Pondicherry

Three of us with Maygesh, our favorite Rickshaw driver!

Three kids at the Botanical garden - Kids LOVE to have their pictures taken!

The airline we traveled on

At Matrimandir, Auroville

Early Saturday (30th) morning I went on a mini vacation with Anna and Stacy. We went to Pondicherry and this other place called Mahabalipuram (I'll write about Mahabalipuram in my next blog.) We flew through SpiceJet (picture above), which is one of the popular airlines in India. It's comparable to SouthWest. At Pondicherry we stayed at a 3 star hotel called Annamalai. The luxury levels here compared to back home are definitely different so you have to be careful about what the stars really represent. I was pleased with the hotel, luckily it wasn't anything worth cringing about. Funny thing, the advertisement for the hotel says "3 star hotel with 4 star service." I would think again about the 4 star service. One thing you have to keep mind of in India is miscommunication. Often times we would call room service to have a few items sent up and only 1 would arrive. That or it was the wrong item altogether!

We went to eat at the restaurant downstairs and I ordered a Veggie Burger. To my surprise (and dismay) it was nothing like the veggie/garden burgers at home. In my pictures you'll see that it was curry potatoes in a bun! I didn't eat it, and just ate the bun and fries :)

We then took our first Rickshaw ride, which is basically like a scooter that has an awning and seats, a bit rustic and dangerous but fun because it felt like we were riding around on an actual scooter! Above is a picture with our favorite Rickshaw driver, Maygesh. He took us on a personal tour of the city; saw some really interesting things and shopped at a few bazaars. There is this super cute french area that we adored. You'll see pictures in my album. We also visited a botanical garden where we say MONKEYS, my favorite! It was really funny because they were chasing these kids around. Touring around the city was similar to Mexico and other parts of Asia. Lots of cute little stands with jewelry and fabrics.

That night we ate at this hotel called Promenade which was gorgeous, and then went to check out a Ghandi statue they brought out for Ghandi's birthday. It was fun to see everyone celebrating the holiday on the streets.

Sunday morning we had a free breakfast at our hotel, and called good ol' Mygesh again to show us around some more. He took us to a weird temple with statues that looked like clowns. In temples you have to remove your shoes but we decided not to go inside because outside the temple was dirt. He then took us to see this monument called Matrimandir that looks like Epcot Center. Here's a link with info on the monument: Click Here

After lunch ate at this beautiful French hotel called L'orient in the French quarter of Pondi, we headed to Mahabalipuram.

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