, you can check out this place just for fun. It’s a 3.5/5, if you ask me.






Café Xtasy:

This café is popular for its wood-fired pizzas, which is why I went there. There are a lot of options in veg as well as non-veg. There are also a lot of options as to the size of the pizza. I had pizza & lemon iced tea. Unfortunately, none of these were good. This was the place which gave me food poisoning & sea full of regrets. It will be a 1/5 definitely.

~~OTHER RESTAURANTS IN HERITAGE TOWN~~

These restaurants were on my list, but I didn’t get a chance to go there. You can check them out. All these are known for French food – Baker Street, Café des Arts, Farm Fresh. Some of the high-end restaurants are Coromandel Café, Storyteller’s Bar, Villa Helena.

~~RESTAURANTS IN AUROVILLE~~

There are some amazing choices of restaurants in Auroville as well. All these are must-tries - Marc’s Café, Bread & Chocolate & Tanto Pizzeria.

Well, it feels incredibly amazing to pour out months’ worth of research into these blogs & I sincerely hope it was helpful. I hope you choose wisely so as to avoid getting sick, missing out on places & so on!!

Have you been to Pondicherry? Let me know of the places if I have missed any!!

Until next time,