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Published: March 7th 2008
At the Jama Mosque
First photo op. Jama MosqueIndia Day 1 22 February 2008
“Incredible India” is the official slogan of India’s Ministry of Tourism. Too sum up our quick 4+ day trip to India would be to say it was, in fact, incredible. A few other words that come to mind are; astonishing, captivating, splendid, majestic, and humbling.
In the few, short days we spent in India, we ran the full gamut of sight, sounds, and experiences which made this trip a truly remarkable adventure.
In striking a balance, India offers a harmonious blend of experiences which complement each other to force tourists to immerse themselves in the total experience. We found things on both ends of the spectrum: old and new, wealth and poverty, sparkle and filth, joy and tragedy, color and drab, as well as tranquility and noise. The combination of these factors made this a really memorable trip.
I had the intent of providing daily updates to our Great Golden Triangle Adventure, but as you can see, this never happened. This was a fast paced trip from the time we hit the ground. We had a really awesome time, but at the same time it was extremely exhausting as well.
On the Streets
This image was taken while driving in Delhi. It shows the variety of modes of transport on the roads. The Golden Triangle of India is one of the most famous tour circuits in all of India. It encompasses the three most spectacular cities in India; Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra. Delhi was our “port of entry and departure”.
Upon arrival into Delhi, we had to set our watches to India Standard Time (IST). Typically changing your watch to a new time zone is a relatively simple process, but India is a little unique We arrived in Delhi, India at 6:20 AM. The time difference from Kuwait is 2 ½ hours. Let me take a quick moment to explain the time difference. India is one of the only places in the world that has a unique time zone which is 30 minutes off of others. I had always thought that there were only 24 time zones (meridians) around the world. I now find there is yet another (India Standard Time). For those who may not be aware, the Prime Meridian (Greenwich, England—aka Zulu or UTC) is the reference point for all time zones throughout the world. India Standard Time is +5 ½ hours. For example, if it is 1:00PM in Greenwich, England—it is 6:30PM in India.
Ok, now that
Bath Time
Sad, but true. Some folks resort to bathing in the streets of Delhi. we have our geography lesson out of the way, let proceed with the adventure.
We are met at the airport by Shailesh from the tour company. I stop by the toilet to take care of business and find a guy wanting money to enter the airport bathroom. I tell him he is crazy and proceed to walk in. After finishing, I asked Shailesh what was the deal with this. He replied that you pay them 5 Rupees (about 12 cents) to use the toilet in private facilities. Gee, now I’m baffled. I thought this was a public airport but hey, I guess everyone has to make a living. Shailesh paid the 5 Rupees and we moved on. It’s funny that when you exchange money at the airport of a new country, you always end up with large bills. From here on out, anytime we travel to a new country, I will buy a soda or pack of gum to break currency into some small tip change.
We depart the airport to check into the hotel. I am fascinated with the amount of auto rickshaws on the streets. I soon learn that this is the main mode of transportation
Lynne's Socks (Jama Mosque)
Check out the dude checking us out. for the less affluent population. Auto rickshaws are much cheaper than utilizing a taxi. Auto rickshaws are also a primary means of transporting cargo and believe me, they will load these to the limit. Seeing a fully loaded rickshaw is actually a comedic experience in itself. Te roads are alive with a wide variety of transport. We see autos, auto rickshaws, pedal powered rickshaws, and lots of bicycles.
We check into the hotel and agree that we will meet our guide for the Delhi portion of the trip at 10:00AM. Lynne and I got a quick catnap and begin our Delhi adventure.
DELHI
Driving is done on the left side of the road. This come from the British colonization influence on the country. India received it’s independence from Britain in 1947, but many of the British influences are still apparent.
We arrive at the hotel at about 7:30 AM in the morning and are instructed that our guide for the day would meet us at 10:00 AM. We check in and grab a quick cup of coffee and tea for Lynne. We leave a wake up call for 9:30 AM and settle in for a
quick 1 ½ hour catnap before starting our day of adventure.
After a quick shower and change of clothes, we link up with Rajib. He is our guide for the day. Rajib is a licensed tour guide and has been giving tours of Delhi for the last 14 years. He is a wealth of information and tells me he has a Masters degree in History. It becomes very apparent about his passion for history.
We proceed to the Jamma (Friday) Mosque. This is a huge ancient mosque which is still in use today. I’ll spare you all of the historical details of this inspiring structure. Shah Jahan commissioned the same guy who built the Taj Mahal to build this Mosque.
Prior to entering the grounds, we must take our shoes off. There is a guy selling socks for 50 Rupees so we pick up a couple of pair to wear on the grounds—this proves to be a great investment because you are walking around in bird poo most of the time. I also have to pay a 200 Rupee “camera fee” in order to take pictures inside the grounds. And who ever said that travel to India
School Girls
These gals wanted to take a photo with Lynne. They were two really sweet kids. They were on a school trip to the India Gate. was dirt cheap? These folks will nickel and dime you at every corner.
The mosque is very elaborate and I take numerous photos. Not only do I take the standard photos of the sights, but I also focus on people. Tourists and locals alike. I get a really cool shot of Lynne with a bearded dude in the background. This one is priceless. I’m sure that if I asked him to take his picture, it would have cost me 100 Rupees, but I managed to squeeze him into the photo as he was watching me take Lynne’s photo. Upon exiting the mosque we have to pay the the guy watching the shoes 200 rupees. Man, I am in the wrong line of work. Outside the mosque, there are groups of hawkers selling a variety of beads and trinkets. My first instinct was to blow right by them. Then something caught my eye. One guy had some really cool purses. I walk over and negotiate a great price and move on. Here’s a little tidbit of information. If in the market of inexpensive beads and trinkets, stay away from the tourist trap shops where the profits go to someone who has plenty of money. I like to single out street vendors and negotiate a fair price with them. I often get stuff at 50 percent of what I could buy them for in a store.
We move on to the Red Fort. The Red Fort was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a royal residence within his new capital of Shahjahanabad. The fort has a perimeter of 2.41 KM and has an oblong rectangular structure. The fort has two main gates. The fort took nine years to build and was completed in A.D. 1648. The fort has many elaborate structures to include the Emperor’s Palace, Queen’s Palace, Hall of Public Audience, and Hall of Private Audience. Each of these structures was originally build with inlaid precious stones. You can see the evidence of these stolen treasures. The fort as well as all of Delhi, fell to British control after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Again, this is just a brief glimpse at the Red Fort without an entire history lesson.
Our next stop was lunch. Rajib took us to a “tourist” restaurant location that had many restaurants that catered to western tourists. We emphasized that Lynne could not eat spicy food and it was recommended that we get the “set menu”. This consisted of butter chicken, black lentils, cheese & spinach, mixed vegetables and traditional Indian Breads. The food arrived and Lynne gave the chicken a try. Guess what—it was spicy to her, but she continued to eat it. The waiter came back and asked how it was. She said it was spicy and he said he would make some more that would be mild. He did and returned in a few minutes. The meal was great but a little pricey for Indian food, but his was a tourist trap. Upon leaving the restaurant, we were hit by a sea of people trying to hawk postcards and knick knacks. I immediately heard the chant from the snake charmer. Lynne did well with this, but walked in the opposite direction after seeing her first LIVE cobra. The charmer quit when he realized that we were on our way. It’s really interesting seeing how people work the crowd at these tourist traps. Every time a tourist exited the facility, the snake charmer began his chanting until they walked away. I watched this comical display for a brief period before moving on.
This would be a good time to educate folks who may not have a lot of travel experience under their belts. Any time you sign up for any organized tour, expect to be taken solely to places on the guides list of designated stops. These stops are done by design. We may call them kickbacks, but bringing tourists to a place of business and receiving a commission on sales is a fact of life in most foreign countries. This includes taking toilet breaks. A driver will delay a stop for up to 30 minutes by telling you the “clean toilets” are just ahead. Just ahead normally means stopping at one of his pre-determined stops.
As we drive around the city, we are amazed with the differences between the wealthy and the poor. We drive by the compounds of the wealthy who are sheltered from the outside world by elaborated walls and gates, and then make our way through the heart of the city where people are bathing in the streets and dismembered people are begging at the traffic lights. Overall, we were both impressed with how the entire city was clean and free of trash. Sure there were a few sections of town that were nasty, but that is expected in a city of this size. The entire city is abuzz with the sounds of the motors of auto rickshaws and the relentless sounds of people blowing their horns.
After lunch, we drive up to the Government section of the city and marvel at the beauty of the government facilities. We pull into the round-about and get out taking photos of the Presidential Palace. From there we proceed to the “India Gate” which stands an impressive 42 meters (137+ feet). The India Gate was completed in 1931 and serves as a memorial for the 90,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. The gate holds the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and eternal flame. The gate is flanked by beautiful sculpted lawns and gardens and is a center for tourist activities and vendors wanting to separate tourists from their money. Rajib warns us about the ladies who will walk up and put a flag sticker on us.He informs us that they will say they want money for an orphanage. They actually keep the money for themselves and not one rupee goes to any orphanage. Sure enough we encounter 5 of these women and we shoo them off.
Our next stop is Purana Quila (Old Fort). The fort was built in the 16th century by the Lion King, Sher Shah Suri. He built this fort to protect Delhi from Mughal attack and defend the city. It is one of the oldest and most famous historical sites in Delhi. We stroll around the grounds and Rajib explains that President George W. Bush gave an address to the people of India here in March of 2006.
We conclude this action packed day and head back to the hotel for some much deserved rest.
Please be patient for the entries on the remaining of the trip. I will get them posted as soon as I find a few additional moments to finalize them.
I am learning a few valuable lessons in getting these journal entries post. I must discipline myself to keep things brief and too the point. We shall see how that goes
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Jefry Aruja
non-member comment
Wow!!
.... wow !!!! awesome......