Bienvenue à 2011 de Pondichéry

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Happy New year.

We are now in French colonial Pondicherry where the boulevards are quiet and baguettes and croissants plentiful. We had a nice new year on the beach, ate some massive fresh prawns, drank some very strong cocktails in a bar then at midnight went down on the sand along with seemingly everyone from Mamallapuram to watch the fireworks and wish everyone you met a Happy New Year.
We've had it easy since then, taking the speedy two hour bus down to Pondicherry, we're staying in the old French part of the town in a French run guest house where we've wangled the top floor room with a thin tin roof and private terrace where we can hide from the sun and watch the rainstorms come rolling in. The town itself is like a nugget of provincial France in India and you can see it everywhere in the street layout, parks, hotel de ville and police hats just as you could see a flavour of London in Kolkata.
It's a relaxing place to be although it has been pretty hot of late getting 35-38C by the afternoon, today though the heavens have opened and it's more like a wet weekend at home with people running for cover and newspapers over their heads.
We are hiding from the rain in this sweltering internet place now then going to try to find a temple which allegedly has an elephant that blesses people by patting them on the head (we'll try to get photographic evidence) then we plan to leave tomorrow on the nice manageable hour bus to Trichy which apparently has a temple as big as a city.
We are well, sweat levels are up but we had some baguette, beer and cheese last night so couldn't be happier.
Love to home, C&A x x x x x

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Photos

Route so far
Blue spots are overnight stays. Most travel has been by train but also bus, taxi, jeep, boat and rickshaw

Comments

[Hazel]

Tres bien!
Hi guys, glad you are finding some nices places to stay and are both well again. You have covered so many miles already. Take care. Lots of love from the Wotton clan

[Jon & Fay]

Hi from Anglesey Street!
Hi Chris & Alice, It's great watching your progress... You've done a huge distance! Looks like you're having a fantastic time.... Things are pretty mad with us at the moment... We've done a fair amount of decorating and shifting of furniture in Anglesey Street but it goes on the market on Tuesday! We've been in the garden all day tidying up, painting and mending fences etc. No idea how things will go in the 'current climate' but we've got our fingers crossed... Things OK at Lighthouse Printing. We've got a couple of new websites coming on line soon - one for pens and one for promotional goods, so it will be interesting to see how they go. Joe has been teaching me all about Search Engine Optimisation etc. Had a dreadful Boxing Day. Had a phone call as we were having lunch at my Mum's in Oxfordshire to say that we'd had a burst pipe in Llangennith - right above our new kitchen..... had to drop cutlery and drive straight back to Gower. Most of the kitchen will need to be replaced - the ceilings got to come down and all the plaster hacked of..... nightmare. Covered by insurance thankfully! We're really looking forward to having just one house to stress about! Pondicherry looks lovely - what has been your favourite place? Seen any cricket?! What's the veggie food like? Looking forward to the next blog installment - have fun! Jon & Fay

[katus]

Hello my loves. nice to see some pics of you both -i do miss your little faces. the frenchness sounds and looks good. All well here. nothing much to report. miss you lots. lots of love xxxxxxx