Friday, November 24, 2006

Pondicherry, the "Riviera of the East"

Thursday, November 23, 2006 Au revoir to Romi and Malin: We have just spent a fantastic but bittersweet weekend in Pondicherry, the "Riviera of the East", a small district which used to be French, and now, still, amongst the deafening smell of curry leaves, coconut oil and latrines, pervades a faint Gallic whiff. We stayed in an old colonial guest house which the owner, Patricia, had decorated stunningly with carved wooden furniture, colourful drapes, cushions and light fittings and brightly painted walls....
Pondicherry was fantastic. We knew we were going to have a good time when, going out to dinner on the evening of our arrival, we saw on the menu "Herb Chicken – chicken cooked in continental herbs, vegetables and French fries – Enjoy with French loaf"...We then went totally bonkers and bought huge amounts of "French" cheese (all made in the nearby commune of Auroville, started by Sri Aurobinda a Guru whose ashram is in Pondy), crackers (not the Diwali type) and expensive wine (not the Indian type)...# posted by Arabella @ 12:42 PM

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