chandigarh

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i am sure that when i get home one question lots of people will ask me is "what was your favourite place". and i know i will be unable to answer this routine question, as everywhere has been so great and so different. however, if anybody wants to ask me what is your least favourite place i now have an answer for that question... sorry, Chandigarh, you have taken the prize of the least nice place in India!

which is ironic, because everyone is so proud of Chandigarh, it's supposed to be a model modern city, it's tagline is "the city beautiful", it was all architect designed, it's all based around a very american-ised grid system. the roads are all straight and wide, with traffic lanes and lights etc.

however, the architect forgot all about character, soul, charm. the whole city ir organised into 'sectors'. my first problem, and this wasn't really anyone's fault, was that i arrived in the wrong bus station..... in sector 43 instead of sector 17. doh!

let's backtrack a bit. I went from Shimla to Kalka on the train "Himalayan Queen". it's sounds very posh, and it is quite nice, but not posh. the trainline from Shimla is very narrow, i think 1 metre, hence the toy train label. the train is fairly normal, except it has huge windows so you can see all the lovely scenery. and it wobbles quite a lot as people get on and off and move about, which is thrilling when you are trundling across a 1metre wide bridge at god knows what height. people hanging out of the doors as usual.... anyway, from Kalka i needed to get a bus to Chandigarh, it's not far so it should be easy. i made it to the bus station all right and then asked for the bus, and awas told it was actually waiting outside the bus station. once again all the people there got involved. when i walked slightly the wrong way, i heard shouting, and turned to see literally everybody in the station, including a orange and dreadlocked adorned baba shouting and pointing and waving in the correct direction for me. i mean, it was nice, but it turns out everyone in the bus station was wrong, as this bus stops at the *interstate* bus terminal, in sector 43, which is miles away from the *local* bus station in section 17 which has shops, hotels etc. so i had to get another local bus, which looked remarkable similar to the regular buses at home, but still inordinately packed.

i started to get a bad feeling already. i mean okay, simple mistake, easily corrected, it's not that, but everyone i spoke to, rickshaw-wallahs, bus drivers, people etc, all just kept talking about sectors "what sector do you want". "you are in sector 43". "there is a cheap hotel in sector 18"... i started to feel like i was in a space ship!

i eventually found a hotel in sector 18, which is next to sector 17.

so i thought the wide straight roads would make for easy and pleasant walking. each sector is only 1km big and i was only a few sectors away from the interesting tourist places. so off i set on foot, confidently dismissing all the cycle and auto-rickshaw wallahs.

however, all the roads look exactly the same. and the sign-posting is just bizarre. and it's impossible to cross the roads. the the thing is, in most of India, as a pedestrian amongst traffic, you are not alone. on your side is cows, dogs, buffalo, children, etc etc. the traffic is used to this and it's just generally survival of the fittest but in a kind of fair arena, everyone is allowed to be there and generally you are fine just walking in the middle of the road with all the vehicles if necessary. but here, on the road, just like at home, car is king, there are not many proper crossing places and trying to cross anywhere else is like trying to get across a motorway! within seconds i was hopelessly lost and stuck on the wrong side of a road i was fairly sure i needed to cross.

so i gave in and couldn't help laughing when one same cycle-rickshaw-wallah as i had refused earlier showed up again "rickshaw madam?".....

so I went to the Nek Chand Fantasy Rock Garden (look up on internet if interested) which is quite nice but nothing like as amazing as the lonely planet makes out. and an artificial lake created as part of the city plan, which was okay but sort of boring, i mean, it kind of looks artificial.

i think Chandigarh is also one of the worst places for getting stared at for being white. i wasn't expecting this, it's a modern city allegedly. but just walking quietly along the lake i was being blatently stared and pointed at. often in India people will ask for a photo, and i don't mind if they make a bit of conversation first, i understand people are curious. but i do get a bit annoyed when people just come up out of blue "one photo please!". still sometimes i give in as it is easier. however, here, i was getting people (boys, men) taking photos without even asking, just as i was sitting or walking along. sorry but i think that is rude, and i never do that myself, i always ask if i want to photgraph a person. so it made it kind of hard to relax.

however, the icing on the cake was as i was walking back generally towards sector 17 and sector 22 (which has an internet cafe). i actually figured out which sector i was in and was walking the right way, no problems, but i paused to look at a map to make sure. a man stopped in a car and asked if i needed help. i assured him no i was not lost, and did not need any help, but thanks. he then said he was a private taxi and where did i want to go. again i said i was happy walking and carried on, i was suspicious as i did not beleive he was a taxi as they usually have some marking to that effect. he then drove along next to me as i walked "kerb-crawling" you might say, i turned to say go away, and he exposed himself to me from the car!

please do not worry, i was completely safe, the pavement was wide, there is no way he could've grabbed me or anything, it was just disgusting. i swore at him abusively (sorry mum, but i think swearing is allowed in these circumstances?), and he still didn't go. so i had a brainwave, and took out my camera and advised him i was taking a photo of him and the car numberplate to pass to the police. he disappeared pretty quick. (i didn't actually take a photo, and if i did it wouldn't be published in my highlights of india slideshow!)

in 5 months of india this is worst thing that has happened to me, and it's not that bad at all really, it's quite funny. but it is frustrating sometimes when you wonder what the hell ideas some people have about white girls.

i was originally thinking of staying here 3nights / 2days, like Shimla, as i thought it would be nicer, and not bother with any time in Delhi. but actually i will leave here tomorrow for Delhi, giving myself one day in Delhi. i will give it a chance, some people love Delhi!

it's seems india is letting me go gradually. first Shimla being so British, now Chandigarh being not very nice, but sort of european, i suppose it means i am not too sad to go back!

and i am not complaining, not everywhere can be amazing, and i am still having a good time, i mean, i am not miserable or anything. but i do feel like a bit like i am just killing time now. i just keep thinking to myself, i only have to wait two months before i can get another visa.......

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