Arrival at Indira Ghandi International Airport is an experience to remember, after stepping off the plane there was a guy shouting for any passengers who had flown in from Perth, Australia via Kuala Lumpur to see him, a few of us confused people answered his call to be told the our luggage had been left behind in KL! Not the news you want to hear on arrival in any country but the level of confusion in India always seems hightened. To cut a long story short my luggage arrived at my hotel 24 hrs after I did. Lesson learnt, don’t trust that a layover of 60 mins in Kuala Lumpur will be long enough for your luggage to be transferred in time for the connecting flight!
The drive from the airport to our hotel was lengthy and noisy. There is a language of the car horns in India that takes years to understand fully and I’m always surprised that there isn’t any road rage despite the terrible driving 😂I mean why use the 3 lanes indicated by white lines when if you squeeze in you can make it 5 lanes!!!
Our guide describes Dehli as “symbolized as chaotic embroidery of primitive establishments, Mughal tombs, dusty bazaars and colonial architecture”, which is spot on.
On our first afternoon we visited India Gate, where they were getting all the seating and barricades ready for Independence Day on Jan 26th, too many soldiers moving people on meant we couldn’t stop to take a photo, such a shame we’ll miss the parade but then I don’t think we’re important enough to get a seat!
The following morning found me, having said I’m not going to do curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner this time, breaking my resolution as soon as I smelt the Smabal and Idlis, I also succumbed to the masala cheese omelette! Here’s hoping I won’t need the Imodium by day 3 again 😜
First port of call was the Jama Masjid Mosque, one of the oldest and largest in Asia built in 1656. We ladies were given a flowing full length coverall/dress to don, despite the fact I was wearing trousers and a long sleeved jumper and not showing any flesh other than my bare feet! However, I was offered hotel style slippers for 100rupee which I thought was a bargain as I figured at the end of the visit I’d keep them, only to have them almost snatched off me as I exited! Silly me, of course they are going to be sold again to the next unsuspecting person who doesn’t mind picking up the odd foot fungal virus 😖
The Mosque was large and impressive, there were a couple of workers laying out carpets /prayer mats ready for lunchtime prayer, it was a vast amount of flagstones to cover.
After the mosque we jumped onto a tuk-tuk and went for an early morning ride through the alleyways of the Chandigarh Chowk, where each area is designated to different types of stalls, like wedding bits n bobs, spices, jewellery, clothes, pashminas, footwear and leather, we said we were open to explore … so we were taken to a jewellers shop and greeted by the owner who said his family had owned and worked from this location for 180 years. They had some lovely stuff, I regretted pointing out these enormous peacock earrings which were so big they’d sit on your shoulder so after that we were shown even more elaborate and intricate designs. The guys in the shop all looked so happy we were there and so keen to sell us something, how disappointed must they have been as we walked out empty handed.
From here we were deposited by the tuk-tuk driver at the Red Fort, where he bought our entry tickets for us then told us off for posing for photos with locals whilst he was busy, who he reckoned could be pick pockets. Whilst this could be true we thought we’d met some genuinely lovely people who were just excited to see white people with blonde / white hair and wanted to have their photos taken with us. We said we’d be more careful in future and keep a close eye on our bags for pickpockets.
Our next destination, The Red Fort, covers a huge area, with lots of buildings for different uses, both for court life and personal areas, we’ve been here before so it wasn’t new, however, this time we weren’t allowed to walk inside the buildings only look from the outside. The ride back was interesting as we got into 3 different tuk-tuks to find they weren’t working /flat battery, we felt like Goldilocks 😂
The next stop off was at Raj Ghat, the resting place for Gandhi’s ashes. It’s free to enter but you must have you bags x-rayed and be body searched. The gardens and the cenotaph are very peaceful considering just how noisy and busy it is outside the complex.
Next was Humayan’s Tomb, built by his chief widow in 1569, 14 years after his death at a cost of 1.5 million rupees (heaven knows how much that would be in today’s money!) The gardens were exquisitely manicured and very calming. The tomb itself was built of coloured sandstone (and to me looked just like the Taj Mahal) then I discovered this was built first and that the Taj is a copy !
By this time we were getting tired but the driver said we had one more stop, that was at the Qutub Minar. An amazing minaret which was built during the 12th century and with a Mosque having been added in the early 1300’s. We were amazed at the intricacy of the minoret and just how tall it is, and that it’s still intact!
Whilst we were there the sun was going down and many more people (locals) arrived (for the sunset) but despite how busy it was it was still very serine and peaceful. But by that time we’d done getting on for 20,000 steps so we’re glad to run the gauntlet of the tuk-tuk drivers to find our car and spend 40mins driving 3.2 miles back to the hotel. Where I found my suitcase waiting for me at reception. There’s is a God after all 👍
