french fry

It's really hot in Pondicherry. It's funny to me how much a little French makes a huge difference to me in whether or not I like something. There's a completely different vibe in Pondicherry from anywhere else in India, obviously because it was a French autonomous region until the 1960's, and I really enjoyed the mix of South Indian 'laziness' with the French laissez-faire. Actually, the South Indians of Tamil Nadu aren't so much lazy as they respect the heat. They take breaks during the day from around 12 until 4, and they get done what they can in the cooler times. Pondicherry reminds me of New Orleans. I loved riding my rented bike around the colonial streets and snapping up quirky blends of modern architecture mixed with the Indian exhuberance for color and pattern and intermittantly tempered (only slightly) by Catholic reserve.