Pondi

Kingfisher Blue?

Mmmmm...beach...

Lunch!

Saw lots of these chalk drawings on doorsteps for homes and businesses
European feel
Mediterranean feel
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn...or over the open sewer in Pondi...
One of the beaches we visited with sand
The new lighthouse

A cozy bunch of 10 TPS students are spending a long weekend in the vacation town of Pondicherry. Pondi is located on the Bay of Bengal, and the wonderful sea breeze and peace of the water has just been fantastic!

The town has a really interesting history-- in short it was controlled by the French, who controlled a pretty large amount of land for some time. As such, Pndicherry is divided into the Ville Blanhce and Ville Noir-- the white town being the French quarters and the black town being the rest (...). The Ville Blanche has an obvious Southern European feel. The streets are quite (they are blocked to most traffic and the use of horns is prohibited). Many of the beautiful old buildings are hidden behind massive gates, unlike the open storefronts that characterize the places we've seen so far. I thought a bit about St. Louis (as we walked down Rue de Saint Louis) and how closed, gated communities have been a part of the city's development and character. I wonder if it's similar here, although the colonial aspect is, of course, far more intense? Either way, the streets are shady, canopied by beautiful old trees. The restaurant we ate lunch at was re-built around a 200 year old mango tree! It's beautiful and quaint, but totally not representative of the rest of the area or India in general...

We spent the morning exploring the city center and the Ville Blanche. The city center is vibrant, full of sound and smell and bustle. I have a great video of a sign that says "no horn use." The background noise, is, of course, all horns. Which I get-- horns here are how people alert each other something is coming. It's a courtesy. I'm getting used to it, but it can still be very overwhelming when you are trying to cross a street in one piece. We also saw tourists! There are lots of Indian families here for the summer holidays and lots of Europeans, too. By lots of Europeans, I mean maybe 5 or 10. Still the most we've seen so far, which was kind of fun.

We stopped for lunch at the beautiful French hotel. The building was incredible--the outside was plastered with a traditional method where eggshells and yogurt are mixed together and layered to create the smooth, white finish. The inside was all hand carved wood, on the walls and ceilings. And the food!! The choices were a great mix of French and Indian food. I tried a local curry, which was perfectly spiced. A few other classmates took advantage of the French meats and pastas, which were also delicious.

After feeling full, Sonia and Leslie and I went to be lazy at the beach. The main beach here is rocky--like big rocks that you can sit on-- so you can't really get into the water. Perching on a warm rock and being mesmerized by the waves crashing in was just perfect. There's something about being so close to the edge of the ocean and thinking about how all of these different worlds are connected so far away that can be so peaceful. Needless to say, I love the water and miss it dearly in good old Missouri.

After returning for a nap, the group headed out for happy hour at a beachside pub. We had a wonderful view of the palm trees, light house and the water. We then headed to dinner at Bamboo Gardens where we, obviously, ate under a bamboo hut. Not a bad way to spend an evening.

Today we're going to head back to the city center to visit the market. And I definitely am going to make a stop at the local asharam. And of course, the beach again :)