Back in Bangalore

Since returning from our journey, I had come down with a minor stomache ache, either from water or food, which kept me in bed for a day. The next day we took it easy shopping for souvenirs and eatting out before Bear's departure. Since then I have been relaxing at home, sharing pictures and stories from our adventure with my grandmother. I have also been thinking about my travels so far and put together collections from the trips.

It is amazing to see how people here are so scared of swine flu. It is the most pressing issue throughout India, with people wearing masks and covering their mouths everywhere. I guess with the amount of people in close proximity and poor health conditions, there is a major scare among individuals.

In the mean time I will be celebrating Independence day in India and then will probably try to visit Coorg before the transplantation of the crops and then possibly visit Bombay afterwards.

Agra

We awoke early in the morning and caught a bus from Delhi to Agra. Unfortunately the bus was not well run and the operators were cons that varied the prices for passengers as well as dropping us off in the middle of Agra. We luckily caught an auto to the train station where we bought our return ticket and continued towards the Taj Mahal. It was very enjoyable, studying the building for a couple of hours and watching as the shades and colors changed throughout the day. The building is quite remarkable, especially in terms of its proportions. After discovering that night tour tickets of the Taj were not feasible, we found a local hotel within a km of the Taj that offered gorgeous views. After doing some shopping, we sat near the hotel and watched the sun descend behind the white marble.

Finding out about Night Tour
Taj
Me w/Taj
View From Hotel

We awoke early the next morning to find the Taj still in darkness and proceeded back to New Delhi. We spent the day at Ashkaryimana Temple which is a large campus dedicated towards the teachings of a Swami. It is almost like a Disney World that has boat rides, animatronics shows, and movies that showcase the history and story of Swami. We returned later in the night on the Rajdhani to Bangalore because all train tickets to Bombay were booked.

Chandigarh

We caught the 7:30 Kalka Shatbadi Express to Chandigarh early in the morning. We were served breakfast and tea before our 11:30 arrival. Chandigarh was designed as a modernist city by LeCorbusier and his cousin who divided the city into various sectors that provided all the necessities one would need. It is a very simple yet charming city that feels nothing like the rest of India. Everything seems more controlled and regulated, which enhances a visitor or resident’s experience. The city is very simply based on the proportions of the modular man with a regular grid system and greenbelt. The layout is very effective I believe and serves as a great capital for the two states of Punjab and Haryana. Many of the buildings there are designed by LeCorb and follow his precedent, creating a similar aesthetic that unifies the city.

From the station we took an auto to sector 17, which is the market center of the city. We walked through the markets and plazas until we crossed into sector 16 where there was a rose garden. As we walked further north into various sectors we explored museums, bougainvillea gardens, rock gardens, Sukhna Lake with people on paddleboats, as well as a host of public buildings including the High Court. In the afternoon I met up with Sunny, Tinu’s nephew, who fed us as well as answered many questions we had about the city. It was interesting to hear a locals thoughts and comparisons to other cities. I could tell that he had grown fond of the city and believed strongly in the planning of the city. He himself is working on developments outside of the city, which are to expand upon Corb’s thoughts and visions of the city. Afterwards he showed us few more sites of the city including his former university and Corb’s office.

Sector 17 Shopping

Fountain

Auditorium

High Court

Sukhna Lake

New Delhi

The train arrived in New Delhi around 5:15 in the morning. We left the station and decided to walk towards the city center and walked for an hour and a half until we found ourselves at India Gate. We explored many of the buildings along Rajpath, which is equivalent to the U.S. National Mall. It is a wide green space that is framed by many museums and national arts buildings as well as the Presidential Palace. The area was very nice and I noticed many changes from previous visits of mine. While New Delhi is a large city and requires an automobile to discover, many strides have been made to improve the circulation throughout the city. We were able to walk much more easily, vehicles had designated lanes and road conditions seemed to be improved overall. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that New Delhi will be the host of the 2010 Commonwealth games. There are also strides being made to establish a metro system to mitigate congestion.

Later in the morning I called Tinu, a family friend, who arranged a government run tour for us. The tour highlighted many of the noteworthy sites including Lakshmi Temple, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial, Lotus Temple, Qutb Minar, Rajghat, and Hamayun’s Tomb. The buildings were interesting to see, especially how they dealt with the surrounding landscapes and environments. I enjoyed observing how the buildings dealt with pedestrian circulation and used natural elements to influence the design of the buildings. After the tour we met up with Tinu and his family who fed us well and went to sleep for an early start.

India GateMuseum Gate DetailGandhiLotus TempleQutb MinarQutb Minar
Hamayun's Tomb

Rajdhani Express

Sunday morning we went to the Banashankari Railway Office and purchased two First Class AC tickets on the Rajdhani Express to New Delhi. We ran various errands and notified people of our travel plans as well as packed. We took an auto rickshaw from the house to the Bangalore City Junction railway station. We found the station crowded with people bustling everywhere. We proceeded towards our designated platform and found our designated cabin and berths. We were ecstatic to find out that we were allocated the only private cabin in the whole train. Upon boarding we were each greeted by the train manager who presented us with flowers and candy. Afterwards, a gentleman brought us our sheets and towels for the next 36 hours. Latter in the evening we were served vegetable soup and a wonderful thali meal. We retired after dinner to our beds.

Monday morning we were awoken for 6:30 tea and coffee. We passed many rice paddy fields and observed the workers in the field as we ate breakfast. The landscape was beautiful and varied throughout the day. The meals were delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in our private cabin.

Bangalore Railway StationIn our cabin
Thali Dinner

Good Morning!

Outside Taj

The past week has been very exciting, travelling around India and seeing different cities. The trains have been a blast when you can book them and the cities (Delhi, Chandigarh, Agra) have been magnificent. Unfortunately it looks like we will not be able to book trains to Bombay and will be returning to Bangalore from New Delhi. I will try to update with lots of pictures and stories when I get back.

Bear is Here

Bear came several days ago. We have been going around exploring Bangalore and tasting different foods. Things have been going well and we are set for our week long travel to Delhi, Agra, Bombay and possibly Chandigarh. We have our tickets for the Rajdhani Express to Delhi which leaves this evening and will get in on Tuesday morning. We are very excited about our travels and exploring different parts of India.