Pondy has a split personality: the one side (closest to the ocean) has a French heritage, with wide tree-lined streets (nice shade!), with little traffic, French street names (even using “rue” instead of road ), a central park with big trees for shade, and quite clean; the other side of the canal (away from the ocean) is typical Indian. … Continue reading Highlights of Pondy (Pondicherry, now Puducherry)
Map of my India trip note that some town names in my “flags” will have slightly different spelling (due to new and old names), but if it sounds close, it’s the same Here is the list of places I visited (with state name for the first time entering a state): Chennai, Tamil Nadu Mamallapuram Pondy … Continue reading Map of India and my stops
Kochi (Cochin) consists of a mainland part (Ernakulam), a peninsula (Fort Kochi (Fort Cochin)) and some islands (Vypeen and others). There are inexpensive ferries running between them, e.g. Rs2.50/$0.07 between Ernakulam and Fort Kochi. Fort Kochi (Fort Cochin) is where most tourists head to (because mainland Ernakulam is a big dirty busy uninteresting Indian town, … Continue reading Highlights of Kochi (Cochin)
After 17 days in (south) India, here is what I’ve discovered/experienced regarding food: Note that I haven’t gotten sick yet (knock on wood) and the food has been very tasty and cheap. Only 7 of my meals have been non-vegetarian (5 of them were fresh seafood in Mamallapuram and Varkala) and I can’t say that i miss the … Continue reading Tips/thoughts/feelings: Food
Madurai, about 3 hours by train south of Trichy, has 2 main sights: the big Sri Meenakshi Temple, and the Gandhi Memorial Museum. And lots of tailor shops. The Sri Meenakshi Temple (Rs50/$1.25, + Rs50/$1.25 for camera) was built in 1506 in Dravidian architecture. The outer wall surrounds a 6ha/15acre compound. There are 12 gopurams … Continue reading Highlights of Madurai