ISBT, Chandigarh, Buses, and disappointment
I had a notion that all of North India was dry and hot. It was indeed hot in Delhi that night, but it was far from dry. I started sweating the moment I stepped out of the flight. It was as humid as Chennai, or as any town in Kerala. ISBT was a long drive from the airport. We crossed many places bearing familiar names on the way: Tiz Hazari, Karol Bagh, Janpath, etc. etc. I really wanted to take snaps of all the name boards. But then, there were cops everywhere on the road with sten-guns, stopping and checking every vehicle passing by and I suddenly remembered the story of the Brazilian shot dead in London tube a few weeks back. And I kept my camera inside.
With all due respect to the place and the people out there, ISBT disappointed me. I was expecting a Koyambedu (Chennai Inter-State Bus stand) kind of bus station with all amenities. Or atleast a Majestic (Bangalore). After all its the capital of India, and a place from where you can catch buses to most of the big towns in North India. But I was in for a shock there. The place was pathetic and the buses were really horrible. We found a so-called deluxe bus to Chandigarh and left Delhi soon.
Reached Chandigarh,the best-planned-city in India. Really good and wide roads, not much of traffic and in a nutshell, I didn't find the kind of buzzle out there that you'd expect from a place like Chandigarh, capital of two states. We didn't see much of Chgh other than the famous 'Rock Garden'.
Foundation stone of Rock Garden
Some of the statues inside
Rock garden was conceptualized by the famous architect Nek Chand. He has made a whole world of sculptures inside just with rocks, pebbles, concrete, waste bins and other waste materials.That place was very vast. We kind of lost our way inside it.
Our 'deluxe' bus to Manali finally arrived at 8:30pm, an hour late. I got a seat that was comfortable to me, but immensly uncomfortable for the couple sitting behind: its recliner mechanism had been broken and the seat was always in the pushed-back condition, and I was lying flat on it always. I'm sure they must have cursed me like anything ;)
The journey to the mountains started...
With all due respect to the place and the people out there, ISBT disappointed me. I was expecting a Koyambedu (Chennai Inter-State Bus stand) kind of bus station with all amenities. Or atleast a Majestic (Bangalore). After all its the capital of India, and a place from where you can catch buses to most of the big towns in North India. But I was in for a shock there. The place was pathetic and the buses were really horrible. We found a so-called deluxe bus to Chandigarh and left Delhi soon.
Reached Chandigarh,the best-planned-city in India. Really good and wide roads, not much of traffic and in a nutshell, I didn't find the kind of buzzle out there that you'd expect from a place like Chandigarh, capital of two states. We didn't see much of Chgh other than the famous 'Rock Garden'.
Foundation stone of Rock Garden
Some of the statues inside
Rock garden was conceptualized by the famous architect Nek Chand. He has made a whole world of sculptures inside just with rocks, pebbles, concrete, waste bins and other waste materials.That place was very vast. We kind of lost our way inside it.
Our 'deluxe' bus to Manali finally arrived at 8:30pm, an hour late. I got a seat that was comfortable to me, but immensly uncomfortable for the couple sitting behind: its recliner mechanism had been broken and the seat was always in the pushed-back condition, and I was lying flat on it always. I'm sure they must have cursed me like anything ;)
The journey to the mountains started...
posted by SNM at 6:10 PM
5 Comments:
Nice build-up. Waiting for the climb now!
C’mon yaar, how could u expect more from our capital city?? After all it has to match the standards of our ministers and MPs …
The rock garden – that really sounds ironic, doesn’t it? “Rock”, a symbol of strength and toughness coupled with “garden”, a word that symbolizes grace and tenderness. But still, how well they get along! Hats off to Nek Chand…. Would like to see more snaps, if u have
oh.. great u ended up in chd too?? its the present abode of a small bulky soul-me
The Rock Garden is cool - however the city is not going to be a hot destination soon - check http://chandigarhwoes.blogger.com
I meant http://chandigarhwoes.blogspot.com/
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