Devin's Travels: Delhi

So I actually visited Delhi at three different points during my visit in India, but the first and second visit was pretty short so I didn't post an update about my time there then. My first trip to Delhi was just after I had visited Jodhpur I took an overnight bus to arrive there and visit my friend Karan. Getting off the bus in Delhi I was quickly picked up by his driver and taken to his place in Gurgaon, a municipality of Delhi. Arriving in his nice home I met Karan (actually woke him up is more like it) and we just spent the morning hanging out relaxing. That afternoon and the following day we didn't get up to very much: just saw the area around his house, a few cafes and some bars. The actual itinerary was driving around Gurgaon and seeing new malls, office buildings, golf courses, etc. before stopping for lunch and in the afternoon we would hang out in a cafe usually before heading to a bar in the evening for a drink.

On the third day that I spent in Delhi I actually went into town to see some of the tourist attractions. On the way into town karan's driver stopped at a very large Hindu temple that we walked around for a short period of time but it was very busy so we didn't line up to enter the main building as the line looked like it would take 30 minutes or so. After visiting the Hindu temple we continued on to Qutub Minar which is an ancient city located in south Delhi. The complex is composed of several buildings in various states of preservation all located in a beautifully kept garden. The most famous structure is the Qutub Minar which is a 72.5 meter tall minaret and was the tallest building in the world when it was built. Also in the grounds of Qutub Minar is an iron pillar (a seven meter tall iron pillar), Delhi's first mosque which is mostly in ruins now, and the tombs of Imam Zamin and Iltutmish. After visiting Qutub Minar we continued on to Connaught Place which is almost the centre of Delhi. Here the most fancy and expensive shopping stores in Delhi are located, an interesting change from most of the small and cheap shops that are common for most of India. Our time in Connaught Place was short lived though so after wandering around there for an hour or so we started back towards Karan's house stopping at India Gate on the way. India Gate is a huge archway built in park near the government buildings of India and the gate is dedicated to the Indian Soldiers who died in World War I. Later that evening Karan and I boarded a train for Bhopal, the city where he was born and to hear about that place you can check out my Bhopal update (earlier).

My second visit to Delhi was a real short one (less than 24 hours) and all I did was return from Agra to quickly pick up my big bag that I had left at Karan's house. After retrieving my luggauge I again boarded a train heading to Gorakhpur and onwards to Nepal.

My third and final visit to Delhi was much longer than the first two as I spent about a week there with Karan. I returned from Nepal early in the morning and found ou that Karan was still in Bhopal but should be returning to Delhi that evening. So I was faced with having a day in Delhi to do some sightseeing before heading to Karan's place. After storing my bags in a hotel lobby and getting a bite of food I decided to check out the National Museum since then I could be inside instead of in the intense Delhi summer heat. However, upon reaching the museum I quickly found out that it was closed for the day, the reason being that the election was occuring in Delhi. This meant that most of the tourist areas would be closed I learned (all the indoor ones at least). So I decided to head towards Humayun's Tomb hoping that it would be open. As I was driving in the auto rickshaw I passed a familiar looking person and quickly got the driver to pull over to stop. Sure enough Quinn (one of the guy's I was trekking with) was walking down the road to Humayun's Tomb as well. After joining up to spend the day together we continued on towards Humayan's Tomb and were grateful when we arrived that it was open. The tomb is a very large building (some say similar in design to the Taj Mahal) built out of mostly red sandstone with small amounts of white marble inlaid in it. Surrounding the tomb is a well kept "four quarters style" garden that provides you with a nice place to relax and take in the tomb. In addition to Humayun's Tomb there is a smaller octagonal tomb (the tomb of Iza Khan) and another small tomb which is thought to be that of Humayun's barber.

After visiting Humayun's Tomb we continued on to the Bahá'í Temple (the lotus temple). This gorgeous building is nicknamed the lotus temple since the roof is built in the shape of a lotus bud with 27 petals. The temple welcomes people of any religion to come and worship inside of it the only requirement was that you had to be absolutely quiet, any noise and they kick you out. After reflecting in the lotus temple for a while we returned to Paharganj (the tourist area with all the budget hotels) for a drink and to wait until Karan returned to Delhi and for Quinn's flight back to Canada that night. After Quinn left I gave Karan a phone call and found out that he missed the afternoon train so he wouldn't be returing to Delhi until the next morning so I quickly found a nice hotel room for the night.

The next morning I awoke, ate breakfast and gave Karan a call. I was told to get to the Radisson at noon to meet him. After meeting up with Karan we had to return to his office so he could get some work done and that's where we spent the rest of the afternoon. That evening Karan had promised to show me some of Delhi's nightlife so we went out with a few of his friends to TC (Turquoise Cottage) and then to I. All in all it was a great night even if I did have a bit too much to drink, oops.

The next day we were both pretty tired from our late night out the previous day that we spent the morning just hanging out at his place (and most of the afternoon too). In the early evening we went out to a Hookah bar to relax and again this time we went out to see some more of Delhi's nightlife later on. We started the night by hanging out at another of his friend's places before heading to the Orange Room, a nightclub that's open til 5am. Where we danced the night away to some great Hindi music and finally returned home at about 6am.

Sunday (the next day) Karan and I spent almost the entire day relaxing at his place (well sleeping for most of it is more accurate). When we finally awoke we just hung out there and went to a nearby cafe later on for a snack and a drink.

Monday I decıded to try and do some of the touristy things in Delhi as I only had a couple more days left. I came up with a great plan to visit the Red Fort and Old Delhi until I relized that the Red Fort was closed on Mondays. There goes that plan. So I spent the day using the internet in Karan's office and walking around some of the malls ın Gurgaon.

The next day I followed through with my plan from the previous day. I took the metro into Delhi and my first stop was to visit the Red Fort. Walking up to the Red Fort it looked like a very impressive fort built in the heart of Delhi, and entering it I wasn`t too disappointed. The fort was huge on the interior, but it was mostly made up of large gardens. Walking around the interior of the fort I was a little disappointed as the few buildings that were there were all closed to visiters (except the two museums) so all I could do was wander around the gardens and gaze through the open doors into the buildings. The fwe buildings that I did see were beautiful though. After walking through the Red Fort I entered went to Gurudwara Sis Ganj which is an important Sikh place of worship in Old Delhi. The inside of the Gurduwara was an interesting experience as there seemed to always be lots of people praying and a continuous chanting prayer from the religous leaders (not sure what they`re called, oops). After leaving Gurudwara Sis Ganj I wandered through Chandni Chowk towards the Jama Masjid, which is the largest mosque in India. The mosque was a fabulous red sandstone building with a huge courtyard and two minarets (one that we were able to climb up). The view over Old Delhi from the top of the minaret was quite good although there were so many people jammed up in the little space that it was difficult to get a good view of every direction. After leaving Jama Masjid I again wandered around Chandni Chowk which is a typical Old Indian market with tiny alleys that twist and turn everywhich way while you are completely surrounded by shops. It`s a very interesting bazaar (market) and a must see for any trip to Delhi.

My final day in Delhi was mostly spent getting ready to leave for Turkey, the next stop on my world tour. So I again spent the day between Karan`s house and his office to use the internet. That evening I had a delicious Indian meal prepared by Karan`s mom (actually most of the meals I ate ın Delhi were prepared by her and they were all excellent) before heading out for a final beer with Karan at TC (Turquoise Cottage) and then on to the airport. I spent the night flying to Istanbul with a short stopover in Tehran, Iran before arriving in Istanbul to spend the next four weeks traveling around Turkey with my mom. So look forward to my next entry, the first from Turkey.