Hotel de Pondicherry

... hostel was an adventure, it took over an hour for a 10km journey. The driver was a lunatic and didn't even know where it was going.<br><br>It was after 6am now so we made straight for the beach and sat taking the place in for a while. There was a gang of fellows playing cricket and they were such a laugh. We had our first cup of tea(twas lovely) and headed for the only other recommended sight in the city; Fort St. George. It was such a let down, a load of government offices ...

... him i want to be alone, leave me alone, no i dont want to do anything, no, no, no... As he was leaving finally, i was rewarded as i met an Indian guy, Vikas, randomly, while he was riding his bike, and he will be my first friend on this trip. We hung oot for a good few days, eating, drinking beer, and he helped me alot with the simple things like bus info, shops, just getting around...even though he was a tourist himself, from the west coast of Goa. Vikas ...

... I looked for Madhan and asked him to join me for lunch (he was watching movies in the car). As we sat in a little restaurant built for tourists like us and serving food grown by the Auroville citizens, I could not help but notice Madhan&#8217;s table manners. I was simply shocked. He held his fork and knife as any person born and raised in France would and with his back as straight as a ruler. I had to ask him where that habit came from. Indians don&#8217;t even eat with a fork ...

... while visiting the mausoleum of Tipu Sultan, we took off our shoes. I thought I was going to cry because of how hot the ground was. I was half walking half running on my tippy toes because it was so hot. Some carpets had been placed to allow to rest our feet but when we had to walk down the black stone alleys I thought I was walking on fire. We did not stay that long at the temple because the heat was unbearable for both Madhan and me. After two hours of driving ...

... gather and meditate. I sat in silence for about twenty minutes before a loud, rude, disrespectful, Yankee tour group arrived and ruined the serenity. Nhey really had no idea where they were. Many foreigners are students here and the main spiritual teachings are a synthesis of yoga and modern science. I cruised around the backstreets on a heritage walk in and around the French Quarter but ended up completely lost on my way to the seashore. This proved to be a good thing ...

... on a Tuesday wears his Sunday best<br>How absurd<br>How very queer<br>He sips champagne<br>and never buys beer!<br><br>It is free to stay in Sadhana Forest and you just pay 150rupees per day for delicious, all you can eat vegan food three times a day. It's a deal.<br><br>Sadhana Forest Contact details: <br><br>Yorit and Aviram Rozin<br>Sadhana Forest <br>Auroville 605101 India <br><br>Email: sadhanaforest@auroville.org.in <br>Tel: 0091 413 267 7682/3 <br>or just rock up.

... always a little warm but down below where the mud is, it's super cold. This is great on hot days (which is pretty much every day which is why we get up so early to do work shifts) and most volunteers take a dip after lunch. The entire "pool" is muddy and people like to cover their bodies with the mud because "it's good for the skin." Some people even take a dip at night during the campfire since they are usually right next to each other. One day a bunch of went ...

... could compare the success of their meditations - lightness of the body, height of levitation perhaps?) Anyway, back to Auroville, here goes: Next door to Pondicherry, Auroville is an international community which eschews all religions and encourages unity of all peoples and races. There are 2 spiritual leaders - Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. The former was a freedom fighter against the ...