Yesterday's post about Chandigarh was a quick info post. This one will be a more subjective one, about my experiences rather than about the city itself.
I already mentioned earlier that I decided to stay close to the railway station for the first night and try to scout for reasonably priced accommodation in the city for the rest of my stay. Well, I went looking on Saturday and was shocked. The cheapest room I was able to find was a small and run down closet next to a loud bus terminal for 800 rupees a night. The next cheapest one was 1300. I was slowly giving up on hope, when an elderly Sikh man came and introduced himself to me.
Mr. Narinder Singh, 77 - a one man tourist helping agency since five decades - told me that there are possibilities cheaper than the ones I had found so far. We stopped first in a fast food restaurant, where Mr. Singh showed me an article about him and a notebook full of tourist testimonials from the last two months only. After a few quick stops, he showed me a place called Panchayat Bhawan in sector 18, where a big room only costs 620 rupees (btw, Google maps finds it). I was really lucky to have met him just then, because I really was about to give up and take the terrible hole near the bus terminal.
This was just the beginning of his friendliness. The next day he took me to the famous Rock Garden. It a project that started as a one man's, Nek Chand's secret and illegal hobby of transforming waste into sculptures and landscapes in 1957. First eighteen years later, in 1975, officials of the city discovered his 49,000m² (12 acre) sculpture park. Luckily, even though it was on a land reserved for conservancy, it was not destroyed. The public opinion was so much on Mr. Chand's side, that he was appointed as "Sub-Divisional Engineer, Rock Garden", given a salary and a workforce of fifty people to help him with his project. Later he received the title of director of the Rock Garden. (See pictures of the Rock Garden here). My guide, Mr. Singh is a friend of Mr. Nek Chand's and he took me to his office next to the garden entrance, (which had a hobbit-house kind of look,) where I was able to talk a few words with him.
The next two evenings I met with Mr. Singh as well and he took me to nice, but affordable restaurants to eat. He also took me to a Sikh temple, where I made two chapatis (picture). This morning we met in sector 17, where he showed me a good place to have breakfast. Afterwards we went to a Haryana state office building to have tea and some sweets. His past career as a minister's secretary has left many doors open for him that for others remain closed. That's just another good reason to find this nice man when you're coming to Chandigarh. (I've got his contact details, if someone's interested).
Yesterday morning I did a cycle tour through Chandigarh (Pedal Chandigarh). The city's wide streets gave me an urge to get on a bicycle for the first time in India. It still was not very safe, especially during the morning rush hour. It was enjoyable and I saw many things I hadn't visited yet. The pictures are still only on my mobile, but I will try to update them into the Chandigarh folder as soon as possible.
Mr. Narinder Singh has an agenda that I tried my best to support during the four days in Chandigarh. He wants a low-budget hotel and a campsite to be set up in Chandigarh. He says that over sixty percent of all the tourists coming to Chandigarh are low-budget tourists and that the city has forgotten them. On Sunday, he showed me the day's newspaper and his letter to the editor concerning this matter. He asked me to write a supporting reply for his piece of writing. I did it, since in my opinion the cause is definitely worth supporting.
Now I'm waiting for the train to Ajmer, Rajasthan, from where I will continue directly to Jaisalmer. But that's going to be another story...
PS. I just found this on YouTube. (Credits to Alexander Small)
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