Author: simon

Forgot the Akshardham Temple from yesterday. Easy explanation is that I was scrolling through photos and they aren’t allowed here. It’s brand new – 2005 – and as the guide said, it’s more like a Disneyworld than a Temple. But it’s huge and incredibly popular. Here’s a couple of library pics.

And so to today. Poor forecast was borne out so we were dodging heavy showers. More amazing places that I’d never heard of.

Qutub Minar

We liked that it was a 13th Century Mosque, but built using stones from the earlier Hindu Temple. Rather than smoothing the stones, they simply cut of the heads of all the decorative figures, leaving the remainder of the carvings in full view.

And we recognised the tower from the view on our first day.

Lotus Temple

Not the Sydney Opera House, but surely some inspiration somewhere.

That’s Eileen deep in conversation with Ravindra, our guide.

Sikh Temple

Serving hundreds of free meals to anyone who wants one.

Close to our apartment

Even though we have a fantastic apartment, we’re very close to places tourists don’t get taken. Here’s the local supermarket

Hauz Khas (again)

Fog is coming down.

Top notch vegetarian food for lunch and dinner. On our travels tomorrow.

Perhaps even more than usual, I haven’t much idea what to expect. I must admit that my ignorance of Delhi was almost total – I knew it is India’s capital city and large (20m inhabitants). Eileen, of course, had done her homework thoroughly, and with the help of our guide had sorted out a fantastic day.

But the big news is that Eileen was approached to take part in a dance video – the group asking have over 4m followers on tik tok. Unfortunately she declined, so fame will have to wait a bit longer.

And so to business.

Mosque

Rickshaw Ride through Old Delhi

Note the fantastic electricity wiring.

Old Delhi

Ghandi Memorial

The India Gate

A bit like their Cenotaph

Humayuns Tomb

Probably the most famous. And interestingly was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal a few years later.

• Jet lag seems nearly sorted
• Food continues to be wonderful, and not too spicy
• Weather is so far so good. Need a jumper when the sun goes in
• Pollution is definitely here – you can taste it. But nowhere near as bad as last November we’ve been told
• Driving is crazy
• Rain forecast tomorrow – we’ll see. It’s another heavy day of sightseeing
• Tourist places take cards, but most others still prefer cash
• Everyone gets a tip

Pinch me – are we really here?

So that’s some fairly basic geography showing Delhi on the map. Note Agra (Taj Mahal) which is going to be about the scale of our travels. Flew over some exotic-sounding places on the way, and got a bit of sleep but not much.

Anyway, we made it very smoothly (10 minutes to clear immigration – quicker than Gatwick!), met up with our driver and stopped for coffee. No idea yet what we’re looking at, but it’s old and famous.

The mist was clearing, but I think it’s going to be hazy throughout.

Apartment is huge – and I mean enormous.

Afternoon is more about survival than sightseeing, but Hauz Khas is a trendy part of Delhi.

Dinner for 2 came to the princely sum of £9 (same price as 2 coffees earlier today no no idea of prices yet); no booze but fresh coconut water.

So it’s all a bit of a hazy, noisy blur at the moment. But the one unchanging factor (for long-standing fans of the blog) is the quality of the selfies …..

(That’s the lake in the background!)