Pondicherry.

Some information from a website on Pondicherry:
"It covers a total land area of 492 Square Kilometers. The population of this town is 9,73,829. The main languages spoken here are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, English and French. There are four districts which comprise this territory namely Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe. The best season to visit Pondicherry is between July and February. This town is connected by airways, by railways, and by roadways. Pondicherry is a peaceful city. Pondicherry is referred by names such as ‘Quintessence of French Culture’, ‘India’s Little France’ and ‘The French Riviera of the East’.


This territory was under the French rule for nearly 281 years. Still it has the French flavor in it as one can see by the grand colonial mansions, beautiful boulevards, and placid promenades, spellings on sign boards and buildings, names of roads and public places.

Pondicherry is a well planned and well built town. This is a typical example as one can learn the way the French people gave importance to order and flair. They are known for their rich and quality living. The French too had an eye on the wealth and the fertility of India. Thus the French dream of Indian empire began and got over by establishing their supremacy in Pondicherry. The French constructed many buildings based on their craft and grand architecture. They developed an oval shaped, lovely ‘boulevard town’ – the French quarter. This French quarter was laid out in a geometric grid pattern with straight roads intersecting at right angles. A boulevard encircled the town and a grand canal, divided it into two sections- one the Tamil side called as Ville Noire or the black town and the other, a European side which was known as Ville Blanche or the white town. The impressive Ville Blanche or white town resembles a typical Medieval French township clotted with fine built monuments, government buildings, majestic mansions, elegant churches and lush green parks. "

Pondicherry is very much what we might consider a tourist town. There are some grand hotels and wonderful sights. If this is your first trip to India I think it will be a great place to start. The poverty in India is very evident. You see it everywhere you turn. It is hard to not think about it when we are there helping build homes for those who don't have them. Think about it--now. Think about what you are expecting the streets will look like. Think about how you are going to react. We are representing a wonderful organization in a foreign country and we are representing our country--Canada. The impression you want to leave is important.

Unfortunately this scene is pretty typical around India. Lots of garbage taking over a water system. The smell can take some getting used to.

Also a very typical site. The scared cow. Cows are allowed to walk around free and do whatever they want to do...life is good if you are a cow.

Busy streets day and night.

I just liked the sign. It is for a school zone.

Small market for fresh fruit and veggies.

We watched this gentleman make blinds. See how he weaves the rattan in and out of the string on rocks. It was interesting to watch.

Sari shopping.

One of the great restaurants that we ate at. Doesn't it look fantastic? As I said, I am hoping we are able to eat at a different restaurant each evening. It will be a great way to experience a number of different parts of town and some different styles of food.

Restaurant above is at this hotel.

Open air drive by fruit stand. Mmmm, fresh produce.

The boardwalk in Pondicherry. A favorite place to join for locals.

Welcome!

Catholic church. French history is still found on a number of corners of the city.

There is a lot of work put into decorating things and making them look nice. These little touches are so nice.

Shopping! I'll discuss shopping and bartering at some point. It is an art form and you want to be prepared.

This is the shop I had one of my outfits made at. They take the measurements right there and it was ready for pick up the next evening. Fabric bought at another store on the main street.

Another view of the Boardwalk.

Transportation.

In the French part of the city.

Temple.

Dirty feet after a day of walking around. And I actually had shoes on all day. Kinda scary.

Pineapple for sale. In a number of places you can buy precut pineapple for pennies. It is so delicious.

This friendly man called out to me to take his picture. I did and then he proceeded to...umm, show me his goods. Yeah. Safety first--always travel in pairs.

This is the Hotel Pondicherry where I stay in 2008. Very modern isn't it compared to the pictures of the build site.

Pondicherry. A busy, active, colourful city.

This is actually a bus station.

Street vendors. Everyone is friendly to tourists and so many people want you to take their picture.

I'm not sure what the correct spelling would be but tuk tuk is what we called them. Named after the noise they make. A great--cheap form of transportation. You need to know how to haggle on the price and you need to learn to walk away if they are going to charge too much for the drive. It's lots of fun to drive in one.

I apologize for any errors in the above text. One of the kittens I adopted last week is 'helping' to write the entry.