Travels: Chandigarh and Delhi

My final two destinations in India were Chandigarh and Delhi.

Delhi is, of course, the capital and originally I had no intention of ever visiting it (I find cities tend to be too much the same and the best of museums and art galleries travel the world to other places).
Chandigarh has the distinction of being one of very few planned cities in India. As such it's easier on the senses. There is less congestion, less litter and pollution, and less visible poverty.

In Chandigarh Jon and I had the good fortune to meet Mr Narinder Singh. He found us on the street in the evening and introduced himself and showed us some referrals from other tourists to prove who he was.
Mr Singh is 77, retired since the age of 58, Sikh, and spends his days showing tourists his city. He even shows them cheap accommodation (it was too late for us) and meals.

Being guided by Mr Singh is quite a treat. He certainly doesn't make any money by doing this but he does ask for written referrals and for photos to be sent to him: He is trying to get an award for his services.

As well as showing us the sights he took us to cheap but good places for dinner and breakfast and gifted a Sikh bangle and a mango to Jon and a spangly blue and gold cloth and a banana to me.

We only had the following morning for sightseeing and, walking everywhere, Mr Singh promptly ensured we saw as much as possible. Chandigarh's Rock garden is really cool and Chandigarh also boasts the largest Rose garden in Asia.

In Delhi I said goodbye to Jon, as he was taking a train to Chennai, but first he was sweet enough to walk me to my hostel. On my day left I only visited the Ghandi Smirti (memorial and museum), and then had a good last Dosa (a south Indian dish), and posted some photos to Mr Singh, before I forgot.