Sun 7 Dec Bhopal
Hotel Sonali serves a business clientele, so there is a fresh crisp newspaper in our door in the morning. Breakfast is also included for our class of room - so at 8 am Mike gets an omelet and Carol gets a poha dish. Milk tea for both.
At 9 am we are at the bus stand for a bus leaving for San Chi, a Buddhist site. Mike dozes. On the way we pass a huge walled-off expanse of empty land. Some holes have been punched into the wall; a few people use this as a pass-through to more developed areas further out of town. Some sections of the wall are covered with anti-Union Carbide messages. However, the site of the gas disaster was the other side of Bhopal. Could this be a different brownfield? Don't know. But we do pass some medical research (and, presumably, treatment) facilities.
We arrive at San Chi 46 km later, about 1045. Tickets to enter are 250 R each. There is a short steep climb up a hill, and we are in. This is an old set of ruins, dating from 3rd C. BCE, that was the site of 5 stupas and a number of Buddhist monasteries. Prince Siddhartha never slept here, but relic boxes containing bone fragments of two of Buddha's most noted early followers were unearthed here. Fortunately (or unfortunately) San Chi has been entirely reconstructed and now seems to Mike like a historical theme park for Indian tourists, rather than the historical ruins we have seen in other countries. Still, the intricate sculpture (including round-bellied figures and Bodhi trees) is beautiful and the quiet countryside (and clean air) wonderful.
During our visit we meet Shomit, his wife Shurti, and his mother. He teaches planning and architecture here in Bhopal, even though he hails from Aurangabad. We talk about water and the desertification of northern India. His program has been evaluating step wells and pumping systems, along with other systems of water storage. They are also familiar with the Hans Travel bus, having taken it several times.
They offer us a ride back to Bhopal. On the way back, Shomit points out that we are crossing the Tropic of Cancer line, and so we stop the car for a photo op.
We get in to town about 1530. They drop us off at Palash Residency Hotel. Hans Travel is just a few meters away on the side street. We now know where we need to assemble tomorrow.
We are in Newmarket, the second (first?) downtown of Bhopal. Here a theater showing the just-released Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain. This film, released on the 30th anniversary of the Union Carbide disaster, is being shown (in Hindi, we think) either at 1800 or 1900. There is a long line to buy tickets. We demur.
Up the street we pass the Nehru Statue, and then see and enter Bapu ki Kutia, an eatery highly recommended by Lonely Planet. We get a paneer masala (120 R), bhindi do pyaza (95 R), a roti (12 R) and a buttermilk (18 R). Plenty tasty.
We take a city bus (SR3 or SR4) back to the railway station (12 R each). We spot a gurdwara (Sikh temple) in the area around our hotel and then, at sundown, a big mosque. Bhopal is 40% Muslim and this is the Muslim side of town. We have also seen women wearing Jain dress. What a melting pot!
It is dark. Internet time - and time for a quick visit to Manohar for a lime float and a milk shake. Then gather in the hand wash, do some more, watch some TV, and to bed.
Hotel Sonali serves a business clientele, so there is a fresh crisp newspaper in our door in the morning. Breakfast is also included for our class of room - so at 8 am Mike gets an omelet and Carol gets a poha dish. Milk tea for both.
At 9 am we are at the bus stand for a bus leaving for San Chi, a Buddhist site. Mike dozes. On the way we pass a huge walled-off expanse of empty land. Some holes have been punched into the wall; a few people use this as a pass-through to more developed areas further out of town. Some sections of the wall are covered with anti-Union Carbide messages. However, the site of the gas disaster was the other side of Bhopal. Could this be a different brownfield? Don't know. But we do pass some medical research (and, presumably, treatment) facilities.
We arrive at San Chi 46 km later, about 1045. Tickets to enter are 250 R each. There is a short steep climb up a hill, and we are in. This is an old set of ruins, dating from 3rd C. BCE, that was the site of 5 stupas and a number of Buddhist monasteries. Prince Siddhartha never slept here, but relic boxes containing bone fragments of two of Buddha's most noted early followers were unearthed here. Fortunately (or unfortunately) San Chi has been entirely reconstructed and now seems to Mike like a historical theme park for Indian tourists, rather than the historical ruins we have seen in other countries. Still, the intricate sculpture (including round-bellied figures and Bodhi trees) is beautiful and the quiet countryside (and clean air) wonderful.
During our visit we meet Shomit, his wife Shurti, and his mother. He teaches planning and architecture here in Bhopal, even though he hails from Aurangabad. We talk about water and the desertification of northern India. His program has been evaluating step wells and pumping systems, along with other systems of water storage. They are also familiar with the Hans Travel bus, having taken it several times.
They offer us a ride back to Bhopal. On the way back, Shomit points out that we are crossing the Tropic of Cancer line, and so we stop the car for a photo op.
We get in to town about 1530. They drop us off at Palash Residency Hotel. Hans Travel is just a few meters away on the side street. We now know where we need to assemble tomorrow.
We are in Newmarket, the second (first?) downtown of Bhopal. Here a theater showing the just-released Bhopal: A Prayer for Rain. This film, released on the 30th anniversary of the Union Carbide disaster, is being shown (in Hindi, we think) either at 1800 or 1900. There is a long line to buy tickets. We demur.
Up the street we pass the Nehru Statue, and then see and enter Bapu ki Kutia, an eatery highly recommended by Lonely Planet. We get a paneer masala (120 R), bhindi do pyaza (95 R), a roti (12 R) and a buttermilk (18 R). Plenty tasty.
We take a city bus (SR3 or SR4) back to the railway station (12 R each). We spot a gurdwara (Sikh temple) in the area around our hotel and then, at sundown, a big mosque. Bhopal is 40% Muslim and this is the Muslim side of town. We have also seen women wearing Jain dress. What a melting pot!
It is dark. Internet time - and time for a quick visit to Manohar for a lime float and a milk shake. Then gather in the hand wash, do some more, watch some TV, and to bed.
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