Delhi the 2nd time back - 3-6 December 2015

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Delhi the 2nd time back - 3-6 December 2015



We arrived in Delhi 2.5 hrs late as the fog in Kathmandu didn't allow our plane to land in the city until later. All was well as there was a driver to pick us up and take us to our hotel on arrival.



It takes so long to get anywhere in Delhi due to the mad traffic. As we didn't get to the hotel until 4.30pm we decided not to do any sightseeing, but to leave it all for the next 2 days.



To keep the story short, we found the Hop-on-Hop-off bus was not working on our first full day back in Delhi (Friday) and there were no vacancies on Saturday. We then organised a car to take us around to the sights the second day. We did our own thing the 1st day.



Delhi is said to be one of the oldest existing cities in the world, along with Jerusalem and Varanasi. Legend estimates it to be over 5,000 years old. Over the millennia, Delhi is said to have been built and destroyed 11 times. So there were a lot of historic buildings to take in!



First day sights:



We caught a TukTuk to the Lotus Temple which was amazing - clean and Sydney Opera House, eat your heart out. It was a building in the shape of a lotus flower. They had to pour each petal of concrete continuously, not allowing the previous pour to start curing. It was a Baha'i temple and one of the best buildings we have seen.

We then caught another tuk tuk to the Red Fort which was in the old city. This is a brilliant red sandstone fort built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (who also built Agra's Taj Mahal) as his ruling palace. Completed in 1648, the years since have not treated the buildings kindly: the rooms have long since been stripped of all objects, the marble inlays are long gone and quite a few buildings are off limits. Still, the scale remains imposing and the gardens are kept lush and green. The only open entrance is Lahore Gate, on the west side. We found that security in and around the Fort were very heavy, as this was the scene of a terrorist attack in 2000 that killed three people. We were there for over 2 hours. Later that night we went to the Sound & Light Show which wasn't too bad although we got cold.

McDonalds for lunch - yes we did it. We hadn't tried McDonalds in India...and the burgers were spicy!! Everything is spicy in India.



We then caught the Metro to Connaught Circle where there are multiple shops around 3 circles Take a walk at Connaught Place, the heart of New Delhi. It is now called Rajiv Chowk. The British-designed colonial equivalent of a shopping mall, it's laid out in two concentric rings divided into blocks, all bursting with shops and lots of pampered pigeons waddling about.

We organised the car for the next day which also took us back to the Red Fort for the Sound and Light Show which was at 7.30pm. It was cold sitting for an hour but the show offered an interesting history on the Fort. The British have a bit to answer there!





Our second day of sightseeing with our driver covered the following:



Hauz Khas Village built in the 13th century

Safdarjang's Tomb who was one of the Moguls.

Embassy Lane where we saw the Australian High Commission which is on a very big block of land with high brick fence around it.

President's House (Rashtrapati Bhavan) was an outstanding building. It would have been good to be able to go closer to it.

Parliament House (Sansad Bhawan) - the area was spacious and very impressive. The area also included the Government Departments.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib near Connaught Place, is the main gurudwara for the many Sikhs of Delhi. We had to cover your head (scarves were provided for free) and stashed our shoes in the shoe storage run by volunteers. Inside was dripping with gold and several large chandeliers hung from the ceilings.

Jantar Mantar is one of five astronomical observatories commissioned by Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur during the 18th century. The odd structures inside are actually enormous scientific instruments for measuring the movement of celestial bodies. As we had already visited the one in Jaipur, we just took a couple of photos through the fence.

Lodhi Garden is a peaceful park in the heart of New Delhi. Lodhi garden is ideal for walk, runs and picnics. There were many locals enjoying themselves playing cricket, football and badminton. It was less smoggy also and the grounds were clean.

Purana Qila (Old Fort), are ruins of the 16th century city of Shergarh, this complex sits on top of what is believed to be the site of Indraprastha, the capital of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata epic.

National Zoological Park is a very large and sprawling park dedicated to preserving the rich biodiversity of the country. This is where we saw a Bengal tiger and white tiger. Fantastic. We walked for many kilometres!!! Three quarters the way around we were thinking the electric cart that they offered would have been a good option!! We left the Zoo at 5.15pm and it was almost dark.

During the day we visited several bazaars/markets/handicraft places which the tour driver was keen to take us to!!!! They often get kick financial backs.





By this time we thought we had seen all the main sites of Delhi and was satisfied with our time. We enjoyed Delhi but would we want to live there? Definitely not! Pollution and traffic are a real challenge for them. However, we go home incredibly satisfied.



We have had a fantastic time. On Sunday 6 December we flew home. It is always incredible to see and experience a new region or country but it is always fantastic to return home to Australia and our special family and wonderful friends, not to mention no pollution!! In Australia we are very, very lucky.



Thanks to those who have read my India blogs. I will be publishing a summary of our thoughts on both India and Nepal, so again, thank you, and thanks to those who have touched base with us via the blog and email while we were away. It is always lovely to receive news and contact from home while we are away.

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Photos

Indira Gandhis memorial walk after she was killed
1000s of people