Auchil woke me up this morning because I did hear the alarm clock right next to my ear but she did and I was glad she did. I really would have slept through it. I was also glad to be smart enough to go to sleep in what I would wear today because I could just roll out of bed and be all dressed too. She hugged me and had me write to keep up he inspirations and support.
The pre-arranged rickshaw insisted the rate for the ride was at 30rupees and not 20rupees. Or it was 20ruppees like it was agreed upon but he decided to up it. Well, it was 5am in the morning and I am glad to not have to be out in the street in the dark to flag my own rickshaw and risk getting myself into danger and also the risk of no ride to the airport that early in the morning. So for the safety and convenience I paid 150rupees total for the entire 17 minute ride to the airport.
At the airport I had to drink my 1L of water because it was not allowed on the plane dur to security reasons. So I drank the whole thing and I had plenty of time to pee it out before the boarding since I was so early. I thought with the 150rupees the driver was charging me and with him telling me it was far justifying why he was charging me so much, I ended up at the airport way early than I needed to.
I got onto Spice Jet which was a nice airline. I had the whole row to myself. I sat did my meditation and recitation with ear plugs on. But I was too tired and I fell asleep and stretched out on the seats. And because I drank too much water, I had to get up to pee very frequently. Good thing I wasn't far from the toilet. I got to see the sun rise over the puffy clouds, it was beautiful, fire red and orange.
I decided to lean over to a neighbor and ask how to get to Pondicherry. Another man and his wife over heard this decided to take me under their arms and hand hold me through the entire aftermath of locating ride to Pondy. The wife was so sweet. She like a good mother, told me all the no's and was ready to send me off on my own. I must have looked really lost and fragile because she decided to change her mind and ended up arranging everything for me. She flagged a rickshaw for me and told the driver to make sure to do the following: locate a seat on the right bus for me. I am to be on the right bus and I am to have a seat. Until then I cannot pay him the beautiful sum of 120 rupees, a tourist price.
I got onto a bus and sat by the window in the last row by the door. In India all window and doors are open at all times. It was so hot that I didn't mind. I put a shaw over my head and slept the whole time. It costed me 52 rupees for the entire 4 hour ride to Pondy. While on the bus I saw the trains go by and there were carts with no seats and it was full of people hanging out the door. Wow! Glad I wasn't on that train.
I made it to Pondicherry bus station. From here I took a rickshaw for 20 rupees to drop me off at Park Guest House by the beach. IT was only 2 minutes away. But I didn't know that ahead of time. Well the Park Guest House was nice. There was a yoga retreat this weekend and the place was full. The reception didn't want to let me have a room and then decided he would only if I promise to pack out of there in the morning because they are full and most of the people for the retreat is already in town. I got the room for 600rupees. The room was a nice and it had a queen size bed and AC. Oh the AC! Love the AC. It is so hot and humid here. I am foot steps from the beach. The place is really clean here. Because I was so tired I took a two hour nap in the AC. Fatigue and hunger, hummmm...... fatigue wins and so I slept first and ate later. I didn't have my first meal for the day until dinner time.
I walked around to hunt for other living options. I got to know the French quarters very well. Around 4:30pm I came across an internet cafe and checked my mail and got a response from Yoomi. I borrowed Shakti's phone to call, he was a passerby. He also ended up giving me a ride all over town. That was very risky of me to just hop on. He ended up buying me juice and samosa. I didn't realize what I had gotten myself into, I was like on a mini date and I had no idea. He did however drop me off like he promised at Yoomi's and that was good. It really wasn't far from my place but I didn't have a map and didn't speak the language.
