Helly Delhi

On a main road in Old Delhi

It was late at night when we arrived at the train station of our final destination, which happens to be the second largest city in the world. It seemed at least half the residents wanted us to choose their taxi or rickshaw. An overpriced 5 minutes later we were dropped at a surprisingly nice and cheap place on a street quite reminiscent of Khao San Road in Bangkok, minus the pubs. It was a good bit of planning on S's part to make sure we had a sanctuary to escape to at the end of the day, because as it turned out, I think Delhi tried to kill me.

The Grand Godwin Hotel

When I close my eyes to take me back to that week, I just remember the sensory ambush from all sides. The sun beating down on my head and back, the dirt, dust, and rubbish swirling around my feet, the saris, tuk-tuks, bicycles, brushing past my arms. The scent of spicy exhaust, the ceaseless honking of horns. And all of these things with their visuals too. It was amazing, terrifying, and maddening in equal measures.

toy market

typical street

But of course, it was fascinating. And despite the horrible Delhi Belly I suffered, we still managed to see and experience some of the Top Ten Highlights.

Qutub Minar

not only was it a historically interesting place, but very peaceful as well

Sometimes I think I can't bear to see one more temple, one more shrine, one more UNESCO protected site of ruins. The subway journey was a long one, it was a scorcher of a day, and the entrance fee was a bit steep, but it was definitely worth it. The complex was started in the 12th century A.D. by the ruling sultans of the time and includes the tallest tower in India, a mosque, and other structures. The stone carving and some of the pillars and archways are just beautiful. I've been in a lot these kinds of places, but this one spoke to me. Or maybe I was just delirious.

not sure why I have the angry face

 

so many lovely colours and textures

 

Old Delhi

inside a palace within the Red Fort

It was the walled capital of the Mughals for ages, so it's got a lot of stuff including a huge fort, a magnificent mosque, a labyrinth of alleys that are various markets, the largest spice market in Asia, and a lot of historical mansions.

Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque. This is just one tiny corner I could see from the back of a rickshaw

The places we wanted to see were only one or two stops from the metro station near our hotel. The first day we ventured out was a true monsoon day. The rain came down so hard that our little 1 euro umbrellas were absolutely useless. We were drenched. This was the day I became ill and rather than blame it on the most amazing food I've ever had,  I choose to believe that it was because some malevolent bacteria was in the rain and found its way to my organs via seeping into my skin.

on a bicycle rickshaw after the rain

The Spice Market

It's a madhouse but the aromas and the colours are like porn for the home cook.

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bursting at the seams with dried chillies!

Now that it's been a rather long time since the trip (5 months, egads!!!) my memory has taken away the feelings of despair and frustration. My body is completely back to normal and whatever vitriol I had for the place has abated to a "that was hellish but a great experience" anecdote. Something I've noticed since starting this blog 3 years ago is how much I can retro-enjoy the places I've been to. It's like being there all over again but without having to scrub my feet at the end of the day.

cricket: anytime, anywhere

the trendy part of town



snacks, salon, and statues

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cheeky lads who followed us around for awhile in the hood where I had my cooking lesson

place beer order, put money in the hole, beer comes out. A very dodgy place that sells homebrew and that didn't want to sell anything to S.

Random strangers wanting our photo I

Random strangers wanting our photo II

ancient meets modern

Random strangers wanting our photo III

Random strangers wanting our photo IV

Random strangers wanting to take our photo for a tip I

I think this is a neighbourhood near our hotel

Hindu temple

an all too familiar urban landfill

I really want to know what's in there



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this is a men's public toilet

outside the Red Fort

The Red Fort

alleyway tailors

We paid the bicycle rickshaw extra for having to haul our overweight Western selves

Not sure what the hanging things are but none of them are meat

Two Sides of a Triangle: Jaipur and Agra

 

 

entering one of the seven gates into the Pink City

Google searches of  "must see places in India" or "India Tours" will most likely lead to The Golden Triangle, a tourist circuit between Jaipur in Rajasthan, Agra, and Delhi. Though we didn't use any tour package and did the circuit out of order, we managed to hit each of these places. Agra, I get, because of the Taj Mahal. Delhi is a huge city and the capital, so it makes sense to go there. But Jaipur? Maybe my recent sojourn to the desert fort town of Jaisalmer spoiled me, but Jaipur only requires a day at the most.

Jaipur is nicknamed "The Pink City" because the entire city was painted pink in honor of a visit from the Prince of Wales in 1853. The majority of the buildings still use the colour on their facades. It is also a planned city but is much more chaotic and run down than Chandigarh We spent our time their roaming the streets, hunting tandoori, and not buying souvenirs from the hoardes of shop owners who wanted to sell them. As with most of our trip, we saw few foreigners. And it was hot. So hot.

view from the  minaret below

 

There were several temples, forts, and palaces to be seen, but I think we were just too worn out to go in. Often, a brief glimpse from the outside is all it takes to get the gist of a place. One regret though is that we didn't go to the famous Raj Mandir cinema to see this film that was advertised everywhere.

 



Jain temple

had while waiting for the monsoon rainstorm to stop

AGRA

The Taj Mahal is probably the most famous and well-known tourist site in India, especially for Westerners. It was built by a Mughal emperor in the early-mid 1600's to honor his wife who died in childbirth. It's an iconic symbol found on any tourism poster, so I imagined that every street corner would be filled with touts enticing me with plastic Taj replicas and a myriad of other services a rich foreigner might need. I pictured being swarmed by street urchins selling postcards and key rings. But the reality was that Agra, home of one of the sometimes listed wonders of the world, was a totally laid back and friendly place.

In addition to the Taj, there is also an impressive fort. We walked there in the blistering heat from our guesthouse and ended up going the wrong way. This meant that we walked completely around the thing before finding the entrance. However, we got to see the entire fort without paying the entrance fee as well as a short walk with the bulls.

suckers going in the main entrance

The fort was nice, the Taj was amazing, eating curry and drinking a beer on a rooftop was bliss, but what I loved the most about Agra is that at sunset, everyone goes to their rooftops and flies kites. None of my pictures captured it very well, but imagine as the sky becomes a darker blue it is filled with bright splashes of colour bobbing up and down and the joyous shouts of neighbors in friendly competition. I tried to think if there was any singular activity like that in the States that would draw out an entire community to participate in such simple fun, and none came to mind.

boy manoeuvres his kite

a few of the kites bobbing about

More Taj Pictures Including Requisite Cheesy Tourist Shots

view of the Taj from near the fort

Agra Fort from the back

Agra Fort from the side

roof top restaurant

hawks at sunrise

a little bit after sunrise

wild peacock!

I have no idea why I wore my bed time t-shirt to see the Taj Mahal. Or why I didn't comb my hair.

normally that middle bit is filled with water but it was being repaired while we were there

mosque next to Taj

such a beautiful and over the top memorial for a loved one