Blogs from National Capital Territory, India, Asia

I’m writing this post while flying from Delhi to Udaipur to enjoy the next city on our whistle stop tour. Most similar tours of Northern India either start or finish in Udaipur so we’re skipping a long drive and flying with a domestic airline called IndiGo. So far so good. Although I got in trouble going through security for not taking the right items out of my bag!! In typical Indian style, everything took an interminable amount of time. I can only assume their systems and processes are very complicated because everything seems to take at least three times longer than the equivalent activity at home, like checking in and out of a hotel, checking into a flight, etc. But it’s all part of the experience of travel so I’m unfussed and definitely not stressed about ... read more

On our third day we drove to Iksha’s Uncle’s neighbourhood (Iksha is Grace’s second cousin) - he is a fun loving, luxurious man who loves Joanna Lumley (a fellow Kashmiri!) The neighbourhood was groovy with lots of coffee shops, bars and beautiful houses with lattice balconies. We headed to red fort, which was closed- like everything else in the city on Mondays- silly didis!!!! So instead we went to Humayan’s tomb which really gave Taj Mahal as it was another mausoleum. The lattice windows and ceiling carvings were beautiful. We even saw a man restoring the red paintings on the walls. Iksha had brought bananas so we posed like tourists and Hattie was a fashion model for multiple Punjabi families. One couple had traveled for three days from Kerala via train and were showing Hatts all ... read more

Very early start today at 6am for our visit to Taj Mahal. Supposedly for sunrise but it wasn't really. Sunrise was earlier than that and it was very overcast today so it wouldn't have been worth it to go any earlier. The complex is quite large and the building is in a large courtyard with 4 gates. Our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal was quite surreal as it almost blended in to the surrounding early morning mist. Arjun sold us on using one of the accredited photographers who followed us in and posed us for photos in the best spots. It was quite amusing as we felt like we were posing for wedding photos. It really is a stunning building to see, being completely made of white marble. Inside, it is decorated in a simpler ... read more

Delhi, India’s capital city, actually consists of two areas -the historic Old Delhi and New Delhi. Old Delhi was founded as Shahjahanabad in 1639, when Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor at the time, decided to shift the capital from Agra. This area is the chaotic and bustling heart of Delhi, crammed with narrow streets, crumbling buildings, laneways heaving with overstocked bazaars, vibrant colours, ambling cows, rickshaws, hand pulled wooden carts loaded high with merchandise, and lots and lots of people. New Delhi, designed by British architect Edwin Lutyens, the Indian capital is a striking modern metropolis. A gracious contrast to Old Delhi's winding streets, the grand avenues and stately buildings of New Delhi are rich with history and culture. New Delhi serves as the capital of India and seat of all three branches of the Indian ... read more

Hi everyone or should I say namaste? Well today has been quite an experience. Our tour guide took us to the Red Fort. It turns out we are popular with the Indians. There were queues of Indians waiting to have their photos taken with us. A bit surreal. Now I know what the celebrities go through lol. The architecture was amazing,so beautiful. Next we were taken on a walking tour through the street markets. It’s another world. There’s an overload to the senses. Noise,smell and oh so busy. However acording to our guide we were experiencing the quieter time of day before it got really busy ?. Another rickshaw ride gave me even more grey hairs. The driver misjudged a gap and we were temporarily stuck against a concrete road block. He tried to move the ... read more