We had an opportunity to take a trip down to Pondy with a woman who works at the Croc Bank on Thursday. In the morning we jumped aboard an auto that took us to Mamallapuram and then took a bus the rest of the way. It was about a 2 hour journey in the rattliest of buses with all windows and doors wide open (air conditioning) and standing jam-packed for a fair bit of it too. A true Indian experience…
Our friend got off the bus a few stops before us and we carried on into town. From the bus station we got an auto to the French Quarter and immediately sought out a cafe that had great reviews on Tripadvisor. The reviews were bang on - the food was great, the service great and the milkshakes divine!
Once we had eaten enough to sink a small ship, we took a wander around a few streets and then along the beach. It was so hot, we didn't feel up to going far, but it was so nice being out exploring a bit of wider India.
It's much slower and friendlier then the Chennai areas I have been into. Less traffic - in fact virtually none in most streets! Bliss! But it's ok as the bus driver on the way home made sure he made up for the quiet of Pondicherry by blurping his extremely loud horn every 2 minutes for the first hour of the journey… And the horn was in the engine which just happened to be next to my seat - 2nd row from the front. My head was ready to explode!
We were out and about for around 3.5 hours then went to meet our friend at the bus station to get home again. It was exhausting, but incredibly exciting to get out and do something other then taxi's to the Dr and return.
Our friend got off the bus a few stops before us and we carried on into town. From the bus station we got an auto to the French Quarter and immediately sought out a cafe that had great reviews on Tripadvisor. The reviews were bang on - the food was great, the service great and the milkshakes divine!
Once we had eaten enough to sink a small ship, we took a wander around a few streets and then along the beach. It was so hot, we didn't feel up to going far, but it was so nice being out exploring a bit of wider India.
It's much slower and friendlier then the Chennai areas I have been into. Less traffic - in fact virtually none in most streets! Bliss! But it's ok as the bus driver on the way home made sure he made up for the quiet of Pondicherry by blurping his extremely loud horn every 2 minutes for the first hour of the journey… And the horn was in the engine which just happened to be next to my seat - 2nd row from the front. My head was ready to explode!
We were out and about for around 3.5 hours then went to meet our friend at the bus station to get home again. It was exhausting, but incredibly exciting to get out and do something other then taxi's to the Dr and return.
