The heart of Imphal - and Manipur - is the old capital of Kangla fort. This has now been converted into a beautiful park and tourist area.
These two statues are the Kangla Sha - mythical beings which are supposed to be godly protectors of the kingdom. The original statues were destroyed by the British, but now have been restored. You can also see the cycle I hired to explore the fort - it had no brakes! The choice was between a cycle with no seat and one with no brakes...so I chose the latter.
General Slim's bungalow - which has now been converted into a cute little museum
Temple cum memorial to the old kings of Manipur
After Kangla fort, I went to see the Imphal state museum, but it was closed. I could only admire the mural or frieze outside.
I heard the roar of a crowd and went to see what was up - and it turned out to be a polo match! What fun!
An international polo tournament had been organised to coincide with the Sangai festival
What amazing fun it was!
Then I went to the Sangai festival venue - and was very impressed with the Assam Rifles stall!
They had a very cool selfie stall, where you get get a pic of yourself with a machine gune.
And some cool gun displays
And get photos with soldiers in uniform
As the day wound down, the cultural activities started
And also the awesome food stalls!
The really lavish cultural programs were in the BOAT - the Bhagchandra Open Air theatre.
And the best part was the tribal food! So yum!
