Day 9- David

Chundering to Chandigarh:

The 7 hour bus ride to Chandigarh was very windy and unpleasant. Joanna vomited 7 times and I vomited 3 times before going to sleep. So it can be easily presumed that when the bus, one and a half hours late, rolled into Chandigarh we were all very keen to get off and get driven to Avinash’s family's home. We got into bed, completely exhausted, and went to sleep immediately. We woke in the morning and had a lovely traditional North Indian breakfast of stuffed parantha (onions and patatoes) while talking to their parrot, Chikoo. We then went out to explore Chandigarh. Chandigarh is a very different place compared other parts of India because it is India's only planned city. The city is divided into around 70 sectors, each with it's own set of shops and park. We wanted to visit the lake which is the one of 3 main tourist attractions in Chandigarh, along with the Rose Garden and Rock Garden. Unfortunately the lake was closed because some birds had died of bird flu there, causing the Indian authorities to disinfect the area around the lake in fear of bird flu spreading to people. We didn't visit the Rock garden or Rose Garden because it was so foggy and cold. So instead Avinash lead us to Abrianna's second home, Elante Shopping Mall. It was very interesting looking around the mall because if it weren't for all the Indian shoppers, you could have been anywhere in the world. All the models on the posters were either pakeha or they were Indian with so much make up on to make them look white. The brands were the same as brands we have in NZ too, Clarks, Addias, Zara, The Body Shop, Puma, Cathy, ect. The even had a Hamleys Toy Shop which we spent a bit of time in. Then it was a hurried KFC lunch (which was very nice with the Indian spices in it). We had to get Àbrianna (Avinash's daughter) from Sector 35 to Sector 7 for the national under 17 basketball team selection. If she gets in, she will go on a nearly two week long training camp. Abrianna is very good at basketball, she practices for two hours everyday after school so I think she should get in. After we dropped her off at the sports complex, Avinash took us to his workplace, an Apple service and repair company, of which he is in charge of. I got to see the inside of an iPhone 4S, as well as a MacBook Air. It was now time to pick up Abrianna from basketball selection. Unfortunately, she didn't get in the team because she is only 14 and everyone else was older than her. We went back to their apartment with all the Christmas lights turned on. We had a very nice dinner of shahi panner, a tasty (and slightly spicy) chicken dish.after that we jumped into bed and went to sleep.