Pondicherry

I left Ft. Kochin and arrived at the Ernakulam Town Train Station 3 hrs before my departure time! I have learned that time doesn't really mean much here, so it is best to be early rather than late. Also I did not want to surrying the streets looking for a rickshaw after dark.

As soon as I entered the train, I felt like a fish out of water! Everyone looked at me quizzically and all I could do was smile and say "Hi" as I made my way to my seat. When I made my way to the bunker, that sleeps 8, I immediately thought I was in the wrong place. I thought they tried to bunk women together, but I realized this is not the case! I was bunked with 7 men! Despite the initial discomfort, the ride wasn't that bad. I opted for the top bunk and slept rather deeply. The train stopped at 7 am in Chennai (Madras) and I immediately hopped on a bus to Pondicherry.

This bus ride was the most true Indian bus experience I have encountered thus far. At first we left Chennai with only a few people on board, but we stopped in each village and more and more people jumped on, while few jumped off. Before I knew it, we were packed! Just when I thought no one else could fit, a bus load of people crammed in at one of the villages. The crowd was so dense that eventually the lady sleeping next to me was pushed so close that she slept on my shoulder for a little bit. Tho this was overwhelming (like most things here) I enjoyed the experience!

I arrived in Pondicherry and the rickshaw driver brought me to a little ashram ( recommended by Lonely Planet) that has guest rooms for very cheap (about $2/nt). The ashram has a really nice meditation garden and you are required to remove your shoes prior at the gate. I walked through it bare foot this and morning and the grass is so plush it's like walking on carpet.

Pondicherry is a cute town with a pleasent beach promenade along the Bay of Bengal. It flourished under the french influence and is great vacation spot. It has very rocky beach sides and intense waves. I would love to swim, but not to sure on the safety of the tide.
While at coffee, I met an Italian girl that is living in New Delhi and vacationing throughout S. India. She's staying at the same guest house and we had dinner and just walked along the beach.

This place is a much better vacation place than Ft. Kochin. It is much livlier in the evening time and you don't have anyone pestering you to buy something every 5 steps on the beach. Plus, it offers more than five streets for tourists. Also, unlike the other areas, it is very clean (at least along the promenade). This is the only town in which I have seen trash pick up.

Originally I was thinking of seeing only a few other areas, then move on to another seaside town near Chennai but I realized I just want to relax a bit. So I went booked the room for one more night. I'll leave by bus in the morning to catch my 5 pm flight in Chennai.

Today I thought I would try my luck and rent a bicycle to tour the streets. This is really difficult! In America, we drive on the right side of the street, in India, it's the left. I forgot and ended up going the wrong way into oncoming traffic! Fortunately, the Indians are used to dealing with this and looked out for me. I'm probably just going to stick to the tourist side for a bit and I think I may have to retire my use of the back when I get back to the guest house.

This is definitely my last stop before leaving India. I next post will be made from and American computer. There are a lot of sites to see, so I should log off and enjoy this little town.

See you in the U.S.A!

~Lisa