slowly exploring

I have spent the last two days slowly exploring Pondicherry and, more generally, sitting on the shady roof terrace sleeping.

Roof Terrace

View from the roof garden

This guest house is lovely but the town is very busy, especially for someone scared of being knocked or jolted,i.e. me.
The beach is small and rocky but kept vehicle free in the evenings for everyone to promenade. everyone including beggars.
Last night I had my first really nasty encounter with them when, leaving an ice cream parlour with a butterscotch cone, I was literally attacked by two urchins who snatched the cone from my hands.
Luckily other customers saw, chased them away,took me back inside and gave me a fresh cone. India is such a country of contrasts always.
I' m enjoying the city sights, builders at work, the so called botanical gardens (public park to you and me), the gracious churches and the gaudy temples. Here churches come with a very evangelical side-Lourdes TV was recruiting !

Botannical Gardens

Want to be on TV?

Local Builders

I have, by default, found the way around the town by the communal / shared auto rickshaws, as asking for directions tends to mean being ushered into one.
Which would be much more fun, sharing this tiny space with everything and everyone, were it not for the fact that everyone is bigger than me, and have massive bags which swing heavily towards my aching hip.
I'd love to hire a bike but that's out of the question so have to be content to slowly walk around, gently taking in the ambience and waiting to recover my strength, and I think, most of all , my nerve as my confidence has taken a bashing as well as my body.

At the Beach at Sunset