Delhi Day 2 redux....

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Okay, time to actually tell you all where we went and what we did there....

The downside to posting this after the fact is that the entire trip is now tinged with the emotional state of the second week due to worrying about friends and family due to Hurricane Sandy. So that things which were enjoyed during the first week are now remembered with bit less enthusiasm.

But there is an upside to posting this late. PHOTOS! Since I'm home and photos have been uploaded, I will include some in the blog entries.

As stated previously, our day started with a visit to Humayun's Tomb and the to Qutab Minar. After that, we went to the Gandhi museum, which is at the house where he spent his final days and was assassinated. I had learned some Gandhi history during my trip to South Africa (he spent time there and did a bit of legal work there) and it was interesting to hear more about him. There was a lot of stuff to read at the museum, and it would have taken a very long time to read it all.

We drove past the India Gate which is a memorial to the war dead of India. We continued our drive by passing the Indian Government buildings, including the Parliament building. Because of security, you're not allowed to actually go near the buildings. More on security later.....

Our first big shopping opportunity of the trip came with our stop at a Kashmiri artists cooperative. We had some yummy snacks and tea and got a demonstration of Kashmiri rug-making. It was a nice demo, and the rugs were gorgeous, but this is where I had my first realization that while stuff is gorgeous, it didn't really look like anything that I couldn't find somewhere in NY. And the prices were way too expensive for me....

After a brief stop at our hotel, most of our group opted for an optional tour of Akshardham Temple. Now, there's a disconnect between the day to day itinerary and what the optional listing stated. The day to day mentions 3 temples, a Hindu, a Sikh and a Buddhist. But the optional listed just the Akshardham. Which was fine, even that early on, I think 3 temples would have been a bit much. Now we once again discuss security.... Apparently, the group that built this temple has had some security issues so you are allowed to bring NOTHING in with you. And you get frisked. And let me tell you, Indian ladies frisk very intensively. They really should buy us dinner first. The temple was very crowded, since it was a school holiday. But that worked to our advantage, since a rain storm blew through while we were under cover waiting to get in. From a distance the temple doesn't look like much but the inside was beautiful (sorry, because of security, no pictures).

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Comments

[millie bracht]

Great Pictures
Love your pictures. How long were you in India? How long did it take to travel from NYC to India ? Just to let you know that Keith and I just returned from a 14 night Panama Canal Cruise. We had a great time. Millie & Keith