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Published: December 23rd 2014
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Another typical Indian experience: As promised and to the whole family's relief I had my beard shaved off at the barbers opposite the Old Delhi Zostel. Apparently I now look younger. And we are no longer in Central Asia where 'grey beards' are respected. So I agreed 150 rupees for the shave and haircut. Before I knew what was happening I was having a face massage as well and lo and behold that was an additional 250 rupees. It wasn't that special. I think the family are pleased with the result.
We have done the Old Delhi sights now Ian and Dan have joined us and we are based there. The Jama Masjid is a huge mosque and was the only opportunity we have had to date to climb a minaret. It was a classic Delhi view - the city stretching out before you until it disappeared into the smoggy haze. From there it was a short walk to the Red Fort. This was our first major Mughal palace. It must have been mind blowing in its opulence when Shah Jahan ruled this part of the world. We managed to take shelter to avoid an unseasonal shower and
lightning show.
We have also discovered we can fit four people in any sort of tuk-tuk. In the smaller version you get in Delhi they don't allow you to sit next to the driver so Jane had to sit on someone's knee and the three boys jammed on the seat. A cycle rickshaw is limited to three!
We did two contrasting walking tours in Delhi. The first was a food tour. It was very much at tourist prices and offered a wide range of excellent food. We went to a famous old jalebi store. They were thicker and less crispy than the ones we had in Amritsar which most of the family preferred. I missed the crispness which gives you a shot of sugar as you crunch it with your teeth.
The most interesting stop was for lemonade. It is made by the shop in bottles stoppered with the a internal glass marble that you press down to break the seal. You can drink it straight or they add 'marsala' powder, which makes it smell like a sulphur spring, or they add marsala and lime which gave it a
cumin flavour. Ian and Dan were happy with the plain lemonade, I liked the cumin flavour and Jane was not tempted by any!
A highlight was the butter chicken restaurant. It serves butter fish or butter chicken, that is it. Marinaded barbecued chicken kebabs were served in a butter cream sauce with chapatis. Very nice and probably the most calorific dish we have had on our travels.
We got to taste buffalo for the first time, served as part of a famous biryani. I am also developing a taste for Rasmalai. We had had this first in Amritsar. It is a cheese pudding in milk flavoured with saffron and green cardamom. I prefer them to the kheer (rice pudding) although Jane would disagree.
Our second tour in contrast was run by the Salaam Balaak Trust, a local charity helping homeless street children in Delhi. The tour guide was Ajay, who they saved from the streets when he was 11 (although he is not sure of his exact age). He was sleeping at the railway station and was badly beaten by police (they all have big sticks) as they cleared an area.
This lead him to visit the trust's drop in medical centre by New Delhi station and the social workers helped him from there. He described the life of the kids - sleeping rough, pickpocketing, sniffing glue and watching movies. We also got to meet some of the boys in the nearby care home. Some were extrovert and happy to play simple games. Others were clearly more troubled and struggled to interact. It is quite a struggle. At any one time the trust are helping 5000 of the 200,000 street children in Delhi.
The next stop was Agra and the Taj Mahal. I had never been enthusiastic about Agra having been put off by the tourist hype. It was not an essential stop as far as I was concerned. Jane, Ian and Dan thought otherwise. They were right. We visited for sunrise and it truly is a magnificent building even up close. I guess what makes it special is that it is a symbol of love from a man, Shah Jahan, who had more wealth than almost anybody. The proportions are so eye pleasing from almost any angle. Inside the marble screens and inlays are exquisite.
Making Jalebi
The liquid dough is wheat and lentil flour and yeast piped into hot oil. The cooked jalebi are then soaked in sugar syrup Shah Jahan is buried next to his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, for whom it was built. He spent the last twelve years of his life looking over the Taj from his house arrest in Agra fort, where he had been imprisoned by his son. The Agra fort probably upstages the Red Fort with its views of the Taj, marble palaces and courtyard gardens.
Agra was our third Zostel. It had only been open for 50 days and currently is not matching the others we have stayed at. We had a four bed dorm with ensuite which was fine. They also did a good city walk (although I bunked out with Dan halfway as he was turning green). The staff were friendly. The breakfast offering was very basic and having handed in laundry on our first day it was returned as we left unwashed because the 'dhobi' had not picked up! I told them to change him!
On our last day in Agra we went to Fatapur Sikri. This is an old Mughal capital. Akbar, Shah Jahan's grandfather, spent over 10 years building it and moved there from Delhi. After a mere 14 years
he died, the capital moved back to Delhi and it was abandoned. It was very misty in the morning and the rickerty bus ride got very cold as we travelled through the open country. It gave us time to chat to a group of men who had travelled up from Madhya Pradesh. They were interested to see what the Lonely Planet said about their home area (apparently the locals eat red ants!). The men were a very mixed bunch and apparently were from the same village and on a week's vacation in the area.
The mist cleared as we reached Fatapur Sikri. The Victory Gate entrance into the mosque towered over the town below as clear symbol of power. Ian almost knocked himself senseless on a stone cross beam in the palace. The palace had some beautiful carvings and a unique monument to Akbar's favourite elephant executioner (it used to crush criminals in front of him). The monument is a Minar with brick tusks pointing out in all directions.
That evening we were back on the train again. The Saturday trains had all been fully booked so our only option was one on Friday
evening that got to our destination at Sawai Madhopur at 2am. I must remember to shave in the morning.
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