The Manchester of South Asia.

The last city my journey took me to was what is called the "Manchester of South Asia", or the Missouri of South Asia as Haley would say. It's a far stretch from MO, but it is flat like the plains of the US. This is a city where old meets new. The centre is packed with Moghul ruins and spaghetti streets, but in the midst of so much history there are HUGE malls. Like I'm talking US malls. The city is about 7 million people, and there is an interesting mix of the traditional with the modern. You have women walking around in nationals dress, talking the national language in a place that looks like it's in America- VERY strange. There is this one store called Reliance Mart, which was nicknamed, Wal-mart on steroids. It really was like a superwalmart. CRAZY! Along our travels we went to some cool handicraft places, and some historical sites. We went to one step well, which is basically an intricate hole dug in the ground, with a well at the bottom. It was made in 1555AD, and it was constructed by both a Moghul and Hindu ruler, so you can see the difference in design depending on who was ruling at the time! (If you look closely at the top two pictures you can see the steps that lead down to the well and bathing area. )
Because this state borders the desert we saw camel pulled carts all over. It's interesting to see the different modes of transportation depending on the location. In this city it was Camels and Elephants where as in the north it's more horses and donkeys!!!
I feel like I'm writing a report for Lonely Planet or something, but this city is definitely a cool place to go. The airport is even nice and clean and orderly!!!
I leave again today for yet another adventure, more pictures to come soon....