Only the hippest and trendiest Indians live here...

Ok....Im trying to figure out where to start...hmmm....allright, I got it.

We left Haridwar two and a half days ago, it was kind of a spur of the moment deceision to hop a bus at 10 am to go to Chandigar. So we did it, we went down to the bus station and started asking all the drivers which bus lead us to chandigar. Eventually we found the right one, and it left two minutes later so we jumped on the bus and it immediatly began to move out of the station. That shit was so cheap though, 120 rupees to get all the way to chandigar! So in american dollars, thats....$2.50 I think, the bus ride was supposed to be four and a half hours yet however since we are in India that is never the case. Ever. We were riding a State transport bus so that means that we were packed into a bus with no space available unless you were to crowd surf the people stading in the isle. It was such a great experience though, we were the only whiteys on the bus and we traveled through rural ass India stopping outside of farms and through small vilages letting people on and off again. EVERY single person on that bus would stare at us in astonishment for awkward lengths of time, since its a bunch of westerners on a local bus. A very great experience all in all, even with the blown tire, two bus switches and the sticky hot pleather we had to sit on for six and a half hours. Just Grand.

So we finally pull into this city called Chandigar with a population of about 1 million people. This city is nothing like the chaos that is every other indian city, everything is laid out on a grid and there are shopping centers every where, pretty much every store is air conditioned and hardly anyone speaks any english. I don't think many travelers come here. Its a nice town though, it is a little calmer which is a nice break from the mind bending activity of every other town so far. We finally book our hotel at the Satya Deep hotel, where all of the staff are very welcoming and friendly and so helpful, its great. Later on two nights ago we met this 75 year old sikh fella that insisted he show us around town. As it is often to get these offers we tried to ditch him becuase we thought he wanted our money. In the end, we let him take us to a restaurant a couple blocks down, and he was the nicest man I have me in such a long time. He got us free food and discounts at the restaurant and even agreed to meet us the next day at the rock garden and take us in as a "guest of honor."

The next day we woke up around 10 and met Nerider Singh at the rock garden at 11 am. He was there waiting for us, just like he said, with a huge smile on his face. This man has the heart of a freaking lion, he stayed with us all day, giving us tons of history on Chandigar and the many sights to see here, he took us to a lake and then to a bar with very cheap beer after it was all done. So yet again, we planned to meet up with him this morning and go to the rose garden with him. He met us at the hotel again at 10 am, and we set out to get a cup of chai. He brought us too a big hotel where he knew a bunch of the locals that worked in the cantine of the hotel and he got us free chai tea in an air conditioned back room of this hotel. Here he started showing us all the literature that has been written about him, and his work as a civil servant. There was even an article from the New York times about how he has been helping tourists navigate this city and find the best deals for the past twenty years, it said you were lucky if he found you, and to trust him completely. So we did.
We proceded to the rose garden which was quite nice, and we sat in the shade and chatted it up with him, eventually I offerend to write a letter for him to the head of tourism and we all signed it, we are eatting dinner with Narinder in an hour, right before we leave. Best people experience in India so far!!

The Rock Garden was the most wonderful thing I have seen in my life, right behind the Taj Mahal! It used to be an old demolished building that people would dump garbage at. Then one day a Pakistani refuge came and started to sift through the rubbish and build a labrinth of sculptures, pathways, waterfalls, and other crazy shit. Walking into this crazy place you walk through twisting rock paths with walls thrity feet high, and you will turn a courner and a waterfall will be falling 20 feet away. The sculptures and walls of some areas are made from all of the discarded china plates this man found, as well as sculptures built out of broken bangles. Stuff is wild. So eventually the Indian gov't found this hidden jewel and they were going to dismantle it, because he did not own the property. However a minister or something came to his rescue and managed to have it preserved, so it is still expanding and will be here for a long time to come.

I leave on a bus to Manali tonight at seven, another 10 hour bus ride. Damn this shit gets exhausting, however Manali is going to be so worth it. Manali is up in the himalaya's and it is a travelers paradise apparently. The tempeture is going to be 70-80 instead of the 95-105 I have been dealing with for the past week, and I am so ready for a more comfortable temperature, I am so sick of the constant sweat dripping from my face. We leave at seven and will probably get there at 5 am if its on time, but of course it will not be on time. hahaha. Saul and I are planning on doing some pretty darn good stuff in Manali, there is zorbing, mountain biking, and white water rafting for damn cheap. Plus that have tons of beautiful hiking paths that go through the mountains and valleys. This should be a great town Im jazzed. We are also thinking about renting some motor bikes to get to dharmsala since its really close to manali, and what could be better than riding a bike through beautiful landscape. Well we will have to see the price of it all, and also we will have to see what the conditions of the roads are. Ill let you all know when I get to Manali.

Well Im gonna go clean my messy ass hotel room, and pack up my backpack. Everyone wish me luck on my awful bus ride!!


Peace,

J a k e