It is not all bad that we have these odd brains that tend to remember only the good things in our lives and, to a somewhat large extent, do not remember all of the bad things in life we experience.
NOT that birthing a child is a bad thing BUT, as I have written many times, IF a woman could really and truly and accurately remember each and every single part of the total experience there might be more one child families.
NOT that forgetting is a bad thing BUT IF I could remember, really and truly remember, how bad things have gotten in India on many occasions during my 25-years of traveling in India, I don't think I would ever go back.
So here we go loop de loop .. Here we go loop de li ..
What could possibly be nicer than the below scene. Patti and I were sitting in a cafe on the beach in Pondicherry (Puducherry).
We had just completed a nice long walk and decided to come into a cafe that I have been to several times previously on other trips.
As you all can see it was an absolutely picture-perfect day. How could it get better?
"Patti my Queen what do you say we have two nice cold tall icy beverages?"
We two enjoyed the above lemon ice tea and lemonade.
Then I said to Patti .. "I think that I will order a chilled assortment of fresh fruit."
Prior to the above idyllic scene my body was already fighting-off some sort of nasty stomach-issue. So I was not 100% healthy.
The chilled assortment of fresh fruit arrived in a tall glass. It was picture-perfect. I ate it. Patti only sampled one small piece of pineapple.
Within the hour I was feeling really ill. I lay down. By night fall I had gone out to cancel a trip we had booked and paid-in-full for a three day trip to Kodaikanal. Our trip was scheduled to depart at 11PM that evening. There was no way that I was going to be able to enjoy an all night bus trip with no restrooms aboard the bus.
En route home in the dark-of-night about 8PM after cancelling the trip I began to binge vomit out the door of a three-wheeled tempo.
Luckily I was sitting right next to the door where you see the lady in the photo below. What a mess. I felt terrible and I also felt so sorry for the other passengers.
The photo taken above was of an almost empty tempo. The one I was riding in was packed to its maximum capacity.
Twelve (12) adults can squeeze into a tempo to the point you can barely breathe.
When I walked into our hotel room Patti turned white just looking at me! I must have looked like death-warmed-over.
Yet here on May the 8th (with the exception of my resurrecting all of the above memories of being ill) I can only recall the many good memories of our visit to Pondi.
Daily Patti and I walked past the Government Palace.
The changing of the guard at sunset.
The French Section of Pondi just radiates its French influence.
Hello Baskin-Robbins old friend.
"Oh Captain! After the above photos do you have to show the next set of photos?"
"Not all of the streets in French Pondicherry are quiet and calm and idyllic as you have seen above!"
The next time YOU think that YOUR traffic is bad please come back here and dial-up these photos!
In all of India Nilgiris' 1905 ranks as one of the most spectacular supermarkets in the country.
Below are two photos of the upstairs section with sundries.
Restaurants
Because the two of us were sick much of the time restaurants and nice dining did not play a significant nor prominent part of our visit. Of course we had to eat so we did visit several close-by restaurants.
One restaurant we enjoyed was the French bakery Hot Breads.
Oh My the French love their bread!
Hot Breads have a limited but very pleasant selection of fixed entrees.
A very pleasant omelette.
A vegetable sandwich with a tall lemonade.
"Now that's a cake mate!" .. "Hi Crocodile Dundee!"
We also enjoyed Daily Bread.
Oh My the French and their bread!
Oh My the French and their pastries!
A hot tuna sandwich with cheese and a lot of garlic on a French roll.
Thai fruit and vegetable salad.
Amazing! Absolutely positively amazing. Next time YOU think that YOU have-it-bad just dial-up these two photos.
Promenade Beach has its name because the beach is on ..
The Pondicherry Promenade.
The Promenade is 1.5 Km in length. A very nice walk end-to-end.
Doesn't the time of day and the lighting make a difference in photos!
In the evening from 6PM to 9PM they close The Promenade to all vehicular traffic.
I like the warmth of the afternoon sun and the crisp mid-day sun.
Off The Promenade is the phenomenal Notre-Dame des Anges Church.
In the late afternoon sun.
I believe that this is Joan of Arc.
Two other prominent churches in the French section of Pondi are The Immaculate Conception Cathedral ..
And the stunningly colorful Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Bharati Park
This wonderful park defines Pondicherry for me in many respects.
Below are photos of the Aayi Mandipam one of the most prominent landmarks in all of Pondi.
The Aayi Mandipam is located in the center of Bharati Park and it is chalk-white beautiful.
All of you are seeing what you see. I cannot see the above photos of The Aayi Mandipam without seeing what you are about to see below.
On December 30th 2011 Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Thane one of the most dangerous cyclones in the history of India slammed into Pondi leaving the city in shambles.
I was in Arambol Beach at the time with plans to visit Pondi. After a lot of soul searching I finally took a deep breath and said to myself ..
"I am going to Pondi."
I did and it was the right decision. Below are several photos I snapped back in January of 2012.
You can see The Aayi Mandipam in the left background below.
A photo during our visit. All is clean and all is well.
A photo in January 2012. Poor Pondi was so severely injured.
Back a tad teary-eyed from the above memories of January 2012 to our recent visit.
The Aayi Mandipam in the background.
Patti what did we decide to call this? A snail?
I am going to call this a wrap for our visit to Pondicherry.
In my next Post we will go by taxi (one photo) into Chennai and by train North to Agra Cantt and New Delhi and back to Hong Kong.
Much Joy from Patti and Cap ..
NOT that birthing a child is a bad thing BUT, as I have written many times, IF a woman could really and truly and accurately remember each and every single part of the total experience there might be more one child families.
NOT that forgetting is a bad thing BUT IF I could remember, really and truly remember, how bad things have gotten in India on many occasions during my 25-years of traveling in India, I don't think I would ever go back.
So here we go loop de loop .. Here we go loop de li ..
What could possibly be nicer than the below scene. Patti and I were sitting in a cafe on the beach in Pondicherry (Puducherry).
We had just completed a nice long walk and decided to come into a cafe that I have been to several times previously on other trips.
"Patti my Queen what do you say we have two nice cold tall icy beverages?"
Then I said to Patti .. "I think that I will order a chilled assortment of fresh fruit."
Prior to the above idyllic scene my body was already fighting-off some sort of nasty stomach-issue. So I was not 100% healthy.
The chilled assortment of fresh fruit arrived in a tall glass. It was picture-perfect. I ate it. Patti only sampled one small piece of pineapple.
Within the hour I was feeling really ill. I lay down. By night fall I had gone out to cancel a trip we had booked and paid-in-full for a three day trip to Kodaikanal. Our trip was scheduled to depart at 11PM that evening. There was no way that I was going to be able to enjoy an all night bus trip with no restrooms aboard the bus.
En route home in the dark-of-night about 8PM after cancelling the trip I began to binge vomit out the door of a three-wheeled tempo.
Luckily I was sitting right next to the door where you see the lady in the photo below. What a mess. I felt terrible and I also felt so sorry for the other passengers.
The photo taken above was of an almost empty tempo. The one I was riding in was packed to its maximum capacity.
When I walked into our hotel room Patti turned white just looking at me! I must have looked like death-warmed-over.
Yet here on May the 8th (with the exception of my resurrecting all of the above memories of being ill) I can only recall the many good memories of our visit to Pondi.
Daily Patti and I walked past the Government Palace.
The French Section of Pondi just radiates its French influence.
"Oh Captain! After the above photos do you have to show the next set of photos?"
"Not all of the streets in French Pondicherry are quiet and calm and idyllic as you have seen above!"
In all of India Nilgiris' 1905 ranks as one of the most spectacular supermarkets in the country.
Restaurants
Because the two of us were sick much of the time restaurants and nice dining did not play a significant nor prominent part of our visit. Of course we had to eat so we did visit several close-by restaurants.
One restaurant we enjoyed was the French bakery Hot Breads.
We also enjoyed Daily Bread.
Amazing! Absolutely positively amazing. Next time YOU think that YOU have-it-bad just dial-up these two photos.
In my most recent Post just published May the 4th, 2016 I showed many photos of Pondicherry's Promenade Beach.
Promenade Beach has its name because the beach is on ..
The Pondicherry Promenade.
The Promenade is 1.5 Km in length. A very nice walk end-to-end.
Off The Promenade is the phenomenal Notre-Dame des Anges Church.
Looking at the Bay of Bengal from the church entrance.
Two other prominent churches in the French section of Pondi are The Immaculate Conception Cathedral ..
And the stunningly colorful Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Bharati Park
This wonderful park defines Pondicherry for me in many respects.
Below are photos of the Aayi Mandipam one of the most prominent landmarks in all of Pondi.
The Aayi Mandipam is located in the center of Bharati Park and it is chalk-white beautiful.
On December 30th 2011 Very Severe Cyclonic Storm Thane one of the most dangerous cyclones in the history of India slammed into Pondi leaving the city in shambles.
I was in Arambol Beach at the time with plans to visit Pondi. After a lot of soul searching I finally took a deep breath and said to myself ..
"I am going to Pondi."
I did and it was the right decision. Below are several photos I snapped back in January of 2012.
Back a tad teary-eyed from the above memories of January 2012 to our recent visit.
I am going to call this a wrap for our visit to Pondicherry.
In my next Post we will go by taxi (one photo) into Chennai and by train North to Agra Cantt and New Delhi and back to Hong Kong.
Much Joy from Patti and Cap ..
So nice to saunter around Pondi and the Promenade again with you! Those pictures of the damage done by the storm in 2011 are graphic. The frosty drinks at the ocean-front cafe were refreshing, but the fresh fruit you ate really did you in. I hope I never see you with the grey color your face was when you got back from cancelling our trip to Kodaikanal. And yes, the bread in Pondi was DELICIOUS, pastries too! And, And, the park is one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen. It's always such a blessing to travel with you! Love, Patti
ReplyDeleteI love Pondi.
ReplyDeleteI love Pondi.
ReplyDelete