Blogs from Chandigarh, Punjab, India, Asia - page 3

I know I'm behind on blogging, so hopefully the next few blogs will get us all caught up! The trip to Delhi from Phuket was one of the longest days of our trip. Jonathan facebooked at 0452 in Phuket, we left the hotel at 0550, flew to Bangkok at 0700, transferred in Bangkok at 0900, had layover in the Cathay lounge until 1700, landed in Delhi at 2300 (-2 hours) and then drive four hours (w a driver) to arrive in Chandigarh at 0330 to the Aggarwal house, greeted by Mrs. Aggarwal who then had her driver bring us to our hotel. Around 24 hours of travel! After clearing customs in Delhi, we were met by hundreds of random people standing in and out of the building waiting to pick people up. So many signs, but ... read more

The drive back down to Chandigarh from Shimla was lovely. We left fairly early in the morning, the air was crisp and clear and there was very little traffic. The trip down took only 3.5 hours this time (an hour and a half less than going up). Chandigarh is a large modern city with wide tree lined avenues. It was planned and designed, starting in 1947, to be the new capital of the Punjab, after Lahore the previous capital was allocated to Pakistan. There are lovely parks ad gardens, a beautiful lake, walled communities and the whole apperance is very tidy and clean. The city is set out in sectors.; there are street maps, and apparently a ban on industrial activity (and home businesses?) which seems to have been effective in limiting the air pollution. We ... read more

Olemme nyt Intian ainoassa suunnitellussa kaupungissa. Ranskalainen arkkitehti sai 1950-luvulla tehtavakseen luoda kaupungin lahes tyhjasta. Kaikesta huomaa, etta tama on viimeisen paalle suunniteltu kaupunki, mika on hyvin epaintialaista. Kadut ovat taalla pitkia leveita ja taysin suoria. Yleensahan kadut nayttavat kartoista kuin koukeroiselta kirjoitukselta, kuten Delhin kadut. Delhissa on jatkuvia umpikujia ja teita, jotka kiemurtelevat matomaisesti. Taalla taas kaupunki on jaettu tarkkoihin sektoreihin, ja kaupunginosat ovat nimeltaan sektori 18 ym. Kaikki sektorit ovat yhta suuria ja paakatujen jokainen risteys paattyy liikenneympyraan. Itse keskustan alueella toisella puolen ovat toimistot ja toisella kaupat. Ydinkeskustassa on hyvin levea kavelykatu, jonka molemmin puolin on sijoiteltu huippuhienoja ostoskeskuksia ja pienempia liikkeeita. Sielta loytyvat kaikki muotimerkit, kuten ... read more

Hello friends and famil's I have only 1 day left to go to Vancouver then to India because our flight is in Vancouver. I think I am going to cry. I can't wait to go ( I don't know if I will be able to go to sleep today ).... read more

The last few days in Chandigarh have been great. Its a wonderful city thats left a fantastic impression on me of Punjabi people. A few days ago I went and had a look at Le Corbusier's Secretariat building, the High Council Building, and the Assembly Hall. Each building was unique, striking, and extremely well designed. It was quite an ordeal to get all of the permissions organized. I needed one set filled out in triplicate saying I should be granted permission, then another set for each building to obtain permission, and another set for each building for photography. Finally I needed a couple of passes at various checkpoints, and anywhere in the viscinity of the Secretariat building I was accompanied by armed guards. All the headache of paperwork was well worth it though as the buildings ... read more