I've never had coconut juice right from the shell of the coconut. But Piya had bargained for two before I could blink and all of a sudden we were sipping the fruity water out of a straw, like those Tropicana commercials. The taste was much more bitter and salty than I remembered, and I thought it might just be the variety of coconut. However, I found out tonight that these ones are green because they are younger and not as ripe as the drak brown fuzzy variety, and that the ones in Pondy are likely saltier because they are grown in proximity to the ocean. Makes sense!

I also learned (surprise!) about the nutritional value of coconut over dinner. My collague told me that drinking coconut juice immediately after a meal actually speeds up your metabolism and drinking a glass is the equivalent to doing about 30-40 minutes of exercise. I don't know where he gets his optimism, but I want what he's taking.

There are little temples sprouting out from between buildings all over the city. When you walk inside the narrow, ornate gate and past all the bicycles, you'll see something that looks like this. The picture doesn't do the brightness of the colors justice, but we were quickly shooed away anyway, told the temple wasn't yet open for visitors for the day.

Sugar water for my fresh lime soda. You can order these like a margarita - sweet or salty. I opted for sweet and got this little vial of watery sweetness. Although I am getting used to the bitter lime jice and kind of enjoy it now. I also loved the reflection of the beautiful blue menu at twilight in the liquid.

We went out to the beach near the hotel at sunset and took a walk down along the shore line to check out the fishing boats. This local family wanted to take a few pictures with us, so Piya and I took turns posing with the crowd. After chatting with Raj and Dara back at the hotel, it occurred to me that this land on the south side of the hotel probably belongs to the fishing village families, and we were impressed to see how many languages the young girls knew. They seemed to know Tamil, Hindi, and English all!

Well the vacation has faded away now, Kailash miles behind me, and I miss it dearly. I am also homesick for Piya. It's a strange thing to be homesick for someone in a country where you're the foreigner, but it's also a rare thing to meet those people you somehow know are going to be great friends. When I met her, back in February, I remember leaving dinner with her and Nani thinking I couldn't believe how much we had in common and how welcoming they both were to a new face in town. And we had such fun gossiping and larking around Pondicherry, both needing a break from the frantic pace of Delhi and the busy work life. Piya the brave, queen of the lovestory, and believer in the goodness of all people - I'll miss you!

Here's a woman standing in a doorway in Pondicherry, watching life go by in the sweltering heat. I waved to see if I could take her picture, and she was quite happy to let me. Women look so tall and statuesque in these beautiful saris, even when standing within enormous doorways like this.

You see a lot of these cars in Pondicherry and Chennai, mainly as taxi cabs. In Delhi, they are prevalent too, but are mostly black with a yellow roof. They are called Ambassadors, and look very classic, I think, with cavernous patent leather interiors and tunnel-molded headlights. They seem right in place in the classic French quarter of Pondy.

Here's the guy whose job it is to guard the gates to the beach every night. This long path takes you from the village all the way down to the water, which you can see just ahead. The path is adorned with these flowering trees, which Raj keeps under tight surveillance. He charges 100 rupees if anyone picks the flowers off the trees, but they are allowed to take anything that has fallen. Sad to think we are leaving this paradise again after such a short stay.

Dara invited us over to his place for breakfast before we left for Chennai early Monday morning. It was such a treat to have a personal farewell like this, with fresh coffee and a croissant with marmalade no less. It just hit the spot. Dara has been such great company this weekend, and we've chatted with him often, since he's pretty much always working at the hotel.  

On the way to the office in Chennai, I'd pass along the edge of this main beach. The poorer communities live alongside the shoreline, possibly because it's not a very coveted tourist location due to the dirtiness of the beach. The weather, sky, and look of the water was beautiful, though, and a joy just to drive through - even though we were mainly doing it to avoid traffic!

I met Himanshu, a graphic designer, on the plane from Chennai back to Delhi who told me about the common tradition of having your fortune told by ladies who can tell you details down to the date you'll get married just by taking your name. If they detect a personal liability for you over the coming years, they'll supply you with a ring like this that serves as a talisman against bad luck, for example. He said he'd been skeptical but had since been won over by the surprising accuracy of those predictions that he'd heard. Here's a picture of his. I thought it was a nice story, and he was kind enough to humor me by posing his ring for the blog.

Easter has passed, which went completely unnoticed in India, but here in Germany at my layover pit stop, there was a beautiful bowl of dyed hard-boiled eggs in celebration at one of the food counters. After having been fed promptly every three hours on the plane, I wasn't too hungry for eggs, but I took a picture anyway, much to the alarm of other passengers who surely wondered at my fascination.

The Bloody Marys (with and without the liquor) got me through my trip home.  I'm sure I got triple my daily required sodium intake, but I think it's the best drink for flying - a little fruity, a little flighty. Perfect!

Touchdown! I'm back to Boston and thankfully there's no snow on the ground. Fingers crossed I've successfully missed the worst of the winter and now there's only blue skies to come. That said, I hear it's supposed to pour for Marathon Monday next week... But I can handle a little rain. Already, India is starting to feel like a happy dream.

One of my favorite phrases heard while we were asking directions in Pondicherry was, "Sorry, I'm a new face here." I loved this way of saying, "Sorry, can't help you, mate" because it summed up much of the way I felt while muddling through as a foreigner, observer, documenter, taste-tester, and ultimate afficionado of this place.

As promised, here's my final blog post for IndiaBlog 2007, courtesy of Ishita. Ishita says this picture brings out my true character (in other words, my most common pose in India). Thanks to everyone who stayed tuned over the last two months - it's been like writing letters home for me, and I've appreciated all your e-mails and shared stories more than you know. This is goodbye for this blog, but for future happenings and fascinations, check out www.pippalehar.com/photoblog. Namaste.