Hi everyone, sorry trying to get up to date with our blog when we have time :)
Next was Delhi. We arrived by train. We had heard that the touts etc were at their worst in Delhi esp at the train station so we hopped off the train with our bags tightly tied to us and our guards up but surprisingly it was fine, we weren't really bothered at all. Either that or we've been in India too long.....
It took about an hour to get to ameets uncles friends place with whom we were staying but at the 6 in the morning we didn't really care. Once we arrived we sat and chatted for a few hours, had breakfast showered, saw (and kind of took part in) a Puja (Hindu prayer) next door. The lady of the house had been fasting for a long time and broke her fast with the Puja. The whole neighbourhood decided to join in. It was...... interesting. The Pandit (holy man) did some strange things, and was a bit strange himself, and we stood inside the house with an open fire (they don't have smoke alarms here, tsk tsk) and threw cow dung and dirt into it and then the Pandit threw water at us all.... Enlightening. Oh and then we had to eat Prashad (food) with that same hand we threw cow dung with.... None of us realised until we finished eating. We then got ready to go out and see the sights. However by the time we left the house (indian timing) it was already the afternoon and most sights close around 4pm but we managed to sqeeze in a few things... Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, kind of like a mini Golden Temple but without the Golden structure in the middle... Ok so maybe not a mini Golden Temple but it was pretty impressive. We then went to Cannaught Place, the centre of Delhi, for some shopping. We ended up at the Palika Bazaar. It was underground shopping with all the things us youngsters desire. We got a few things and I proved to Ameet that my bargaining skills had become pretty good here during this trip. The shopping was originally about 3,000 rupess but I got it for 1,750 rupess. Almost half price... After Cannaught Place we rushed to the Jama Masjid, biggest Mosque in Asia, and then the Fort for an interesting Sound and Light show. Then a quick visit to a Jain Temple which also had a Bird Hospital. The Temple had the most amazing paintings on the walls and domed ceilings. Next door was another Gurudwara. Didn't go inside but it was pretty amazing to see. The fort, Jain Temple and Gurudwara are all in Chandni Chawk, a crazy part of town, filled with shopping eating, temples, strangely Jain, Hindu and Sikh temples are all next door to each other. After seeing all this we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Haldirams. It wasn't exactly food though... it was an All American Banana Split but OMG it was good. A little bit of comfort from back home (not that we are American, but the style was similar and when you're away from home for a long time and eating strange food anything will do!). Then we went for the hour rickshaw ride to Uncles house. Had dinner with the family then slept.
Next day we were detirmined to leave the house earlier so we could see more sights and boy there are a lot of sights to see in Delhi!! Unfortunately it wasn't much of an improvement. Left early afternoon again (think this indian timing thing has rubbed off on us!! Uh Oh....) This time we saw the National Museum. Normally we aren't so fussed for Museums unless they are short and straight to the point but reading about the artifacts this museum had for so much indian history we were tempted. Took a few hours, wasn't the most interesting museum we had ever seen but we had paid 600 Rupess to see it so were going to get our moneys worth. Once we had finished it was 5pm.... all other sights were shut. Damn. So we decided to go back to Chandni Chawk and have a look around. Just as we were about to walk out from the Museum they told us to go back inside the grounds and shut the big metal gates on us. We were a bit confused but it all made sense once we realised what it was all about. The president was about to come down the street and anyone walking down the road had been pulled behind the nearest gate and all cars were diverted. Minutes later a bunch of cars with sirens and all that nonsense came through then a few mintues later we were allowed back out of our cage. We walked a few minutes then were greeted by the India Gate in all its Glory. Its one long road (we HAD to be at the opposite end of it haha!) so we walked closer and closer. Magically the sun was setting at that time so as we got closer the lights became brighter and the streets got more crowded. We had heaps of fun taking pictures that look like we are leaning on the Gate, holding it in our hands and even licking it - you can guess who did that one... :) The area around the Gate is surrounded by people selling things, some useful, souvineirs, postcards, some just plain weird, whistles, random toys and a scary animal puppett thing! After this we went back to Palika Bazaar. We had only an hour or so and we enjoyed it there so much so went back and had a look around. Got a couple more things. Then took the painful hour ride back home for some much needed dinner and sleep.
Next day, again we were detirmined to leave early! We did leave earlier but maybe not enough. We only managed to see a couple of things. We went to Raj Ghat, which is where some of the influencial people of India had their cremations and have memorials set in beautiful gardens. We saw Mahatma Ganhi's one, very serene. It is simple, a big black stone structure with flowers around it and a flame in a glass container that burns 24/7. We then went and saw Gandhi's museum. Spent about an hour or so reading about his life, very interesting. Also saw a couple of things like a bench he once sat on to make a speech, a jeep he once sat in and a remake of a cell in prison that he once was in. We then headed off to Chandni Chawk, looked around, had some lunch, saw a Sikh Museum, spent some time there, then again took the hour rickshaw ride home. But not before eating some KFC nearby! Again, comfort food. Haha. It is soo damn vegetarian here that seeing KFC is just too tempting!! The KFC's here though are really high class. The menu is all posh, they have a bar that makes all nice (non-alcoholic) drinks, the design is a dream, feels like you are in a posh restaurant and the staff! OMG I have never been served by such happy staff before! They were working so hard and were very passionate about their work. Amazing! For all of those who buy KFC in NZ you will understand why it was so amazing. Haha. Then took the hour ride home.
Next day!! Gotta keep this blog going!! We spent the morning with Uncle, had breakfast, chatted then Ameets Uncle that we met in Amritsar but lives in Faridabad, Haryana, came to pick us up. He wanted to spend the day with us before we carried on with our travels. Faridabad is about an hour drive south, the same direction our next stop is in so it worked out good. Faridabad is amazingly urbanised. There were big fancy malls, really well done roads and highways and the houses were so pretty! We rested most of the day, sat with Uncle and another Uncle and their families telling stories about our travels and helping them to understand why we are backpacking around India haha indians just don't seem to travel like this so they were quite intruiged. Evening time they wanted to take us out to a nearby mall. It was soo massive and had everthing you can dream of inside. They wanted to buy a couple of things for us and although we resisted I left with two pairs of earrings and Ameet left with some shirts. Baqsheesh they call it. Gifts for meeting family members after a long time (or in our case for the first time) Me being kiwi the concept is hard to grab haha. Back home we all had dinner together, watched some hindi comedies on tv then slept. Next morning we had an early morning train (which we almost missed by a few minutes but lucky for us it was late!!) then our next stop was Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. But I'll have to leave you in suspense til we can access internet again :)
Til next time!
Lots of love Rachel and Ameet
xox
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