New Delhi: take two...

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We arrived in Delhi following a near 10hr train journey which we had all managed to get plenty of sleep on, thank god, and were met by a guy who escourted us hassle free to our hotel.
Good start.

Our hotel was really nice (a/c and a tv!!) and was just off the Main Bazaar, only in a MUCH nicer area. We met up with our friend Tariq (who we had met in Srinigar) for lunch and it was great, like meeting an old friend (we spend way to long just talking to each other Im thinking!). Then we visited the Lodi Gardens in the hope of finding refuge from the heat (you forget just how hot it is in Delhi, compared to everywhere else in the country!). The gardens were fab and had the very-well-maintained ruins of a mosque and tomb in the centre of them. They were considerably more impressive then we were expecting, as were the number and variety of birds living there. Unfortunately, Tariq had 'kindly' organised a driver for us (he is a public transport snob!) so we had to leave before we were ready really. Worse again, the bloody driver tried to bring us to a few different emporiums "shopping" (getting pressured and conned into buying expensive crap you dont want more like!), so we pretty much headed straight home after that!

The next day was Ghandi's birthday and International Non-Violence Day so everything was closed. We went to Connaught Place- the posh part of town- and treated ourselves to lunch in Pizza Hut (Western food...yesss...) before returning to the Lodi gardens and sunbathing for the day. It was nice to see the modern part of the city and to see India Gate (a monument near the parlimentary district) and the contrast between that and old Delhi was shocking! It was just like any European city with wide, tree-lined roads and proper tarmac and street signs for a start. And there were no...or less...stray cows and dogs and monkeys.

That night we brought Tariq out for dinner (he was very reluctantly slummin' it for the night on our behalf!) and a few drinks and we all had great craic, and a lovely dinner.

Day three was hectic because everything had re-opened, so we visited the National Museum, India Gate and the Red Fort sound & light show (very odd tourist attraction but extremely impressive buildings and beautiful at night). Then we went for a few drinks and a very fancy dinner, before catching a free concert of traditional music and dance in the Connaught Place park. On our return to the hotel, we met yp with Tariq to say goodbye and ended up having a few more drinks on our roof-top terrace with himself and a few other travellers. It was a good laugh- especially when it turned out we'd ALL been coerced into buying near identical package tours up to Kashmir!!... Ours worked out, hopefully there's does to.

The Red Fort really was magnificent and I have never seen anything of its size or grandeur before in my life! The main entrance is enormous and inside is like a little town within the city. It was well worth visiting properly this time around, as we only saw the outside on our first visit and, is another of the many buildings built by the emporer who comissioned the Taj Mahal (Shah Janan)

We were all shocked at how sad we were to be leaving Delhi and at how familiar we had become with the city. It was really good that we got the chance to return and see the 'new' Delhi before we left, because this time around we will have a lot more to recommend to other travellers and a much better impression of the city and people in general.

(Memo To All: avoid those god awful emporiums at all cost!!!)

Next stop: Agra and the Taj!!!...woohoo...

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Photos

Delhi
Lodi gardens

Old Delhi
The Red fort

Delhi
The locals!!

Delhi
Lodi gardens