Chandigarh

  Chandigarh, India
Sunday, September 14, 2008

Hi everyone! Lucky you...two blog entries in two days!!

Chandigarh is considered a very modern city designed by Le Corbusier (like I'm supposed to know who he is?). It is very spread out and each city block looks like a block of prison cells but with high end shops and restaurants. There are some really interesting gardens and sculptures throughout the city though.

Le Corbusier's Open Hand Statue

One of the architect's designs was the High Court, opened in 1955. Another prison-like building. There was no one around except the security guards, so I thought that there must not be a lot of court cases around here. But then I remembered...it's Sunday. Ha!!

High Court

Definitely one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time was the Nek Chand Fantasy Rock Garden. He is from Pakistan, now in his 80's, and following India's Independence as Chandigarh was being constructed he hauled a lot of the waste material during construction and started building this garden using this material to build sculptures, walls, ampitheaters, etc. It's a huge garden where you walk through this labyrinth walkway of stone walls and discover something different around each corner. It was seriously SO cool. Here are some pics...

Rock Garden path

Rock formations

These are made of bangles!!!

Waterfall

Just chillin

More animals chillin

Ampitheater

Check out the swings!!

Next I went to Sukhna Lake. Another Le Corbusier design, an artificial lake with paddle boats for hire, ancient kiddie amusement rides and arcade games, and a small sculpture garden.

Skeeball or Pop a Shot anyone?

Sukhna Lake

There is also a Government Museum that tells the history of the regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Government Museum

My next destination was going to be Rishikesh, the yoga capital of the world. But I decided to pass on the 10 hour bus trip because I really don't like yoga. It was a tough decision because this is actually where the Beatles spent a few months living in an ashram and writing the White Album. I'm sure I'd enjoy the laid back, hippie atmosphere but I have a feeling I'd be very bored while everyone else in town was concentrating on their breathing while moving into the downward facing dog position. That's a yoga position (not sexual!) for those of you who are unfamiliar. So instead I'm taking a 12 hour train ride straight through Delhi (YEAH!) and towards Khajuraho, where the Kama Sutra Temples are. Yeah baby!!!

Hope you are well.

peace,
Jen