A Retrospektive from the edge of the Himalaya

Hi everybody,

being in Pokhara on the edge of the himalaya right now means looking forward to almost two weeks of hiking and looking back to one exiting week from Dehli to here. As I already mentioned last time, from Dehli I went to Chandigarh, doing my architectural pilgrimage to the city of Le Corb. In meeting Emma and James a very nice architect-couple from London, UK, I got very lucky not doing this pilgrimage alone.

Besides designing the city, the swiss-french architect Le Corbusier designed what is now the logo of the city: the open hand

The open hand is located on the Congress - Complex, entirely designed by Le Corbusier too, consisting of the High Court, with some wonderful, colored open spaces but also some infrastructural "problems"

the Secretary, (architectually interesting has been especially the ramp! Or lets say... we just were allowed to see the ramp and the roof, and the ramp was way more interesting )

and the State-Parliament. This time we were allowed to see the inside but unfortunately the "security"- a mixture from army and police didn't allow us to take any pictures.

Very interested in taken pictures although was Mr. Singh, a name every second person in the northwest of India has, but this guy was very special:

Mr. Singh has a very interesting Hobby: it's meeting tourists. Us he met first in the busstation and once again later on the day so we spent the rest of day together adding some names and pictures to his great collection.

but probably even more amazing as Mr. Singh and Monsieur Corbusiers Congress-Complex was the rock - garden, a piece of art constructed by one person over years being an increadibal wonderland. Just some Impressions:

From the Fantasy world of the Rockgarden I made my way in direction of Nepal having two stops, one of them in the not minder fantasy-like former islamic city of Lucknow where I visited a Tomb and a as well as some leftovers of the British
Since the distances in Nepal are quiet long, and the velocity to get from one point to another can vary dramatically, you spent quiet some time on the road meeting very great people. The family in the picture underneath shared their food with me
and this boy even drove me 1,5 hours on his motorcycle to the place where Buddha died just shortly before the Nepalian Border. He told me it was on his way and there was no way of inviting him for lunch ... it's really special to travel like this.

At the place Buddha died, you find a small temple with a great lying Buddha Statue being copied in many places

and of course I wasn't the only one looking for this place.
I crossed the border to get from the place of death in Kushinagar to the place of birth of Siddhartha in Lumbini, which now a days it's like an Buddhist Expo, many countries and buddhism faiths having his own temple there. (There is even a German one!!)

But just around the simple temple of the original Birth place you can find the atmosphere you connect with such a place

In Lumbini I slept in a Korean Monastory and since the Area is so big, the bike is the better choice to travel

From Lumini to Pokhara I chose once again the bus riding on the top of the roof to the top of the world where I will spent the next two weeks hiking!

Take care and with lovly greetings from Pokhara, Nepal

Boris