Traveling to India for the 1st time - How to spend 17 days in India (Part 3)

Hi Fellow Steemians,

This is the part 3 of my 1st travel experience to India. Click on the links below and it will bring you to the Part 1 and Part 2 of my India travel experience.

So.. Want to know where is our destination?? Continue to read on this post….

ITINERARY

Day 4: New Delhi – Chandigarh

After spending two days in the capital of India, it’s time to go back to my late father-in-law’s hometown in Chandigarh, Punjab. Chandigarh is 260km north of New Delhi. @dilresh and my In-laws normally take a flight or roadtrip back to Chandigarh but this time, instead of taking flight and car ride, we all decided to take a train ride.

We were advised by relatives who go back to India frequently to book our train tickets before the departure date through online to avoid hassle and SCAM at the railway station. Luckily, I managed to register an account with IRCTC (after @dilresh and my Brother-In-Law failed to register) and booked the tickets 2 weeks before we leave Malaysia for India. We booked our train tickets at https://www.irctc.co.in and it costs us Rs1,215 per pax including breakfast.

We woke up very early on the 3rd day in Delhi, skipped our breakfast at the hotel and our drivers sent us directly to New Delhi Railway Station in Paharganj. The railway station is the busiest Railway Station in the country.

Even before our car stop completely, a group of more than 10 aggressive porters came follow us from the back of the car and tried to carry all our luggages without our permission. And this was when @dilresh shouted to them (Lols!!) and told them we need only 2 porters to carry our luggages. That moment was so tense where the porters arguing with each other and dilresh once again stressed out that we need only 2 porters. (I totally understand why they acted that way. India’s population is so big and job opportunity is limited, these porters are just trying to earn a decent living).

We finally settled in our coach and found our seats, thanks to the 2 porters. I have read that the trains in India tend to delay for few hours from the original departure timing but thank God, our Shatabdi Express was on time!

We booked the Executive Chair Car, which is air-conditioned. The seats are very comfortable and the legroom is so spacious it allows you to relax on a long journey. 10 minutes after we depart, 2 staff in our coach started to serve our breakfast. To our surprise, the breakfast was pretty good!

1st: Tea, biscuit & packet drinks

2nd: Milk, cornflakes, whole meal bread & banana

Lastly, Stuffed potato (you can also opt for omelette for non veg)

Despite waking up at 5.30 am, I didn't sleep the whole journey. I enjoyed the passing scenery. At some point, you can see sugarcane farms and then fields full of yellow flowers, the mustard fields. Even my niece, Jeeya enjoyed the whole trip!

After 3 hours 30 minutes, we finally reached Chandigarh Railway Station. Our uncle, who flew earlier than us was already there waiting for our arrival.

Chandigarh Railway Station

Welcome to Punjab

Uncle brought us straight back to his house in Mohali and we had our 2nd breakfast there before we freshen up and get ready to explore Chandigarh. @dilresh was the most excited because he hadn't been back for more than 10 years.

@dilresh infront of uncle's house in Mohali

Chandigarh, the Capital of two neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab is one of the proper planned city in India. Unlike New Delhi, Chandigarh is clean, roads are maintained properly and you can hardly see homeless people or beggars in this city.

Sector 17, Chandigarh

Image Source

In the afternoon, we went to Sector 17 in Chandigarh. According to @dilresh, Sector 17 used to be the most happening hang out place in Chandigarh. People come here to shop, to eat and just socialize. But since the opening of Elante Mall and other big malls, Section 17 has gradually losing its charm.

When we visited Sector 17 that afternoon, it was almost empty. You can see only few people including us walking around the Sector 17. Poor thing!

Elante Mall

Image source

After walking around Sector 17, we went to Elante which comprises of Elante Shopping Mall, Hyatt Hotel and office complex. In Elante Mall, you can find various local and international brands, departmental stores, food courts as well as beautiful courtyard with a row of cafes to choose.

I did window shopping at the mall on the first visit because I know that I have 3 days in Chandigarh. After checking out on the shops there, uncle brought us to the courtyard and we chose to sit at Chaayos cafe. Chaayos offers varieties of teas and side dishes like sandwiches and pakoras. Just perfect for winter season!

Around 6:00pm, we left Elante mall and headed back to uncle's house in Mohali. It took us 30 minutes to reach uncle's house. We had our dinner at the house and had few shots of whiskeys before we took our after-dinner walk around the neighbourhood.

Our first day in Chandigarh was so relax.. totally different from New Delhi. I can still hear honking but not as bad as in New Delhi.. lols...

Till then...

Xoxo,
@connie1018