Visiting Chandigarh I was looking forward to finally meeting my friend and Hindi teacher Apoorva Roshan in person. Knowing little about Chandigarh before we left for India we were both pleasantly surprised to arrive by train to find a town with trees and green spaces. Roads were laid out "Milton Keynes" style in straight lines, with the enclosed spaces being identified as sectors. The city was much cleaner than other places we had visited in India, and there seemed to be a significant number of properties housing various bureaucratic departments. The town was the brainchild of Corbusier, the Swiss-French Architect, who designed the plan for the city, and a number of the main buildings in the 1950s.

Taking a walk through sector 17, the shopping sector, described in Lonely Planet as the one most visited by tourists alongside 22 where most of the hotels are, we felt we were being taken back in time. The open areas and precincts are reminiscent of those we grew up with in 60s Britain albeit without the advocates. One side of the precinct had a large bank of desks, each one attended by an advocate advising a client. In addition, a lot of desks were occupied by clerks with typewriters for documenting the outcome of the meetings. Open-air consultations were something we had already witnessed in Bikaner so presumably, this is how you get legal advice in India.

The precincts felt dated and tired, without evidence of any recent upkeep or maintenance. We were somewhat reassured that Chandigarh hadn't completed succumbed to a time freeze when Apoorva told us about a mall in a different sector.

Visiting the Elanta mall was like going to one of the smartest British malls- think The Shires at Leicester, or Brent Cross. Prices were much the same as British prices, so presumably high for Indians. I'd been having trouble with my knickers since leaving home. There's nothing worse than knickers that are too big - so you can imagine my delight when I discovered they had a Marks and Spencer. I can now report that all loose knicker issues have been resolved and my budget is £10 lighter. Anyway back to the account - It was easy to forget you were in India when in the mall. There were so many familiar brands, including our first Costa Coffee branch (and no Hayley, I didn't go in), We came down to earth with a bump when we came outside again and were faced with street food stalls and autorickshaws.

During our time in Chandigarh, we had the chance to visit the rock garden. Constructed by one man over a fifty-year period it was like something from Alice in Wonderland with tiny archways leading you from one area to another. In each of the areas, there were sculptures and figures made from recycled products, very ingenious and well worth the 20 rupees entry. Have a look at some of the pictures and you'll see what I mean.