Pondicherry

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Loving it here: or I was until a buffalo peed all over me in the market this morning, I was following it too closely.....

Last night, I WOULD have slept well, if the women street cleaners hadn't had cheerful conversations with each other as they worked away a street or so apart, if the stray dogs, 9 of them, hadn't had a fight to end all fights lower down the street (i.e. too far away to pour water over) and if the builders hadn't come to renovate the house opposite at 6.30 a.m - again with much happy calling to one another. I should tell you that 3 out of the 5 builders is a woman: This is common. They wear saris,and kerchiefs on their heads and do the same work as the men.

Still, that meant I got up and went out into the cool of the morning, to go and look at the Bay of Bengal. No seagulls, just Brahminy kites wheeling and turning in the early morning breeze.

Why do I like Pondicherry?
- It's clean (ish)
- Streets are named. Most Indian cities I've been in are innocent of street names or road signs, and it doesn't half make life difficult.
- The French connection means the city's been built on a grid pattern. Another boon for finding your way around. Me, I follow the canal until I reach my road, Rue Milad. Easy
- Touts and shopkeepers alike take 'no' for an answer
- It really is quite French to look at, though I mightn't have thought so if I'd landed here fresh from Europe
- The streets seem quieter than I've been used to, and therefore more relaxing
- It's good to be near the sea
AND
- It's good to have cafes and bars to sit at. That's been one of the hardest things, not having them, because the days can be long and hard when you're sightseeing. That's why I used internet cafes so much: I could take the weight off my feet. And cafe is a misnomer. The best you could hope for was a warm bottle of coca cola. Mind you, Europen style cafes come at a price: a European price....

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Photos

My sitting room...
...at le Reve Bleu

View from my balcony....
...at le Reve Bleu

The buffalo who peed....
.....luckily only got my trousers and shoes

Street sign
Rue de la Cathedrale, Mission Street...or perhaps you'd prefer it in Tamil?