He also showed us the international travelers office, which was a haven of peace after sitting on the floor of the filthy train station entrance. From here things started to look up, I got hold of one of the people looking after my tour, and she confirmed that the train was currently delayed by 1h50. She recommended we wait, which is what we are now doing!
About today, we actually had a great day in Delhi which we both really enjoyed. After a reasonable breakfast of omlettes and toast at the hotel, the driver, Mr Sirender (Surrender!) Singh, met us and took us to Humayun's tomb, a Unesco world heritage site where we also met our guide, Khan. We absolutely loved the tomb and the enormous and pristine gardens surrounding it. We got there quite early, and there were few other tourists around, making for great photos. Squirrels frolicked In the trees, kites circled overhead, and the occasional crow or mynah broke the silence with their calls. Khan explained that Humayun's first wife brought in a persian architect, who could build the tomb in the Islamic style. The tomb is made up of a first storey square base, on which rests a domed octagonal section. We advanced along the main pathway stopping at the fountain to take photos. Then we ascended the large steep steps to the upper level. The octagonal tomb was decorated with trellis stonework, towering arches, clad with marble and red sandstone. We walked clockwise around the tomb taking in the gardens and scenery. We entered the tomb and admired the light filtering through the trellis and the marble tomb marking the site of Humayun's remains. From there we made our way to the barbers tomb situated near the boundary wall. Apparently the tomb was built by the mughal emperor for his favourite barber. The tomb itself was much smaller than the main tomb but still very respectable for a barber. From the barbers tomb we made our way back the entrance and rejoined our driver.
The traffic on the roads was starting to pick up again as we headed north to the red fort. Along the way we passed the Delhi golf club, caught a glimpse of the India Gate, and then made a right turn after the Purana Qila fortifications. Driving along the ring road we passed the Rajghat(Ghandi's cremation site). We stopped briefly on the perimeter of the Red Fort to take some photos. The red fort loomed impressively in the hazy air, we could just make a Hamam (baths), halls and royal apartments. Khan recommended that we skip the tour of the Delhi red fort in favor of the one in Agra which we would enjoy more. We continued our drive around the fort passing under some bridges connecting the fort to the rivernYamuna. Heading south we stopped to take photos at the Lahore gate of the fort, risking life and limb and police imprisonment...
The driver then veered off the main road plunging into the bustling chaos of Chadni Chowk, the old city of Delhi. All sorts of fruit and veg, second hand clothes and other oddities were out on display for sale. We hopped out and entered the Jami Masjid, Friday mosque and India's largest. We proceeded up the stairs and were parted from our shoes by an impatient attendant. Passing through the gate another attendant issued Nicki with a hideous pink and white floral modesty gown, completely unnecessary given that she was fully dressed for winter, oh well, when in Rome... We handed over 200 rupees for the privelege of taking photos and proceeded inside. Khan did the talk, explaining the layout of the Mosque, pointing out the King's gate, the central ablution pool used exclusively by pigeons, the minaret towers and the bulbous domes. We then made our way around the courtyard passing the pool toward the tower, where we handed over another 100 rupees each for the tower climb. We climbed the steps to the first level and then to the minaret entrance, where two Muslims greeted us and announced that we were the first visitors of the day. One them personally escorted us up the 120 steps of the narrow spiral staircase, pausing halfway to take in the view. At the top the view was limited by the haze, but we could make out the outline of the red fort Lahore gate, the buildings of the Chadni Chowk and the Mosque below. We took a few photos, and our helpful Muslim guide took a few pics of us. As other tourists arrived we made our way back down, where the guide politely demanded a tip which we grudgingly handed over.
Finished at the mosque, we found our driver and headed towards the Rajghat, Ghandi's cremation site. Once there, we saw thousands of schoolchildren, obviously on a school trip. We learnt that Indian children go to school 6 days a week! The cute little ones waved as we walked past and tried to shake our hands. The older ones tried to talk to us in English and a few cheeky ones even requested a photo with me... The cremation site itself is marked by a large black granite platform with carved flowers on it. You have the choice to view it from above and afar, and walk right around, or go right up to it if you are willing to part with your shoes and a small fee. We opted for the former option and walked around, trying to avoid swarms of school kids.
We then headed towards the India gate, which is a huge monument in the centre of Delhi for all of these who died in various battles. It is inscribed with the names of those to be remembered, and has an eternal flame burning beneath it. The gate leads to the wide avenues of the Rajpath, towards the parliamentary area, Vijay Chowk. It reminded me so much of the area surrounding Buckingham palace in London, the British influence is particularly evident here. It is these streets where the Indians celebrate independence day each year. We reached the far end, which housed the president's parliament house (which I was impressed to find out is a woman!), the prime ministers office and other parliamentary offices. There are beautiful fountains and gardens, and it feels quite removed from the rest of Delhi.
We then drove through the wide, green leafy streets of the embassy area of Delhi, while our guide insisted on reading out each country as we passed their embassy. We finally reached the Qut'b Minar archaeological area further out in the South of Delhi. We paid Rs250 each and then Khan explained the history of the area in rapid and difficult to understand English... We made out that this unesco heritage site dates back to the 1100's, and once formed part of The first city of Delhi, Qila Rai Pithora. Delhi is actually called the city of cities, it was formed out of 7 original cities.
The Qut'b Minar is actually an enormous minaret of the "might of Islam" mosque, now partly in ruins. The minaret is in five enormous stories, with over 300 steps. It seems they banned the climbing of the tower when a power failure within caused mass panic and the deaths of many children. We explored the impressive complex of well-restored ruins and marveled at the mixture of architectural styles - Islamic arches with Hindu carved pillars, very intricate and quite beautiful. The area also houses tombs and a medrasa (Islamic school), and the remains of another, unfinished minaret, which was planned to be even larger. I seemed to be attracting endless numbers of school- aged groupies and we eventually shook them, heading away from the main sites. Once we had explored and taken many pics, wefound Khan playing with the squirrels and got a few cute snaps. He seemed happy that we had caught him on film, so that we would remember him...
Time for lunch and we weren't sure of the protocol - do we choose the restaurant, do the driver and guide join us, do we pay for them?... Fortunately, Khan made it easy for us and chose a very nice place on the way to the next monument. He and the driver left us, I assume they grabbed some food elsewhere. The restaurant was excellent, with a modern interior and huge international and local menu. The only thing I can't commend is the choice of music (Abba!). We chose black lentil dhal and chickpea curry with rice and naan, and everything was delicious and filling. The bill came to arond Rs1300 - R200. So far no Delhi belly, let's see how long this lasts for!
After lunch we went to the Bah'ai temple, which is an enormous white temple n the shape of a lotus flower. It's really modern and beautiful. The Bah'ai believe that their prophet came with a message to unite all faiths, so people of every religion are welcome in the temple. Apparently at service times they read a bit from the Koran, the bible, Hindu verses, etc. Khan told us that there are many Bah'ai temples throughout the world, all impressive, and that the Sydney opera house is one of them... I'll have to read up about that one! But the lotus temple does look strikingly similar in design and architecture, hmmm... We fast tracked the shoe removal queue by giving ours to Khan, and then queued once again to get in, taking photos of the outside. Before you go in, they give a little speech about what they believe and what the rules are - absolute silence in the temple, no photography, and you're supposed to meditate or pray for as long as you like. We did say a prayer for our families and friends at home, and thanks to God for keeping us safe, and for the privilege of traveling.
After this it seems we had covered everything that the Khan recommended, so it was time for the obligatory carpet shopping experience. We were already nervous as soon as we walked into the place, scarred by a bad experience in Turkey, so were very cautious. It was the usual drill, friendly handshakes and smiles, free tea, and a lesson on how carpets are made. These particular ones were from Kashmir, and were particularly beautiful, especially the silk ones. But we didn't come to India for carpets! They were disappointed but very polite when we declined to look further - they were asking 300US dollars for a medium sized carpet... So they tried to move us onto scarves and clothes, but i couldnt find anything that really appealed or fitted all the well. Khan looked very disappointed when we left empty handed, I'm sure there would have been some commission in it for him. He then gave us hasty instructions for the train journey, and informed us he was getting out. We had discussed a tip but weren't sure on what would be appropriate. So we gave Rs200, which didn't go down so well!
So we headed for the train station... And I'm now sitting on the top berth of our sleeper carriage. The train eventually arrived 2 hours late. But we have been sitting here for an hour and it still hasn't left. Oh well, time for some sleep. Tomorrow - the madness of Varanasi (hopefully!)
- Nix and Van
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Delhi, India
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