 SwastikasIn India, the swastika is a symbol with long traditions that people are unwilling to stop using just because of the second world war. It's everywhere here and I'm getting used to seeing it. But then I had a look at the padlock on my hotel door!
This is a little over the top, isn't it?  Geckos, mozzies, bacteriaLittle geckos are everywhere, which is a good thing, as they eat insects. I haven't seen one cockroach yet (knock on wood), but a few tiny ants and spiders, 5 billion flies and some houndred mosquitoes. At night there are bats everywhere outside as well as stray dogs. I saw a couple of cats, too, but they seem to be rare (or only out at night and hiding very well). My 40-something mosquito bites are starting to vanish now and I haven't gotten any new ones, so I must be doing something right. My stomach was a little upset at one time, but I managed to get well again using carbon tablets (thank you, Eva!), salty crackers and the lactose pills from home. I guess it is just the new spices and different bacteria cultures I need a little time to get used to. Food in IndiaThe food is delicious (I always make sure to order the less spicy options though). There is plenty of vegetarian restaurants to choose from, and I mostly eat vegetarian or fish here because it's cheaper and doesn't contain the nameless chicken parts and bones ... I'm a little fussy about that, but since the veg food here is so good, I'm not missing meat, really. Many Indians are vegetarians because of their religion (Hinduism) or because they cannot afford meat. If all 1,1 billion Indians ate meat everyday, I guess there would be a problem with the supply also.  Gadget use so farPillow, silk lining, fake candle, earplugs, Lonely Planet guides, towel, laundry accessories, daypack, laptop and USB flash memory have been very useful so far. Unfortunately, I realise I have brought too much clothing and hope I can store some at Ben's place in Singapore and ship it home with my man when we meet up in December. The sarees I bought are also heavy, and I don't want to risk them getting lost in the mail. PondicherryI am now in Pondicherry and have an excellent and very cheap room (less than 6,5 euros for two nights) with private bathroom, a desk and, most important: a lovely western toilet! I have been avoiding the squat toilet in the hotels so far. Some say they are more hygienic because you don't touch the seat, but I prefer my unhygienic western toilet any time of the day. There is also a very cool mosquito net, but unfortunately it was too hot to use it. The fastening sticks were excellent for hanging my clothes line on, though, and everything dried very quickly. When I get back to Norway, I will definitely not take the washing machine for granted anymore!  Meeting other travelersIt's even easier than I thought to meet other travelers here. At the bus station I just started talking to a group of travelers, and it turned out we were all going to Mamallapuram. So we exchanged a few tips and went to check out the shore temple, which was supposedly "spectacularily lit up at night" according to Lonely Planet, which was not the case. So we went back to the hotel, talking about how we didn't want to touch any animals in India because of the rabies risk, but as we turned into our street we ran into some adorable puppies and just couldn't help ourselves ... no foaming at the mouth yet, so we should be OK. I also traveled for a few days with Eva from Holland, and we plan to meet up again in Ooty, a hill station with a Unesco listed miniature train, later on our trip. I'm really excited about the train and the cool temperatures at the hill station. Name changes in IndiaThere has been a number of name changes of cities and streets everywhere in India. Madras became Chennai, Pondicherry is now Puducherry, Bangalore is Bengaluru and so on. It is a little confusing, but Lonely Planet is very useful here. Regarding the street names, most streets don't have a sign anyway, so it's usually more a problem figuring out where you are than what the street's name is.
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