I've had enough of Pondy

There was something about Pondy that made me uneasy. Its hard to say what since all I did was swim in the ocean, read on the beach, bicycle through Auroville, and enjoy great food. Sounds great, right? Yet, despite how peaceful and relaxing it was to be there I was really ready to leave. Maybe it was being in the presence of all of the Aurovillians--Auroville's long-term residents. Founded 40 years ago, Auroville is a community of 4,000 vegan, meditation and yoga loving, new-agers. While I was enjoying a swim in the waves at sunrise, the majority of the early risers were doing sun salutations on the sand. Auroville and its residents were just a little too granola for me. So this morning, I jumped (literally) onto a massively overcrowded bus headed south for Tanjore. Not really sure what to expect in Tanjore, I was just happy to get out of Pondy, Auroville, and back into the real India.