That's it, I reached the famous city of Pondicherry, former French enclave in Tamil Nadu. Conquered in the early 18th century, we made it there for half a century. I arrived yesterday evening, and I admit I was scared at first: waste galore, cockroaches, rats and alcohol-soaked wreck
sleeping on sidewalks. Not really the "French Charm" described in the guide. Especially after 1 hour of searching I came across the most gloomy rooms since the beginning of my journey, a prison cell. With graffiti, cobwebs, not to mention the walls charred smell. In short, it's not terrible, but everything I had on hand. Undeterred, I explored the town today, I realized that I had spent the night in the western part, ie the Indian side. The east, the French side, is completely different, it is quite disturbing. It's clean, green, quiet. The street names are in French and several "restaurants" have taken up residence. So I searched for a new home in Pondicherry East, and after a few hours and many failures (too expensive or full), a sign saying "Rooms Available" caught my attention. Apart from this sign, no indication that this was a hotel. A little Indian girl saw me hesitate and told me to come in French! This is the villa Labourdonnais eponymous street. An Indian family living there six months a year, from the other half of the year in the 18th arrondissement. Their rooms are excellent, they are almost small studios with a kitchen and even a fridge! So I went to a room of darkness to a very small apartment in a quiet clear (see comparison of the two moods in the picture ...).
I spent my 3 days between the bus temples and cities. Thanjavur me that much, finally a temple substantially different! Built by the Chola dynasty around 1010, the Brihadishwara Temple or Big Temple, is a huge pyramidal tower ("Vimana") home to a sanctuary where Hindus come to pray. The center, a linga of 4 meters in height. Foreigners are admitted into the sanctuary for once, it's nice:) The pyramid in question is at the center of a large courtyard surrounded by a wall, with galleries all around. The galleries are home 
mini-linga, numbering 250, with various paintings of gods or sacred writings on the walls. A big bull Nandi is installed at the entrance of the complex, and full of mini Nandi sit on the outer wall. Earlier in the day I visited the lobby of the hearings of a former royal palace Nayak, dating from the 16th century, and some small adjacent museum. This hall had the grandeur to be used, with its painted ceilings and colorectal
NNES decorated, now it serves notice to the pigeons and weeds threaten to invade. Yesterday, visiting a German retiree of Chidambaram, Nataraja Temple called, more conventional: 4 gopurams colored complex with 4 doors, a large square in the center and a series of temples located around a room with 1000 columns or unfortunately the photos were prohibited. We still have to attend a small ceremony dedicated to Shiva. An hour later I was on the bus to Pondicherry. During my trip to Pondicherry East, I walked along the beach, on the "walk". I will return tomorrow, I will have more time now that I have found a stable home. I must also explore the surrounding beaches and the city-experience Auroville, about ten kilometers.
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