It's been a crazy four weeks of travel – New Zealand, Singapore and now I'm off to India (via Singapore).
Saturday, October 25 I wake early, so typical when it's not a work day. After checking out of my serviced apartment I head to in-town check in (again cannot rave enough about this!); within minutes I'm checked in -- my bag goes in one direction (fingers crossed I'll meet up with it in Delhi, India) and me in another one. Airport here I come.
So why India I know someone of you will ask. It's been on my hit list for a while, but with the recent goings there I had removed it unless I was to go with someone else. So when a friend was talking about traveling to India a few months ago I jumped at the chance to join.....this all happened after a couple of drinks so never knew if it would come to fruition. Well here I am – heading to India.
I have about an hour to spare in Singapore (once I've changed terminals), and given I'm flying an airline where I don't have lounge access (let's not go there), I park up at a bar for one of the most expensive beers I've ever brought! Of course this is Singapore.
I met Greg at the gate and within minutes are struggling with the customs / immigration forms I've been given – one of the questions is talking about the amount of local currency you can take into the country (which is next to nothing)…and we both have more than double. Time to split the amounts up and pray all will be aok once we land.
I'm sitting upstairs (on the A380) and was told a few hours ago the seat next to me is free; fingers crossed it remains like that! Thankfully it does :)
We land into Delhi around 8.30pm local time; which is 2.5 hours behind Singapore/Hong Kong. Thankfully its painless going through immigration (just long lines) then the wait begins for our bags. At one stage I did wonder if mine was going to appear.....I've already had one trip this month when it didn't so fingers crossed!
After what seemed like forever I spot my bag :) time to find the immigration line where I'm definitely choosing the green line. Thankfully for us the staff were busy focussing on others so we walked on through.
After spotting the hotel sign we are lead to the car park. The airport is definitely much bigger than I imagined, given there are 13 million plus people that live here it's not surprising!! Another hotel rep comes to greet us but is far more interesting in talking with Greg than me - he finds it odd that I asked for his card too....it's becoming very obvious women aren't treated as equals here.
It was around a 30 minute drive from the airport to the hotel; the journey reminded me a lot of my time in Egypt – cars/trucks/bikes etc are everywhere, no one sticks to their lines. Add people trying to cross the road into the mix and it makes for interesting watching! I was surprised, in a good way, on how green the city was – not something I had expected. As we got closer to the hotel the streets became wider, definitely city like.
On arrival at the hotel there were two hotel employees waiting to greet us – talk about service! We were both ushered to our rooms (male employee for Greg and female for me) where the check-in happened.
Sunday I woke early after a terrible sleep!! At 6.30am decided to head to the gym for a workout – it's been a couple of weeks since I last went but thankfully wasn't too much of a struggle.
We had arranged to meet at 9am for breakfast but given my early rise I did go down early; at one stage I asked one of the staff what the time was....8 past 51. It took me a few seconds to realise he was saying 8.51am.
We did some research on where to go today (looking at the map and speaking with the staff) – I was a little surprised that some of the places are closed today while others close on Mondays. Not something I had expected.
Right taxi time – but before that time for the hair to go up! I am pleased to see that the city is a lot more alive than it was last night. I had thought we might be able to walk to the Red Fort but after a good 15 minutes of driving was glad we hadn't!!
We had literally got out of the taxi when we were "attacked" by a man trying to sell us a guide book. He couldn't understand our 'no thank you'; once we continued to keep walking away from him he was far from impressed and let us know. I know he won't be the last person who gets angry that we don't buy from him, that's life!!!
After being dropped at one of the side gates, which subsequently was closed, we walked to the main gate – Lahore Gate – and joined a very long line for tickets. I did notice we were the only foreigners in the line and I was one of a handful on females. After a while another foreigner came over to tell as there was a different entrance for foreigners to buy the tickets and this line was empty – awesome as it’s hot out here!!! Tickets purchased, I returned the good deed to a couple in the line before we entered.
The Red Fort (Lai Qila) was constructed between 1638 and 1648 and was the residence of the Mughal emperor of India for nearly 200 years. It accommodated the emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political centre of the Mughal government.
Within minutes of walking in the entrance Greg was asked if he will have this photo taken with 2 guys.
We wandered around the large complex looking at all the buildings – which all would have been very spectacular back in the day!
We were looking at one of the apartments when I noticed a man trying to take a photo so I stepped out of the way....he kept walking towards me so clearly it's me he wants to take a photo off. Ooh dear. So it's one on my own then another one with his wife and another lady – awkward!
I had just come out of the bathrooms (not a pretty picture!) when a young guy asked to have his photo taken with Greg then got his siblings in on it as well.....will this ever end?! Thinking I might be traveling a lot on my own this week as movie star Greg will be too busy having his photo taken!!!
We had seen enough of the Red Fort – time to go exploring Old Delhi where I'm sure a lot of the action is.
We are not even out of the grounds before being set on by guides and rickshaw drivers. There are people everywhere – this is exactly what I expected India to be :) Slowly we fob them off and the fun begins crossing the road. It's definitely not like Vietnam where you slowly walk across the road and the motorbikes/cars will either let you go or go around you, you need to wait!
We have a couple of hours of wandering around Chandni Chowk which is a hive of activity! Here you can buy / fix just about anything – food, clothes, tattoo, spices, electronics, fruit, popcorn and the list goes on! There is a rickshaw every two steps you take – we have the pleasure of being followed by one until he clearly got the message we actually wanted to walk!
At one point we are sharing the road with buffalo carts, rickshaw's, tuk tuk's, bikes and hundreds of other people walking! At one stage we were trying to cross the road when a boy called out to me asking to have his photo taken, I was over having my photo taken with people already so said no…..he kept asking then got his 2 friends in with him – aah ok not with me, sure why not!
Finally we found a tuk tuk that would take us back to the hotel, even though he had NO idea where it was! This is going to be interesting :) It's nice in some ways to be amongst the craziness of the Delhi streets but the constant toot toot is driving me crazy!! There are a few close calls with other tuk tuks, a motorbike and even a bus....all fun and games.
By this stage (2 ish) we are both starving and in desperate need of something to drink! Hello hotel lobby :)
I crawl into bed for a couple of hours – sleeping during the day brings me back to my university days – pure bliss!!!
We meet at 7pm in the lobby and head to another hotel for dinner (Buhara Restaurant) – one that my soon to be left travel companion had researched. We had a drink in the bar before being taken to our table. The menu was split by vegetarian and non-vegetarian choices. The food (Indian) was out of this world amazing (not surprising given it’s a 1 Michelin star restaurant), how we are going to be able to eat anywhere else is beyond me!! We clearly ordered far too much – lamb, chicken, dal, naan and roti but Ooh wow it was all amazing!!! I'll be on thin air for the next couple of days.
Monday (27 October) I manage to sleep in a bit :) clearly being in a food coma helped! Today we have a plan on what we are going to see so after breakfast are off. I decided walking would be best and given our first stop (India Gate) didn't look that far on the map off we headed.
No sooner had we left the hotel grounds when "you want a tuk tuk?" started. Very few gave up on us after we said no thanks.
Crossing the roads was an interesting experience – transport had definitely increased tenfold since yesterday and the zebra crossings were absolutely NOT used like they are in New Zealand or Australia. I'm sure the locals had a lot of fun watching us try to cross.
India Gate is a 42 meter stone arch which pays tribute to the Indian Army soldiers who died in WW1, the Northwest Frontier and the 1990 Anglo-Afghan war. An impressive site surrounded by gardens.
From here we walked to Purana Qila. Again the whole map ratio was out but thankfully we made it! By this stage I could feel blisters forming on my lower ankle :( major buggar. Plasters were added but I'm thinking far too late.
Purana Qila was built by an Afghan ruler during his reign from 1538-1545 (before it was regained back to India by the emperor Humayun). It's a large complex with massive walls keeping the outside world out. Towards the end I decide I need to go back to the hotel to put my jandels on....it's like this is my first trip overseas – major rookie error wearing new shoes out!!
Thankfully there is a tuk tuk as we exit; one of the first times we have been after them and not the other way around. Within minutes we are off :)
Right now I'm ready to tackle the rest of the day – jandals on, proper clean bathroom used and water bottle refilled! Delhi here I come.
We take a taxi to Humayun's Tomb which was built in 1572 by Mughal Queen Haji Begum in memory of her husband. It's made with red sandstone and white marble and even today is very impressive! It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. I’m enjoying wandering around this large and impressive complex. Definitely a must see in Delhi!
Leaving the site we are both asked to be in a photo with two children – very random!
I had researched somewhere for us to go for lunch earlier and according to the map it wasn't too far away....what the map had neglected to inform us is we would need to cross a few major roads (ok that's been standard since being here!!) and walk through the poor area of India. Let's just say the smells were worlds aware from the spice smells yesterday!!!!
Finally we locate the restaurant, walking in the entrance of the complex it's like being transfixed to a different world – so peaceful and tranquil. This is the life.
It's our standard tuk tuk back to the hotel; I then move onto a taxi as I'm off to find blister plasters and think the taxi will be safer for me.
Thankfully the driver is friendly and speaks a bit of English. I' love the “a/c” the taxi’s have, a fan
The chemist I'm taken too is small but they seem like they hold every medicine under the sun! Unfortunately for me not what I'm after so back into the taxi and the driver takes me somewhere else. Same issue here, I've realised I'm searching for a needle in a haystack so call it a day and tell the driver I have what I need – time to return to the hotel.
I have a brief swim before relaxing in my room prior to dinner. It's been another full on day; being out in the sun walking is hard work. And add to that the fact I'm covering up my top half more than I would anywhere else in the world it's extra hot!
For dinner we lower our standards considerable from last night and head to an Indian restaurant near the hotel. On getting out of the taxi I hadn't anticipated having to walk a bit (really not that long) before we arrived at the restaurant so had left my hair down; given the time of the night we weren't the only ones out so I was started at quite a lot.
Dinner was very tasty – chicken tikka masala, lentils, rice, garlic naan and a strange vegetable shishk kebab. Yum yum, Ooh and washed down with a local kingfisher. Life is great!
Tomorrow we are off to the Taj Mahal.
Tuesday (28 October) we return from the Taj Mahal around 4.30pm – hot, sweaty and starving!!! All that's been consumed up to now has been two cans of coke, water and a bag of chips. Food is required and fast!!!
After a couple of hours napping we meet for dinner and head off to another fancy pants hotel. Dinner is delicious – we seem to have finally got our ordered down pat and are catering for 2 instead of a small army.
Wednesday, October 29 I was up early....ok half the night. This whole not sleeping properly is most annoying!!
I had been given a timeframe for sightseeing today – 4 hours. Might seem like a decent amount of time but when it takes time to get around one needs to be very planned. So off we head to Hazrat Nizam-ud-din-Daragah. The taxi driver pointed us down an alley (no cars) where there are no signs so this will be interesting....the first things I see is a man with leprosy and women begging with children. We stand out like sore thumbs and I feel like half of them are coming up to us to beg. Unfortunately we don't locate what we came for so time to retrace our steps. It had been a great call to have our taxi driver wait for us!!
Next stop is Gandhi Smriti which is a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi and the location where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life before being assassinated on January 30, 1948. There was so much information to read – unfortunately the more personal (going to school in London, moving to South Africa etc) wasn't at the start so it was a big backwards. Would have been great knowing all of this before reading about his later years.
This has definitely been one of the top 2 highlights for me while I'm India –Taj Mahal clearly being the number one. I now want to do more research on this amazing man."
The clock was ticking so after a quick look at the map we headed off to Safdarjung Tomb, which is very close to where we will go to lunch.
Elan is where we had been a couple of days ago for lunch – returning back there was so nice.
The rest of the afternoon was spent back at the hotel relaxing – thankfully I did manage to get a bit of shut eye :)
We meet for dinner and head back to the ITC hotel, to another restaurant, for dinner. Walking in it’s a bit like spot the female! When I ordered our drinks the waiter kindly had to check with Greg that was all aok.....honestly!! Another amazing meal!! And one where we managed to order for two people only :)
Thursday, October 30 I was up early (no surprises there!!); packed up the room. Hard to believe my time in Delhi has come to an end. It's been an amazing experience – constant noise, all the food I've eaten has been delicious, visiting the Taj was an incredible experience (and must see)! I could go on.
Jaipur here I come.
now to work out how on earth to enter! There are animal like holding pens which are chocka block with people already. Thankfully the foreigners have a separate line, but like the locals it's split by male and female. I was a little worried with being separated but the ticket man kept turning around to make sure I was ok. 
