Pondi on the 10th of January 2011
I am writing in the comfort of Hotel de l'Orient
We reached Pondicherry yesterday by taxi and the sea was never very far. It was a 2 hours ride across mangroves, salt extracting fields, traditional rice & wheat crops, and prawn farms. The cows and buffalos had their horns painted as (perhaps) part of the end of the harvest celebration (mid-January), and there were nice sun patterns drawn with chalks in front of most doorways everywhere.
As we arrived in Pondicherry, we were happy to find the classy Hotel de l'Orient. The rooms have been tastefully decorated with 18th century furniture. It was 'old world' but not desuet, the place was kept alive with in door concerts, and we just happen to check in while a movie was being shot outside the Hotel. Special effects consisted of 'creating the rain', so all the kids were getting excited.
Shortly after that, we went for a stroll along the beach, had a look at the Gandhi memorial, then we reached the more Indian Northern part of town where we soaked in the bustling atmosphere. Paul tried to find a shirt, but no shirt on display were truly casual.
The atmosphere in the French Quarters is very odd. The avenues are paved and beautiful poinciana trees seem well established in large avenues comprising strong stone houses of French architecture, but all seem very old world, abandoned, no one in the streets. It does not only seem rundown, some places are deserted. Remarkably, a few places seem done up and trendy in the middle of what looks like a war zone. One café seem to summarize it all with its sign for FRENCH BREAK FAST ...
The following day, we took an autorickshaw to the city of Auroville
Auroville
I was quite puzzled by such an ambitious human project. We found there a very well managed venture hosting 2000 aurovilliens, comprising 43 nationalities, with 50% Indians. The project is spiritual (around the founding Mother doctrine) but not religious - I am not sure I get the subtleties.
There are factories around the compound to make the place sustainable, tourist shops to sell the goods produced there (great quality), bikes for hire to visit the compound (although none was left when we visited) and a big emphasis is placed on environmental solutions. My impression was that the mission statement sounded great ('no nationality boundaries' etc.) but the language was 'vague'. I don't like that so much, because it is easy to make general vague statements that mean something and its opposite at the same time. I was also under the impression the project was very intellectual. I found odd that despite such a noble project statement, as a visitor, you were very much 'snobbed upon', this was at odds with the words, je suis restée sur ma faim.
In the evening, we went to Satsanga (Labourdonnais St) in the French quarters to eat a sumptuous meal. We had Indian flavoured mushrooms for appetisers, Aubergine curry, Butter chicken, and Chocolate Mousse, a blend of French and Indian flavours.
11th of January
This morning we visited the museum of Pondicherry, in a colonial house, hosting furniture from the French Epoch XXVII and XIX s, and even a portrait of Marianne standing. It was easy to visit with children, all the more it is located next to the Government Place, city council parkland with large established trees, a gathering of Hindu and Muslim families alike. The beautiful surroundings seem to make everyone at peace, a very pleasant feel.
Then, we consulted Le Guide du Routard (we prefer this travel guide over the Lonely Planet when it comes to food recommendation) and we found L’Aristo, on a roof top garden, where we had chicken tikkas and curd – yum!
In the afternoon, we visited a paper factory in North Pondi. Some women showed us how to shred cotton, as a basis for paper making. Then, we saw the oil printing process, and we bought a handmade paper blue photo album with a blue elephant where we’ll put our photos of the trip. The kids bought souvenirs for their friends. I am being cautious because I try to be strict about luggage volume and weight. For now, we each have 10kg, except for Oscar who carries 5kg.
That last evening in Pondi (3rd), we had a nice meal at Hotel d’Orient and Paul ordered as a surprise a nice bottle of white wine made in Khatarnaka (North of Bangalore). It was quite pricy (1000 Inr) but very pleasant in such magic setting. The children had a 'to die for desert' for chocolate lovers called Trilogy (chocolate mousse, chocolate tart, chocolate ice cream).
Tonight, we will be sleeping in the train from Villupuram to Madurai, and I am not sure I will manage to get internet connection to write and share this blog for a while after that because the travelling will be fast paced and less luxurious from now on, so I am looking forward to a good night sleep tonight.
I also cross my fingers, nobody is sick as this is crucial right now.
