Capital city

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Namaste. (Hello) Excursion round Delhi/new Delhi today, very interesting place. Temp is in 80s again not a cloud in the sky. First stop is Shri Lakshmi Nairan temple, a masterpiece in marble, however the entrance is quite literally a pig stye with the little darlings running everywhere in the muck and plastic. This casual dropping of non degradable rubbish everywhere and anywhere becomes a bit of a recurring theme unfortunately and quite often by religious sites. The locals don't seem to mind as a family are sharing a picnic amongst the garbage and burning litter. The temple is serene and calming, walking in bare feet on the warm marble floor. There is a slightly unsettling feature of this Hindu temple in the form of swastikas all around the walls and barriers. I had no idea the Hindu religion was originally called Aryan and that this sign (one of balance and declaring perfection in everything) was originally Hindu albeit in mirrored form. I still did a double take when I saw one painted on the shaved head of a baby. The traffic is crazy and the beggars depressing (more on those later) and we, my driver and I head to Humayan's tomb, another masterpiece in stone and marble. One notable aspect of this structure is that it incorporates a system of miniature canals laid out over a large area to water the plants and trees. I seek some shelter from the (did I mention it) blazing mid day sun in a cool dark secluded area, which turns out to be a crypt. A swallow has also had this idea and as I enter it decides to exit- through my sunglasses. The swallow is ok but my glasses won't be stopping the sun anytime soon. You could say that I was en-crypted, well my trousers certainly were. Saw the lotus temple which I think is a modern rival to the Taj Mahal. Lots more to say but I think the art of the blog is keep it short and interesting, in brief food fab, weather hot, people lovely accommodation basic, but decided to move on tomorrow, no upset tummy, few bugs. Back soon Keith

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