WheresTucker

So after 14 and a bit weeks, that’s 101 days, over 8000kms, 2900 photos, god knows how many hours on buses, trains, planes and anything from 2, 3 or 4 wheels; its time to pull the pin and face the realities of the real world. I've run out of cash and more importantly I’ve run out of steam. Now the question is how do I summarise my Indian experience. In short, I can’t there’s just too much that’s happened, and I don’t think words can really describe the world wind of emotions and experiences. It's been nothing short of exciting, provoking, awe-inspiring, overwhelming, relaxing and stressful but never dull. There are simply too many adjectives to describe it. Nothing can fully prepare you for India, it’s a roller coaster ride tickling every sensation with the ability ... read more

Pretty keen to head as far away as possible from Srinagar, the next stop was deep within the Himalayas on the Ladakh range to one of the northern town of Leh. The area only opened up to foreigners in the 70’s and has more ties with Tibet than India, with white washed temples and Buddhist monasteries set amongst dramatic mountain scenery. Originally I has intended to travel via to Leh via road, a two day Jeep trek through the Himalayas but the route is cut off due to snow and frozen passes for 8 months of the year, and this being winter, the only option was to fly. Not that I’m complaining, as seeing the sights of the Himalayas via air was just extraordinary. The snow capped peaks appear just below the plane in plane sight ... read more

Finally the plains of the Indian subcontinent come colliding with the snow capped mountainous peaks of the Himalayas, and what a sight. The Himalayan range rises like a wall from the ground, and provides the perfect backdrop to the hill side Tibetan Refugee village of McLeod Ganj, home to the Dalai Lama. Now I popped in to see His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, but to my surprise I was only to discover that he was on a retreat for the next 3 weeks and wasn’t available and was not taking an audience. Obviously I was disgusted by this and had my people ring his people to figure out where we went wrong. HH tried to reschedule but unfortunately I am a busy man and can not wait around that long. Oh well, his loss, maybe ... read more

Now this entry comes with a warning as many of you may find this boring as all hell, as its specifically for the Architects. I’m standing here in Chandigarh surrounded by Le Corbusier, literally there are examples of his work everywhere, there can’t be any place in the world that has so many masterpieces from a single architect. Chandigarh is an experimental city designed in1952, and is the single biggest and most significant example of urban planning, executed by Le Corbusier. It demonstrates Corbusier’s modern idiom of architecture, his radical and visionary plan of low density terrace housing, monumental government buildings, tree lined streets and green belts penetrating the orthogonal plan. Some will like his work others may not, but undeniably ‘Chandigarh is the biggest example in India of experimental architecture. It hits you on the ... read more

Working our way across Rajastan towards Delhi, we found ourselves at the States capital city Jaipur, but not before a pit stop at Pushkar for a little R+R. Pushkar is a town clustered around it's holy lake, with a maze of streets winding around, set in a magical scene of desert hills. Surrounding the lake are 52 bathing ghats, where people come to wash and purify their sole in the waters. The lake is sacred for many reasons; Vishnu appeared here (albeit in the form of a boar), Gandhi’s ashes are sprinkled here and Brahma bathed here too (not sure who he is though). Pushkar is an important Hindu pilgrim center with up to 400 milky domes scattered across the town, and is also home to the famous Brahma temple. For the reason the town has ... read more