1st - 3rd FEB 05

From Trishy we get a bus to Pondicherry the ex French enclave on the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. The bus driver was without a doubt the worlds most dangerous driver and by the time we reach our destination I am literally shaking with fear, but relieved to have made it alive.

Most of the guesthouses in pondichery are owned or run by an ashram and have a 10pm curfew. We all decide that a no smoking, no drinking, 10pm curfew guesthouse is not for us. This leaves us with a limited choice and we end up staying in a government run place which last saw fresh paint about 60 years ago. It really was the pits, but it was cheap and I was lucky enough to have Mickey Mouse bed sheets. Yipee!

We spend two days here. Pondicherry is a funny place. A canal runs the length of the town about three blocks back from the seafront. On the seafront side it is a nice French looking seaside town, Well kept french colonial houses, clean(ish) streets and pavements and generally quite pleasant. The minute you cross the canal the street scene changes to the more familiar Indian chaos. Street vendours, cows roaming the streets, piles of rubbish, huge sections of pavement missing etc.

We are deep into Tsunami hit area's now, but Pondicherry's sea defenses stood up well and the town appears unscathed. We are told that villages just a couple of kilometers away weren’t so lucky. There not much to see or do here but it is a nice relaxed place to spend a couple of days (if your the french side of the canal), with some good places to eat.