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Published: June 25th 2017
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Happy Stan
Here we are, sitting at the Lonely Planet renowned Le Cafe restaurant, where Stan is finally able to get a good strong cup of French cafe latte, and a French croissant. Not a bad welcome to India. Getting to India involved an intense and variety packed day of travel. It began with a half hour tuk tuk ride to the Colombo airport at 7 a.m., where we eventually boarded a 70 minute flight to Chennai, India, after going through at least four security checks. Once arrived in India, we took a forty minute taxi ride to what we thought would be a bus station for the next leg of our journey. The reality was that we found ourselves dropped off on what seemed like some random busy street, but there was a guy there next to this wicked looking beater of a bus, screaming out the name of the city we were headed to. We were presented with the option of sitting on the street and waiting for a nicer air con bus connection in two hours, but that got voted out pronto. It took us a full sixty seconds to collect our stuff and get on that baby. We were delighted both to be on the move, and even better, to have scored seats to sit in. Four hours later we arrived in beautiful Pondicherry.
And is it ever beautiful. Thank you Yann Martel for writing
The day begins on the Esplanade
Sunshine, crisp clear blue skies, and another day begins as ice cream vendors set up on the Gaubert Avenue Esplanade. Life of Pi and inspiring us to visit here. Words don't quite capture the magic of having the various sets for this favorite novel of mine unfold. I was as excited as a child, and remained so throughout the numerous discoveries of the Esplanade and Gaubert Avenue, the ice cream vendors, the impressive statue of Ghandi, Ecole Petit Seminaire, and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, to name just a few. I felt like I was living inside the novel. And did I mention the unexpected bonus that the hotel we randomly selected to stay at is one that was booked for a solid three months by the film crew when they were shooting the Life of Pi movie here? Yes, I was blissed out when I heard that. Then to witness the evident diversity of religion that lives here made it even more special. Seeing Hindu women in brilliant saris, or Muslim women in sparkling burkas whipping by on motorbikes or laughing while shopping at the crazy night market, and Muslim men offering me a place in front of them at the train station line up was indeed wonderful, and people everywhere once again returning smiles when given. Perhaps a
On the Esplanade
In the now oh-so-real world of the fictitious character Pi, this - or one of the many just like this, would have been the ice cream vendor he and his family bought their treats. as described in Life of Pi. little less reluctantly than in Sri Lanka, but there to be found nonetheless.
But alas the road beckons once again, and we are on a midnight train tonight to Trivandrum, on the other coast of India, to find a beach town and chill for a few days. Travelling by train in India is the primary mode of transport, but getting tickets is no easy feat. It requires planning in advance, and always making reservations, as walk up ticket purchases are rarely available. This means that in the next few days we will be committing to a solid itinerary for the rest of our time here, and booking those trains. The good news is that I was able to acquire a Cleartrip account, which again was no easy task as it involved the usual submission of documents and thorough security clearances, but I passed all tests and can now book all rail on line.
Getting a SIM card for my phone and iPad was an equally stellar accomplishment that occurred over a period of twenty four hours; a time period which allowed the powers that be once again to go through all their required security protocol. Once I was
Ghandi
Ghandi's statue is enormous, and sits right in the centre of Beach / Gaubert Avenue, otherwise known as The Esplanade. It is hard to find a moment when he is not surrounded by little children at his feet. I am sure he loves that. cleared, everything works as it is supposed to and I am now independently wired and online for the next month. Patience. Nothing happens quickly here, but eventually all will work out.
Neither of us wants to leave this lovely, energetic and most interesting town, and would prefer staying long enough to rent bicycles and continue our exploring - as this is a possible thing to do here, hard to believe as that may sound. Not this time, but hopefully another.
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marsha
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What an amazing place is this Sri Lanka. Beautiful place and people. Just the one tiny drawback: snakes. Not a deal-breaker, I guess, but just watch where you step, Okay? And no snow must be disappointing too. I shoveled twice today, such a
pleasure! Thinking of you, you amazing train warriors!