I stayed 4 nights in Pondycherry and all I did was walk and talk, walk and talk. Because there is a big French community, there are a lot of Western activities. Galleries, art exhibits, films at the Alliance Francais... lots of fun things to do and so I was never bored. After 2 days, all the solo-women had found each other and we were 5 all together, spending our days just walking, eating and talking.
On Sunday it was "Pongal" which is like a Tamil (or Indian) New Year. It's a time to celebrate the farmers and their harvests. In the rural areas they organise bullfights, cowriding and all sorts of other "fun" farmgames. Now, as you know I'm not that fond of cows and bulls, so I stayed in Pondycherry, together with about a million Indian visitors. It was amazing. I was there already 2 days and it was very relaxing to walk around. But the last day of Pongal everybody came to the city and it was mayhem! The mood was good and everything went by fine. My 'landlord' had told me to be careful because many Indians drink a lot and then they become a bit less nice, but I think it wasn't all that bad. People were really friendly and tried to engage us in their festivities.
I have to say that of all the states I visited so far Tamil Nadu has been the friendliest one. Even the people from the Guest houses and shops are so nice. Their mind is not only on the money. Maybe it's because they have more of it? Because this looks like a richer area. I don't know what it is, but I like it!!
I visited the Sri Aubindao Ashram. It's famous for the yoga and lots of tourists and residents come here because of it. Honestly, it was a bit weird. We went in for a visit that took us five minutes through the courtyard and then through the shop and that was it. All other areas are for residents only. But one thing that caught my attention was the notice board that had a note repeating the 'dress-code'. It started with: "Lately we have noticed that some people neglect their outfit, therefor we call upon you to..." followed by 10 or 12 Rules. Strict rules! Apart from that we also found out that many Guest houses in Pondycherry are managed by the Ashram, but to stay there they evaluate you. Lina stayed in one of those Guest houses and first they told her it was full, then they told her she could stay one night, then three and in the end I think she stayed 5 or 6 nights. But it's like they scan you first to see if you are an appropriate guest. It all feels a bit elite. Hey, they do what they want, but I think it's a complete turnoff! So no Sri Aubindao Ashram for me...
The last day I went to visit Auroville and the MantriMandir. Auroville is a... well... what is it? Is it a village, a city, a neighbourhood, a commune, a sekt... I have no Idea. Let's say it is a "place" right outside Pondycherry where people tried to create a new world. Today you have around 40 communities spread out in that 'place' and they all have their own activities. Some are agricultural entreprises, some manufacture clothes, others food... all of this is for sale in the Auroville shops. You can come and visit Auroville just for the day. It's nice to walk around here, very green and quiet. But you can also come and stay in Auroville. To do that you have to make an appointment for an interview and then they decide whether you can stay or not. Depending on what you would like to do; you stay in one of the communities and you engage yourself in their daily activities. For example, you can stay in one of the 'gardens' and help with the maintenance and the harvest. Some communities ask that you stay a minimum amount of time, going from 2 weeks up to 3 months. Also here, just like in the Ashram, it feels a bit elite. Some communities are quit expensive to stay, others are more for the budget traveller, but they all evaluate you. I guess I can understand if you have a sort of utopia, you want to protect it and you want active, engaged people. Not bums who are trying to find cheap accommodations (and there are plenty of those in India too, unfortunately). Somehow I can understand Auroville and if it wasn't for time, I would want to stay here. Maybe next time...
The main focus for visitors is the Matrimandir, which is the central point, the meditation centre. They refer to it as the Golden Golfball. And it really is... a golden golfball. An amazing building and I would have loved to see the inside. But because of Pongal it was closed and getting an appointment would have taken two more days... I didn't have two more days. I had other places to go to. It's a shame, but at least now I found a perfectly 'sane' reason to come back to India, no?! ;-)
Finally my last night in Pondycherry I had steak, which I was punished for immediately. On my way home there was a blackout (happens all the time) and the bridge I had to cross was dark and blocked by a huge waterbuffalo. Have you seen them? They are HUGE and black and they look like they can crush you in a second. Well, there it was... staring at me...refusing to move aside...maybe it smelled the meat I had? Thank God a little grandma passed. She was only 1m50, but she saved my ass from that beast. She formed a buffer and guided me across the bridge. Seriously, there I am; a strong young woman about 1m72 and I had to be rescued by the tinniest, oldest grandma in India. Haha!
Anyway, the cow didn't have to punish me because I never finished the steak. For a few weeks now I've been feeling a bit low on energy. And when I'm hungry, I eat, but after half a meal I'm full and then I feel sick. Two hours later my meal comes out the other way in a not so healthy consistancy. So sometimes I would skip a meal just because I didn't feel like feeling sick again. I talked about this with an English guy who lives in India (yes, 'shit' is a daily topic among travellers, especially here in India) and he told me to go visit a doctor. Even though I'm not really sick, I have no pain, no fever, no real traveller's diarrhea... but I feel low on energy, don't eat a lot and I'm losing weight (which I have absolutely no problem with because till now I gained a bit). I figured it was the travelling, but after I arrived in Mamallapuram I decided it would be better to go see a doctor and as it turns out it's bacteria. More than one and I could have been carrying them around for weeks now, there's no way of telling. It's not dangerous, but if untreated they absorb all the nutritions and that's when you start feeling tired and low on energy. So I'm on some kind of cure now that consists of 6 different pills, in total 33 pills over 5 days to kill those little bastards!! Yep, I'm killing that animalfarm!! Taking back my energy!
I don't consider myself sick, but yet if I would be sick; Mamallapuram is the place to be then. It's a tinny village just by the sea near Chennai. The tourist area consists of 3 roads and it's full of Guest houses, restaurants and shops. But like I said before, people are so nice here. I spend my days just talking to the guys from the coffee house, the boy who works at one of the shops, the internetman, other tourists... no hassle, no tension! It is the perfect place to rest and regain my energy! Today I spend the afternoon by the pool and that will be my program for the next three days! No more!
On Tuesday I take my last train in India, from Chennai back to Delhi. The end of this first chapter is near and it makes me feel a bit sad. Although I hated India at times, it's been my home these last three months and it's always difficult to leave a place you called 'home'. I know, I still have a 28 hour trainride ahead of me, which is kind of a farewell gift to myself. I want to experience India one more time and there is no better way to do that then torment yourself with a extra long trainride... haha! I'm sure I will enjoy every second of it! And it will bring me back to my lovely Delhi, the place where it all started. The place I arrived at February last year and that made me cry! Yep, I've grown fond of it... bizar, but then again this is 'INCREDIBLE INDIA'!! :-D
On Sunday it was "Pongal" which is like a Tamil (or Indian) New Year. It's a time to celebrate the farmers and their harvests. In the rural areas they organise bullfights, cowriding and all sorts of other "fun" farmgames. Now, as you know I'm not that fond of cows and bulls, so I stayed in Pondycherry, together with about a million Indian visitors. It was amazing. I was there already 2 days and it was very relaxing to walk around. But the last day of Pongal everybody came to the city and it was mayhem! The mood was good and everything went by fine. My 'landlord' had told me to be careful because many Indians drink a lot and then they become a bit less nice, but I think it wasn't all that bad. People were really friendly and tried to engage us in their festivities.
I have to say that of all the states I visited so far Tamil Nadu has been the friendliest one. Even the people from the Guest houses and shops are so nice. Their mind is not only on the money. Maybe it's because they have more of it? Because this looks like a richer area. I don't know what it is, but I like it!!
I visited the Sri Aubindao Ashram. It's famous for the yoga and lots of tourists and residents come here because of it. Honestly, it was a bit weird. We went in for a visit that took us five minutes through the courtyard and then through the shop and that was it. All other areas are for residents only. But one thing that caught my attention was the notice board that had a note repeating the 'dress-code'. It started with: "Lately we have noticed that some people neglect their outfit, therefor we call upon you to..." followed by 10 or 12 Rules. Strict rules! Apart from that we also found out that many Guest houses in Pondycherry are managed by the Ashram, but to stay there they evaluate you. Lina stayed in one of those Guest houses and first they told her it was full, then they told her she could stay one night, then three and in the end I think she stayed 5 or 6 nights. But it's like they scan you first to see if you are an appropriate guest. It all feels a bit elite. Hey, they do what they want, but I think it's a complete turnoff! So no Sri Aubindao Ashram for me...
The last day I went to visit Auroville and the MantriMandir. Auroville is a... well... what is it? Is it a village, a city, a neighbourhood, a commune, a sekt... I have no Idea. Let's say it is a "place" right outside Pondycherry where people tried to create a new world. Today you have around 40 communities spread out in that 'place' and they all have their own activities. Some are agricultural entreprises, some manufacture clothes, others food... all of this is for sale in the Auroville shops. You can come and visit Auroville just for the day. It's nice to walk around here, very green and quiet. But you can also come and stay in Auroville. To do that you have to make an appointment for an interview and then they decide whether you can stay or not. Depending on what you would like to do; you stay in one of the communities and you engage yourself in their daily activities. For example, you can stay in one of the 'gardens' and help with the maintenance and the harvest. Some communities ask that you stay a minimum amount of time, going from 2 weeks up to 3 months. Also here, just like in the Ashram, it feels a bit elite. Some communities are quit expensive to stay, others are more for the budget traveller, but they all evaluate you. I guess I can understand if you have a sort of utopia, you want to protect it and you want active, engaged people. Not bums who are trying to find cheap accommodations (and there are plenty of those in India too, unfortunately). Somehow I can understand Auroville and if it wasn't for time, I would want to stay here. Maybe next time...
The main focus for visitors is the Matrimandir, which is the central point, the meditation centre. They refer to it as the Golden Golfball. And it really is... a golden golfball. An amazing building and I would have loved to see the inside. But because of Pongal it was closed and getting an appointment would have taken two more days... I didn't have two more days. I had other places to go to. It's a shame, but at least now I found a perfectly 'sane' reason to come back to India, no?! ;-)
Finally my last night in Pondycherry I had steak, which I was punished for immediately. On my way home there was a blackout (happens all the time) and the bridge I had to cross was dark and blocked by a huge waterbuffalo. Have you seen them? They are HUGE and black and they look like they can crush you in a second. Well, there it was... staring at me...refusing to move aside...maybe it smelled the meat I had? Thank God a little grandma passed. She was only 1m50, but she saved my ass from that beast. She formed a buffer and guided me across the bridge. Seriously, there I am; a strong young woman about 1m72 and I had to be rescued by the tinniest, oldest grandma in India. Haha!
Anyway, the cow didn't have to punish me because I never finished the steak. For a few weeks now I've been feeling a bit low on energy. And when I'm hungry, I eat, but after half a meal I'm full and then I feel sick. Two hours later my meal comes out the other way in a not so healthy consistancy. So sometimes I would skip a meal just because I didn't feel like feeling sick again. I talked about this with an English guy who lives in India (yes, 'shit' is a daily topic among travellers, especially here in India) and he told me to go visit a doctor. Even though I'm not really sick, I have no pain, no fever, no real traveller's diarrhea... but I feel low on energy, don't eat a lot and I'm losing weight (which I have absolutely no problem with because till now I gained a bit). I figured it was the travelling, but after I arrived in Mamallapuram I decided it would be better to go see a doctor and as it turns out it's bacteria. More than one and I could have been carrying them around for weeks now, there's no way of telling. It's not dangerous, but if untreated they absorb all the nutritions and that's when you start feeling tired and low on energy. So I'm on some kind of cure now that consists of 6 different pills, in total 33 pills over 5 days to kill those little bastards!! Yep, I'm killing that animalfarm!! Taking back my energy!
I don't consider myself sick, but yet if I would be sick; Mamallapuram is the place to be then. It's a tinny village just by the sea near Chennai. The tourist area consists of 3 roads and it's full of Guest houses, restaurants and shops. But like I said before, people are so nice here. I spend my days just talking to the guys from the coffee house, the boy who works at one of the shops, the internetman, other tourists... no hassle, no tension! It is the perfect place to rest and regain my energy! Today I spend the afternoon by the pool and that will be my program for the next three days! No more!
On Tuesday I take my last train in India, from Chennai back to Delhi. The end of this first chapter is near and it makes me feel a bit sad. Although I hated India at times, it's been my home these last three months and it's always difficult to leave a place you called 'home'. I know, I still have a 28 hour trainride ahead of me, which is kind of a farewell gift to myself. I want to experience India one more time and there is no better way to do that then torment yourself with a extra long trainride... haha! I'm sure I will enjoy every second of it! And it will bring me back to my lovely Delhi, the place where it all started. The place I arrived at February last year and that made me cry! Yep, I've grown fond of it... bizar, but then again this is 'INCREDIBLE INDIA'!! :-D
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