Adventures in Pondicherry

June 13, 2015 & June 14, 2015

Our beautiful hotel room

My goat friends

            Ever since we arrived in Trichy, Emily, Sarah, and I, had our eyes on Pondicherry. Last night we made it to Pondicherry safe and sound. I am very proud of us for getting all the way to Pondicherry. The bus ride might have been scary and the environment a little bit dangerous, but we made it. When we first arrived in Pondicherry at around 3:30am, we were little bit scared because we didn’t think our hotel was going to let us check in eight hours early and we would have to wait in the street until morning. There were people burning stuff out on the streets. Thankfully, the hotel manager allowed us to check in early and we didn’t have to spend the night with pyromaniacs. If you ever find yourself in Pondicherry, the Richard Hotel is an amazing place to stay. The staff are amazing people and the hotel itself is beautiful. Even after a tiring journey we were up by 9:30am and ready to explore even in the torturous hot sun. The beach was beautiful, but what I enjoyed watching, was the herd of goats walking along the beach. Why were there goats? Not sure, but did I want one? Yes!  

Mahatma Gandhi Statue

          We spent most of Saturday going store to store and spending our money on anything and everything that caught our eye. By Sunday, we had become more conscious shoppers, as we were running out of money. I have officially become a loyal customer for a lovely restaurant called Le Chateau, the food is delicious, the service is excellent, and they had great A/C which was a bonus. We spent Saturday night along the beach with hundreds of other tourist, it was quite chaotic with all the people there. At one point, this man came up to us with his child asking for a photo, not being able to say no, I ended up with a child on my lap for the picture. It was the last time we took a picture with a stranger.

Walking around Pondicherry

            Sunday was a little rough. We clocked out of our fabulous hotel at 12pm but our bus wasn’t schedule to leave until 11pm, as a result we had several hours in the unbearable heat. We started out strong in the heat. We went to the famous bakery, Baker Street, and walked around to the shops we hadn’t hit. Unintentionally, we found the park, where we took a nice stroll around, then we toured the museum. The museum wasn’t exactly like any museum you would find in the States, but it had a lot of interesting history. I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t dying from the heat, as the building didn’t have A/C. After a few hours in the heat, we started to fall apart so we took shade at Le Chateau, my favorite restaurant, which had A/C. We spent the rest of the evening lost in Pondicherry, but it was alright, we eventually found our way back and found some great shops along the way. We made it to 11pm without losing anything, or anyone, and found our bus pickup spot, which was a major accomplishment. Overall, our Pondicherry adventure was amazing, a little bit hectic and terrifying, but fun.

Day 14 & 15 spent in Pondicherry and I’m feeling reenergized.