French influence

French influence
Pondicherry, India

Pondicherry, India


We started early with a bike ride around some of the temples in the area. The last one was called the shore temple, because of its location, surprise, surprise. I enjoyed being on a bike again… Even the dodgy bikes they lent us. Must do more when I get back home. Breakfast was at a German bakery we had spied on the way home from dinner last night. I had a set breakfast with toast (yummy loaf bread), poached eggs (sadly not runny), and “hash brown”, which was more of a potato bake with tomatoes, and a really delicious fruits salad with muesli, curd and honey. It was far too much, so I was stuffed, but so good to have homemade muesli and fresh fruit. Then started on another riveting bus trip to get to Pondicherry. On the way, we stopped in to Auroville, a strange town that was built in the late 60s to be a place without religion or politics. They have their own government, and accept all people from around the world. Their principles seem to be based in Hinduism or Buddhism, and after a very cult like introductory video, we walked to a viewing area to see a golden dome, the Matrimandir, the symbol of Auroville and the Divine, and the words of the Mother (not a religion at all, nuh uh). Still, it was a lovely place, and seemed very hippy, into organic, veganism etc. We had a lovely salad lunch there (oh my god, greens!) with juice. Back on the bus all the way to Pondicherry, the largest French colony in India. We did a quick stop at an ashram in the city, where the aforementioned Mother was interred. We then went for a walk along the beach area, which was more footpath, dirt and huge rocks than sand. My feet were sore and I got bored of walking, so I started to head back. On the way, I had a couple of guys want to take a picture with me. Sure, nothing really unusual – everyone in the group was treated like a celebrity at one point or another. At least it was better than the creepy ones who took your photo as you passed without asking. Guy 1 had a phot, guy 2 had a photo, then guy 1 came back, saying one more … And puckered up. No way! I found my roomie a little down the road, and the other group had turned around and caught us as we were walking towards the French restaurant we planned for tonight. It wasn’t open for a couple of hours so we had a drink at the bar across the road until it opened. The meal at the restaurant was worth the wait. I had steak with creamy mushroom sauce and potato mash. The meat was so tender and perfectly cooked, and the mash was creamy and smooth. I think it was better than any meal I’d had in Australia.