Greetings from Pondicherry!!

Hi everyone!  Sorry it's been so long since I have updated my blog-- seems that Wi-Fi is not readily available, nor internet for that matter (hello...isn't india the second largest tech country after the USA).

OK, so where do I begin????  

Let's start with my remaining days in Delhi.....

-went to a fun party with Tarunn and Sanjanay until 4am (and they served a full dinner at 2am)

-went to the Taj Mahal which was beyond amazing!!!  I can see why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world!

-got scammed on the street by a shoe polish man that threw a pile of shit on my brand new sneakers (longer story, but will leave it at that)

Chennai:

-stayed with the founder and his family of the organization that I am volunteering with.  Even though they were so warm and gracious, they live very sparsely and it was a bit challenging for me with the sleeping arrangements.  And the food...let's just say that they made me chicken masala for breakfast the first morning.  So I don't want to hear from anyone about my "limited eating" anymore:-)

Which brings us up to date......

Pondicherry:

-Well that started off a bit bumpy.  When I arrived to the guest house I had booked online---I hated it!!!  Thank goodness Raghu and my driver were with me because we then proceeded to go to 4 or 5 other places and I had to look at everyroom (yes, you all can imagine I'm sure).  I am sure they thought I was crazy because all of the places to them probably seemed great...but to me they were all just to budget looking.  So I was beginning to have what I think might have been my first anxiety attack--and they felt so bad and were so sweet.  At that point I was willing to pay top dollar at the 5 star hotel---but since it's peak season and the weekend everything was completely booked!!!  We finally found a very cute heritage hotel--that is a bit dingy, but was the best from what was available.  Again, I found myself in need of some sort of comfort and noticed there was a very rustic"spa" directly next to the hotel.  They were able to take me straight away for an ayurvedic massage that without a doubt was the most unhygenic massage I ever had and think it made me even more stressed (well, it was only $5 for an hour).  However, they did offer private yoga classes for $4 per hour and I signed up for an 8am class.

Gratefully, I woke up feeling much better, and Yoga was a great way to start the day!!

I explored the city all day and FINALLY hit the shops!!!  Truly, there is nothing like a bit of shopping to get the spirit rolling again:-)

And after a full day of shopping I stumbled across a nice beauty salon and ended up having my roots done, and have an appt for a mani-pedi tomorrow (ok...I need to allow myself to have some luxury in my life)!!

I have taken lots of pictures but can't figure out how to add them to the blog...

More tomorrow!

Namaste,

Dayna