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We landed at the Delhi airport and collected our bags to the sounds Indian pop music. We exited and waited for the assault on our senses. You know ……the kind you read about.. The smells, sounds, the rude awakening , but there was none. Like all gateway cities to foreign places, it was a big city with lots of cars and people and not a lot of traffic rules being ignored. We buzzed into town in the back of our taxi thru traffic circles and dust .Construction is the order of the day as it turns out Delhi is hosting the 2010 Commonwealth games and the city is getting ready; new roads , infastructure even a new Metro. The whole city is covered by a layer of dust and it is not just from the construction zones. It just is.
As was the plan of the evening we checked in and headed to Connaught Place to a swanky place called Qba. We sat on the rooftop terrace and enjoyed dinner and drinks overlooking a new structure being built. In the morning we hit the tourist trail. First stop Humayun’s Tomb. The tomb was built for a Mughal ruler from the 1500’s and is the predecessor to the Taj Mahal. Surrounded by 4 gates and a walled in garden with 5 kilometers of water features. We toured this peaceful place to the sound of the birds and observed the sandstone and marble structure that brought Persian style to Delhi.
After we headed to Dilli Haat but not before a stop at a bogus Delhi Haat , clever driver J. We shopped the crafts market , bought black pearls for $2!! and had a dosa lunch. Later we went to the International Toilet museum to learn of the evolution of toilets and the new advances in public sanitation. One of the scientists responsible for the innovative commodes that turn all the waste into useful irrigation water and bio gas that can be used for power demoed the lights and stove with the flick of a match. They gave us cards and CD’s , even took our picture. I was so shocked this wasn’t just a ploy to ask for a donation, rather a attempt to spread the word of their ingenious toilets. We ended our Delhi visit with dinner in Karol Bragh and watched the sunrise over the train station before we caught the train to Agra.

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