Sunrise on the Bay of Bengal
The trip to Puducherry started with a perfect example of what “Indian time” is: the bus was scheduled to leave at 6:30 and the last people boarded at 6:40. The bus ride surpassed my expectation, and soon enough we were dropped off on the outskirts of Puducherry at 3:30 in the morning. After an hour and a half of walking we found the beach, and saw the sunrise on the Bay of Bengal. The fisherman in the bay were the most impressive – fishing from small flatboats and jumping in the water to grab every net near the shore. From then we went to daily bread and escaped the heat for at least a little while. After that, I found the freedom every teenage boy wants, which has two wheels and goes as fast as fifth gear. We rented motorcycles and driving in the middle of an Indian city could not have been more exhilarating. The biggest differences driving here is that most people use the left lane, but still, it is only the suggested side of the road. It wasn’t uncommon to see people riding the wrong side of the street. The group then went to the Chunambar beach, where as Americans we were able to swim in the ocean compared to the locals who were not allowed to by local authorities. The water was much warmer than anywhere in the Pacific, and we spent a good half of the day. After having dinner at La Terrasse, we took a drive along the coast on the East Coast Road. Getting out the city and getting to shift through the gears could have been my favorite part of the trip, right up until our next adventure on the bike. Sunday morning I made it to mass at The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Although the mass was in Tamil, I did understand one word as the priest broke the bread. The church was beyond beautiful and was such a nice touch to an already stunning city. From then we ate at a restaurant which had the second best coffee in town – the best is made in each family’s home. After bartering with some very stingy rickshaw drivers, we made it to Auroville. The town “belongs to humanity,” but seems more like a cult. The concept of finding one’s inner self is intriguing, just not worshipping the one they call “mother”. Leaving the small township, Kripa and I stopped to grab pizza for the group. Delivering pizza to the beach is not ideally done on two wheels, or through the rain, or while also carrying backpacks, or on a busy highway in India…. You get the point. We arrived at the beach just in time for the police to tell us the ocean view would be closed soon. So we called it a day, returned the bikes, and headed out for dinner. Making it to the bus on time, we go on and only had to deal with two snoring men, and one vomiting women. The bus dropped us off at 7:30 this morning and we were at the crèches with the kids by 9:30. Getting to see the rest of India is very rewarding since Kodaikanal is starting to feel very small. I ended the first night of the last week of the first session by paying volleyball with some of the local guys at the observatory and found I am not as good at volleyball as I had thought. I hope you had a great weekend. Goodnight from Kodaikanal.