"Pondy" (as the locals refer to Pondicherry), is lovely! First introduced to us through the book and movie, "Life of Pi", we are here because we enjoyed the scenes of the city from the movie, and it is also a natural break in the journey through southern Tamil Nadu.

Pondicherry has over a million people living in it, but size wise compared to Chennai, it may as well be the town of Caledon. Leisurely cyclists, big leafy trees, a big promenade to stroll on fronting the sea, and much less honking of horns. We joined another walking tour through "Storytrails" - the same company we went through in Chennai - and learned about Pondicherry's long history from the Romans through to the French who took until the 1970s to actually leave the area. The French and British influence is obvious through the pastel painted colonial architecture and wrought iron balconies, and some of the streets actually reminded us a bit of Bermuda - our favourite vacation spot!

A funny side story is that the man working at the front desk at our hotel used to work for Bell Canada - complaints about phone and internet were routed to him in Chennai where he worked. He handled Ontario and Quebec, so was familiar with Brampton! (We apologized on behalf of all the irate customers he inevitably had to serve.)