Utopia has a parking lot?

None of us had the right expectations of Auroville. When our cab dropped us off from French-quaint Pondicherry, we all three sat still saying "No, we want you to take us to AUROVILLE." He smiled, commented on our first time and said "This IS Auroville." We had just arrived via a strip of ugly store fronts, trash piles and standard guesthouses, something we were used to seeing all over India. Auroville was supposed to be special. Technically speaking, we were in Auroville, but only on the outskirts. We later relocated to an Auroville-community guesthouse, much closer to the center of the community. It was called "Aspiration" and we had a small hut with palm-frond roofing. Our rent included three vegetarian meals a day and a contribution to the Auroville community, which enabled us access to certain places like the solar kitchen (with yummy steam-heated food!). Our bathroom always provided us a wide range of wildlife, including big spiders, cockroaches, geckos, snails, slugs and a mouse that ate a hole in my bag in an honest search for peanuts. During an intense bout of diarrhea, these creatures became my friends and welcome distractions.

Auroville is an intentional and international community, comprised of residents from over 30 countries. It consists of many rad sub-communities focused on art, health/wellness, sustainable living, spiritual seeking and/or re-forestation of the surrounding land. A bird's eye view:In the center lies the Matramandir- a gigantic globe of silence and concentration (aka-meditation). Jason pointed out that the experience kind of feels like a sci-fi flick. As we walked up the white-carpeted, spiral ramps, in complete silence, surrounded by "salmon-pink" light, he felt like we were loading up the mother-ship for a journey into outer space. That we didn't disembark onto another planet came as a disappointment to him. The "inner chamber" has no artificial lights, only one beam of sunlight streaming down the center of the room, hitting a large crystal ball. The entire room is white. It was a powerful place to meditate. We also had a chance to meditate underneath the globe around the Lotus Pond and I loved the nearby and enormous banyan tree.

The three of us naively rented one moped the first day to explore the massive community. We quickly realized we would be better off with two motorbikes. Here's the motorbike montage:

Brian and I were really excited to have the opportunity to drive out to Sadhana Forrest, where our good friends Christine and Jonathan lived for several months last year. The community focuses on re-foresting the surrounding area.

After a few days, I realized how much Auroville has to offer- it's a special place. Bureaucratic procedures make it difficult for visitors to plug-in to the community quickly and I regretted time constraints that prevented a more thorough exploration of the area. We checked out a cello concert, ate yummies at the French bakery and Brian took an Ashtanga yoga course.