Moving & More

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After one of those gigantic breakfasts, there was a need to walk some of it off so Jane & I wandered off to find something interesting. Bharathi Park with a Greco Roman arch looks like a promising walk. It’s shady and inviting in the heat of the morning. Just inside the gate is a naturalist area featuring posts with colourful carvings of different creatures interspersed among the pictures of wildlife and birds in the area. Right smack dab in the centre of the park is the Roman arch with walkways radiating from it which divides the park into 4 equal parts.

For our last two nights in Pondicherry we are at the Villa Du Ocean guest house with a rooftop restaurant and a small pool on the 4th floor overlooking the city. We had a fond good bye to our favourite server at The Promenade and made our way a few blocks away.The Promenade hotel is right on the ocean front whereas the Villa is back a few blocks from the ocean. Even though Pondicherry is a giant city (population of about 658,0000, the area we were experiencing (White Town) is small and everything is in walking distance. Our room is spacious, painted white, and outfitted with dark wood furniture. Comfortable!

All of us gathered on the rooftop for lunch and then had a swim after. Hmmm...maybe time for a quick nap?

Time for supper so Jane & I wander off into the night dodging motorbikes, tuk-tuks, people. Everyone comes out after dark In India when it’s cooler and it seems that Sunday night is party night. We finally chose a roof top that was a bar that served food. A couple of beers later we get our food and it is absolutely delicious. I had coq au vin (chicken cooked in wine sauce with mushrooms & pearl onions), fresh cooked veggies that were just right, still some crunch, and jewelled rice (rice with tiny bits of coloured vegetables cooked in). More than we could eat! While we were eating we could hear some disco type music. On the floor below us was a disco with some young girls dancing. When we opened the door to look, they hauled us in & we joined in the wild dancing. They were having a blast & were really delighted that we joined them.

Coming back to the hotel, Helen is also on a rooftop and yells down to us as we pass by. So we go up and have a visit with her while she’s waiting for her meal. But we’re tired and it’s time to head back for the night.

Walking along the dark streets feels perfectly safe here. There are people everywhere but no one even notices us.

Tomorrow we go to Auroville for our meditation session.

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