One of the few touristy things to see in Chandigarh is the Nek Chand’s Rock Garden. Back in 1902, before the city of Chandigarh even existed, the government set aside a bunch of forest near a lake as a conservancy, stating that nothing should ever be built on it. Then, in 1947, Indian partition happened and the… Continue reading Chandigarh Rock Garden
Category: Eastern Hemisphere
These posts are related to Beth and Todd’s Eastern Hemisphere trip from September 2015 to January 2016
a tale of two movies
Chandigarh is a bit different than the other Indian cities we visited. For one thing, it’s a very modern planned city. The whole thing is laid out in a grid, with major streets at regular intervals separating sections of the city they call “sectors”. It sounds kinda sci-fi, but to tell a taxi driver directions… Continue reading a tale of two movies
reaching Chandigarh
Other than the Wagah border ceremony, the Golden Temple, and Jallianwala Bagh, there wasn’t much touristy we wanted to see in Amritsar. Beth hired a taxi for a day to go on a bird watching trip, and so I went shopping. I wanted to buy a second sweater, in particular a sweater vest. Amritsar was just… Continue reading reaching Chandigarh
Amritsar’s Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) and Jallianwala Bagh
The day after we went to the Wagah border ceremony was December 18, and we decided to go see the Golden Temple. If you read my last post, you’ll remember that Amritsar was a pretty bloody place around the time of partition in 1947. Once the vast majority of the Muslims were relocated across the border… Continue reading Amritsar’s Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) and Jallianwala Bagh
Wagah border ceremony
OK, here’s a different kind of tourist experience, after seeing all these historical sites. After we left Jaipur, India, we flew to Amritsar. Jaipur is known for several tourist attractions, but Amritsar is only known for a small number. And the one that appealed the most to me is the Wagah border ceremony. So that was… Continue reading Wagah border ceremony
Jaipur, Part 4: The Anokhi Museum
The Anokhi Museum is not one of the main tourist attractions of Jaipur. But we decided we’d had enough visiting historical sites, and it was time for some culture. Jaipur is recognized as a hotbed of hand printing in India. Hand printing, or block printing, is a textile craft where people take large pieces of fabric… Continue reading Jaipur, Part 4: The Anokhi Museum
Jaipur, Part 3: Amber Fort
Since he gave us the creeps, we decided to decline Sameer’s offer to drive us around sightseeing. Instead, we found a TripAdvisor listing for a guy named Moin who sounded like the exact opposite – mellow, older, and never pushing tourists to go see things they aren’t interested in. So we hired him for the day… Continue reading Jaipur, Part 3: Amber Fort
Jaipur, Part 2: City Palace
On December 14, Beth and I visited what’s called the City Palace in Jaipur. She had already walked by there earlier, on her way to find a place to watch birds. City Palace is one of the top three tourist spots in Jaipur, so we figured we should go. This one was within walking distance… Continue reading Jaipur, Part 2: City Palace
Tilonia and the Barefoot College
Here’s a funny little story. One of the things on our “things to do in Asia” wishlist that we accumulated over the course of a couple years was to visit a place called Barefoot College. This is a school somewhere in the middle of nowhere in India where women from all over the world come… Continue reading Tilonia and the Barefoot College
Jaipur, Part 1: the first half
I have so many things to say about Jaipur. Where do I begin? We arrived by car from Bharatpuhr, where we’d spent the night after an afternoon of bird watching. I had made the hotel arrangements in Jaipur online, as we’ve done in every city we’ve visited so far. Although I like to leave flexibility… Continue reading Jaipur, Part 1: the first half