Pondicherry, India

PONDICHERRY
From Madurai I caught a Chennai bound bus but got off after six hours in the town of Villupuram, about 40km west of Pondicherry. The bus ride up to that point was slow but comfortable - the bus ride the rest of the way to Pondicherry was another white-knuckle ride in an overcrowded bus at full speed. At least I managed to secure a seat but I was right behind the driver and his suicidal overtaking manoeuvres where absolutely shocking. Thoughts turned quickly to my life insurance policies - were they paid up? What about my will?

Arriving in Pondicherry was a relief. It was after dark but I decided to walk since the guesthouse I wanted to stay at wasn't very far away. It was full, so was the next one but I found a cheap room at a prison like hotel for the night and settled in. I fell asleep straight away and then woke around midnight to have a shower. No shower in the bathroom - only a tap. I had a quick wash and decided to move hotels the next morning.
I moved to the Amala lodge after breakfast and decided to spend a day looking around town. I don't know if it was because I expected to see lots of beautiful young French women wearing berets and smoking gauloises cigarettes but I was disappointed with Pondicherry, a former French colony. Apart from a few tricolour flags and the occasional 'Rue de la this' or 'Avenue de la that' it was just another Indian town with dirty streets full of ugly concrete half finished buildings.

The Amala Lodge - my room at the top left

Bored with walking, I rented a bicycle in the afternoon and rode north to the progressive international community town of Auroville - 'an experiment in international living where people could live in peace and harmony above all creeds, politics and nationalities'. About 1500 people from over 60 countries live in the area and although it's not a tourist attraction, people come by to look and point much like they do with the Amish. The centre of the community is the Matrimandir, which acts as the spiritual and physical centre of Auroville. It looks like a really big golden golf ball. With a heat wave in southern India I couldn't stand to be outside much longer. On the hour-long ride back to Pondicherry I stopped for water three times, choking on exhaust fumes much of the way.

The Matrimandir at Auroville