Sanchi

sanchi gate 1
Originally uploaded by lamoney.

Sanchi was the destination last weekend, a small village in Madhya Pradesh (central India) famous for its Buddhist shrines built around 200 BC.

After a marathon 14 hour train trip and 2 hour bus ride, we arrived. It was nice to get out of the Indian cities - Sanchi was a lot more laid back and you didn't have to deal with touts and other hassles.

Click on the photo to see more photos from Sanchi. Again, they're Kate's not mine, still haven't gotten a camera.

The shrines were good but not what I was expecting. The famous 'stupas' are basically big domes made out of bricks, surrounded by impressively carved gates. But you can't go inside them; they are something like pyramids, apparently filled in aside from tombs which are possibly inside depending on who I asked, but in any case not visitable. To be honest I left quite confused about what the hell their purpose was. I don't think the people there were really sure why they were built either. There were also some ruins of temples which looked very similar to Greek temples, and the foundations of a few monasteries.

It was a nice spot with some beautiful country around and a few of the ever-present monkeys hanging about scaring tourists.

We briefly saw Bhopal on the way back, a town famous for one of the world's worst ecological disasters, the leaking of some poison gas by a Union Carbide factory (us owned firm) caused by inadequate maintenance and cost cutting. More than 30,000 people died, and about half a million were left with permanent serious health damage which in many cases has been passed on to their children.

Aside from that, it was a pretty city with a lovely lake.

This weekend I'm taking a break and sticking around in Delhi. I've started a Yoga course which has been fun; in the house, we've got a new Japanese girl in, Ruth & Susannah have left, and Kate is leaving this weekend; and at work, we've got a book launch on Saturday night. Oh, and I'm going to an Indian rock concert Sunday. That's about it. Oh and its starting to get damn hot.