Blogs from National Capital Territory, India, Asia - page 12

Geo: 28.6137, 77.1834 Big day travelling, left hotel 12 noon so chance to have leisurely breakfast, repack the bags, head off to airport.Good quick flight to Delhi with inDigo Air, Then wait for 10.30pm at Delhi airport for flight to Hong Kong. McDonalds at Delhi Airport for dinner to pass the time. Very fast flight, arrived 6am the quick immigration etc then transfer to Kowloon Hotel.... read more

Geo: 28.6137, 77.1834 Up at 5.40am, breakfast and on the bus at 8am. First stop after tackling the crazy Delhi traffic to India's largest mosque, Jama Masjid. Shoes off, then walk around the mosque, interesting but not spectacular. One of the largest mosques in India & was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan completed in 1656 AD Pickup our shoes then jump in a bike rickshaw thru the lanes & backstreets of Old Delhi & Chandi Chowk market. Absolute mayhem, riding up little alleyways stop, start then weaving in and out traffic. Stopped at market stall where they make Jimble??, a sugary crisp sweet. Little man working over a hot oil drum cooking the dough, right next door to a fireworks stall! Anything could happen. On the way to Ghandih's memorial, past the President's huge house ... read more

Left Agra early and headed back to Delhi, we have done a huge big circle on this trip, the road from Agra to Delhi is pretty perfect, nearly all freeway so a good run back into Delhi, about a 3 hr drive but stopped midway for a coffee break. Looking forward to getting back to the Crowne Plaza, a very comfy hotel. After lunch we headed in the central Delhi area to the Chandni Chowk Market area to the spice market, before arriving at the spice market we were asked did anyone have asthma or any sort of lung problems!! The fumes of all the varieties of chilli etc is unbelievable, even some of us who are used to chilli, had a few coughing fits! There are just hundreds of huge sacks of chilli and all ... read more

Arrived safely in Delhi at 11 p.m. local time (Feb. 4) which would have been 10:30 a.m. EST. The trip was long but not awful. I was a bit stressed leaving DC because the flight was delayed and I was afraid at one point that I might miss my connection in Newark, but ended up with plenty of time. The 14 hour flight was as good as such a flight can be in Economy on United Airlines! There wasn't much of a chance to get an impression of India last night. The ride to the hotel from the airport was about 45 minutes and the traffic was much like DC during rush hour....except that there was an occasional cow on the major road and the horns were blowing incessantly....and there was the wedding "chariot " being ... read more

It was about to get very real. I was arriving at a destination that is up there on most travelers' lists, and especially those who are backpacking. India. It had been on my list for far too long now and it was about time that I was going to be experiencing it. I envisioned many ups and downs but I was sure that the reality would be far more interesting than anything I could ever imagine. And therein lies the charm that brings back countless travelers time and again to the subcontinent. My finnair flight made the final descent into what was arguably some of the thickest fog I could imagine. Being that it was January, this was considered the winter in Northern India. The capital of New Delhi was also known to experience extreme amount ... read more