A taste of France in Pondicherry

An early start to the weekend , Friday 6.15 am. I felt a bit uneasy leaving so early in the morning , as it was pitch dark when I left .Got to the station which was very busy already and luckily saw Marion walking towards me.

We had e tickets which I was also a bit worried about ! Lakshman had given me instructions as to what to do and where to go but I missed one key link whilst trying to find the other group of travellers which  set off a mini panic, but some really helpful Indians pointed us in the right direction to speak to a station master and the problem was resolved .Thankfully we had given ourselves 50mins for hitches and I am so glad we did.

The view for the next 5.5 hrs...well from the inside anyway.These trains do not allow you a good view to the outside which is a shame as there were lots of photo opportunities.

Our air conditioning !

This was the conductor with his list of every passenger on board and woe betide anyone who asked to change seat !! If you look closely you can see a white bit on the near side of his glasses. This is the 2.00 strength label on his  new glasses that he forgot to remove . It made us all smile .

All set for the journey.

And getting brave now , trying the train food . I wish you could have smelt  it it was lovely and although I didn't venture near the toilets there were no unpleasant smells at all! Only food smells . There were men wandering up and down with metal urns selling masala tea and coffee continuously . One of the " waiters " sounded just like a sheep bleating every time he passed by.

And ths laundry basket contains crisps and biscuits for sale.

Food is sold at every stop on every platform.

At one of the stops two transvestites came wandering along looking beautiful and very feminine. They were begging for money to get the "operation". Apparently the Indian Govt. Is allowing this openness What a strange country when in this area particularly shoulders have to be covered women's legs covered, women are lesser citizens , baby girls abandoned , yet it's acceptable to be a transvestite . I don't understand it .

So to Pondicherry

Looks lovely but don't be deceived ! Firstly that would have been our view had we been able to keep the room, but after huge confusion we plumped for something a little less salubrious.

We dropped the bags off and set about exploring the town, so here is a flavour of India / France.

Anyone who watched Rick Stein going round India will have seen this place. Has all the makings of a super resort but it's dirty and nobody swims here .

Gandhi monument at the sea front.

And to be fair the streets are definitely not as bad as Madurai. Note the spelling , it can be done either the way I have spelt it or this way.

One of the many French Restaurants.

And this street could be anywhere in Fance or Spain.

A little further along the road this is what we found.

This lovely peaceful Catholic Church .Our Church Of The Ladies Of Angels.

And this was a little further along the street , so French.

No idea who this chap was ! There are no signs and very little information is available to tourists but again so unlike the India I have seen so far.

We were lucky to see this elephant standing outside the temple .

Very trendy she was in her anklets too.

So that was Friday other than having dinner in "le terrase" a French restaurant round the corner . I had lovely local fish and chips  but no alcohol which was a great pity , can't wait for a cold glass of Sauvignon. There is also always that moment when you have ordered your meal , and particularly with fish that you pray it's good and no off !!!

It was lovely and caused no damage the next day I am delighted to say .

That was Friday , so I will put this up and get started on Saturdays events.