Since Mahabalipuram is a small town with only a small bus station, there aren’t direct buses going to my next city starting here. I had to walk out to the highway and flag down a bus. Unfortunately, it meant standing up for half of the 2 hour journey on the crowded bus.
Puducherry is a sort of special town, the location of a French colony. I spent some time here today. In the historical area it does seem different from the rest of India:quiet, more paved streets, less dust. I visited the Puducherry Museum and Sri Aurobindo Ashram. However, I found a place to stay near the bus station, away from the center of the city. There are always a lot of restaurants near the bus station, one of the reasons I do this.
Today there was a small traffic accident partially caused by me being a foreigner. Walking back to my room, one particularly hungry auto rickshaw driver kept asking for my business. I was walking and he was driving, looking and bothering me when he drove into someone walking a cart. Both of the bicycle wheels on the cart were bent and he was stuck in the middle of the street unable to move any farther. I think the auto rickshaw driver gave him $2 and drove off. Just more evidence these drivers make life horrible for everyone else.