woke up earlybird at 5am which was lucky as it took me 1 1/2 hours to get ready...what to wear (i was quite aware i would be on my own all day so wanted to feel comfortable) and how do you distribute money/passports/cards etc...?! anyway when i was set to go i hired a driver from the hotel to show me round and geeze did we do a lot!!... started with a photo at the Indian Gate and the Indian Leaders house then went to look round Humayans Tomb - gorgeous temple with red sandstone and linestone structure...loads of details in the architecture and beautiful grounds! next stop was a walk around the Lodi Gardens - again very pretty and peaceful with various crumbling temples - it is still easy to imagine hpw luxurious they would have been bck in the day! Then onto the Ghandi Smrit - this is where Ghandi was shot...I learnt rather a lot here about his work and about Britain ruling India...(rather embarrassed to admit that i didnt have much previous knowledge of this...definitely some research that needs doing!) quickly stopped at the Lotus Temple for a photo (similar architecture to the Sydney Opera House!!)and then to Chandni Chowk for lunch! A busy bazaar in Old Delhi...absolutely loved it here...felt like a taste of real india - street markets, food stalls, smells, and the hustle and bustle of people EVERYWHERE!! i convinced the driver to join me for local lunch consisting of 3different samosas from a food stall and we both headed to The Red Fort! The was very impressive...really doesnt look like much frlm the outside (just a big Red Fort - 2km long walls which vary from a height of 18m to 33m) but inside there were various buildings/temples and gardens that would have been beautiful! Shah Jahan constructed the fort in 1638-1648 until he was sent to imprisonment by his son Aurangzeb- he was the first and last Mughal emperor to rule from here! after that it was back to the hotel where i met 2 ppl from the trip: Issy & Alex, 18 from Guildford!! we went to dinner in Connaught Place - nice gardens with shopping malls (very commercialised) but it was SO nice to actually have a conversation with someone...think it had been at least 3days!! x So after my first day i was not as cultured shocked as i first thought i would be...reminded me of a mix of Egypt and Bangkok!
No comments:
Post a Comment