Gosh it's very clean here

  Chandigarh, India Monday, August 25, 2014

Well this was another of those towns we had never heard of but ventured into as Bryan had some people here he wanted to meet. It took us 3 hours on the train from Delhi  and this time we travelled 2AC class which meant we had nice comfy seats,AC, newspapers and Breakfast and drinks all included. The tickets cost us £6 each so what a bargain. At the station we were met by Puneet, Bryan's contact here, where he packed our bags into his very swish brand new Mercedes. Luxury all the way today :-) He also very kindly invited us to stay with his family so we jumped at the chance of some home comforts rather than sitting in a hotel room. We got to his house and met his mother Suraksha who it turns out is a very well travelled lady and last year at 73 years old, took a 3 month tour of Europe on her ownWell done that lady we are very impressed. Her plans don't stop there either she still has many places on her list to go so we planned to swap stories later and hear all about it. Puneet's wife Anju joined us for lunch after she had finished her day's work at the University. As our tummies were still a little bit sensitive, she had made the most wonderful yellow dhal for us along with other things we cannot remember the name if now. She really is the most fabulous cook. After everyone had had a nap, she took Jody on a whistle-stop tour of Chandigarh including the Sukhna Lake and pointing out the rose garden and the Himalayas rising up on the horizon. Then we hit Sector 17 for some shopping. Chandigarh deserves some explanation here. It is a new city. It was built after the Partition of India in 1947.  The province of Punjab was also split into east Punjab in India and west Punjab in Pakistan. The Indian Punjab required a new capital city to replace Lahore, which became part of Pakistan during the partitionOn 1 November 1966, the newly formed state of Haryana was carved out of the eastern portion of Punjab. However, the city of Chandigarh was on the border, and so was made into a union territory to serve as capital of both states. So now Chandigarh is a city and a union territory in the northern part of India that serves as the capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. (hope that helps) All of that makes this city different from any other we have seen in India. Chandigarh was also voted the cleanest City in India and when you are here you can see that it is true. In some ways you don't feel you are in India more like Milton Keynes as everything is built on a grid system with roundabouts and every part has a sector number rather than a name. Sector 17 is the pulse of the city with a big outdoor mall, coffee shops, designer shops and a big plaza where people gather to chat and hang out. Just as people do in England when they hang out in the town centre. So once in Sector 17, They went to a traditional Indian coffee shop and have really good hot sweet milky coffee. We really don't seem to get coffee like this in England anymore and i am sure we used to many many years ago. Anju was very naughty and also took Jody to a fabulous shoe shop where everything glittered and sparkled. How Jody ever resisted buying anything is a mystery! We all went for dinner at shop owned by Puneet's aunty whom unfortunately we didn't get to meet but the food once again was fabulousWhilst we waited outside for our table they all thought they would have a bit of fun with us (Suraksha was the ring leader here!) and ordered us some Gol gappa. They are like crispy pancake balls (which are on just a little bit too big for your mouth). The idea is you make a little hole in it, pour in a syrup made from tamarind, lemon, sugar and masala spices, then put the whole thing in your mouth and bite. Well the mess it makes is obvious and the flavour for us was a little strange but as it is a very traditional Punjab snack we absolutely were not going to miss it. It was good fun and I think for them it was like when we watch the dog eat space dust. Very amusing. The name comes from the sound you make when you eat it. Watch the video here http://youtu.be/aIbQbX-w9FM We took time out on our last day to visit the Rock Garden. Trip Advisor claims it is the number one attraction in Chandigarh so we thought we would go and see if it was. Well to say we loved it is an understatement. To think one man built all that on his own until the authorities found out that isAnyway we have created a separate page about it so you can read it there. We had a wonderful time in Chandigarh. It was really interesting for us to visit a city so off the tourist trail that it is just for the people who live and work there. The pride the people of Chandigarh have for their city is evident and they are proud to be the cleanest city in India too. The whole time we stayed with Puneet and his family, they really looked after us and fed us so well. The food was always fabulous and it is probably just as well we only stayed with them 2 nights as we were in danger of getting really fat! We hope that if they visit England once we are back home, they will let us return the favour and show them the best of Swindon! [gallery columns="4" ids="7975,7978,7983,7992,7996,8003,8011,8027,8033,8039,8044,8048,8053,8058,8063,8072,8076,8078,8082,8085,8089,8095,8100,8108,8113,8115,8120,8125,8128,8130"]