A day in Delhi

After a delicious breakfast at our hotel, we began our day with a trip to a hindu temple in Delhi. As today, was an Indian holiday called Shiva, the temple was packed with locals who came to offer their prayers in the many rooms making up this vast temple. Bright dresses and dotted foreheads, they had bowls full of flowers and spices, an offering to the gods I’m assuming. The second temple we visited next was a muslim temple, also packed with people coming to pray. Many of the tourist attractions we visited have metal detectors you must go through before entering, but no one is watching them!

We also visited the memorial and tombs for Mahat, Rajiv and Indira Gandhi all former prime ministers of India. Interestingly enough, the two latter were assassinated by their own people (Indira by her body guard and Rajiv by a terrorist bomb). Their bodies were cremated and memorialized in a beautiful park in the centre of town.

There is so much honking here and the driving is crazy. Staying in your own lane appears to be optional and traffic is cluttered by rickshaws and motorbikes that do ebb and flow in and out of their lanes. Nanu is a skilled driver and we are confident being driven around in his Toyota Innova! For lunch we got stuck at a tourist trap restaurant even after I made my comments about not wanting to eat with “white people.” The food was really delicious though and we enjoyed our first butter chicken and alu gobi in India, which tasted somewhat different than home. I told Nanu that we will eat where he eats tomorrow (for $1.50). It is the typical 3rd world country misconception that westerners are so rich we don’t mind paying the same prices we do at home. We are charged 25x more than the locals for all of the heritage sites we visited, no bargaining, the sign is clear and you either pay or you don’t! The Canadian government should discount our tourist attractions for locals as well. Anyone spent $30 to cross the Capilano Suspension Bridge recently? I remember the good old days when it was free! The begging and harassing at every turn could definitely be worse; no one has gotten aggressive or belligerent yet, as panhandlers can be in Vancouver. Many people are just curious and want to come and talk to you, which is how we learned about Shiva from a local rickshaw driver who filled us in on the whiskey and ganja that would be consumed later on.

At Humayun's tomb we were surrounded by over 100 school boys, aged 7-12 in their burgundy sweaters and brown trousers whooping and hollering. They could not stop staring and saying hello to us, many wanted to take my photo on their camera phones. Joe was less than pleased! I am not sure I understand the appeal of western women, but American television has made us very desirable to other cultures, so we must learn to accept the attention.

Otherwise, the Humayun's tomb was amazing, a predecessor to the Taj Mahal it has over 160 bodies of the royal family buried there. The government has done a really good job restoring the monument. The red sandstone was very beautiful and my new camera captured it quite nicely I think! They have also done a great job of using proper signage to inform tourist of what they are looking at. You can tell they have a lot of respect for their monuments. There were many locals touring the sites with us (likely more than usual due to the holiday). We also visited India gate, a war memorial to the fallen soldiers outside of India. It towers over the city and is quite popular with the locals at night. After lunch we visited Quatab Minar which is known for having the tallest brick building in the world. Delhi has some really amazing architecture filled with colors and beautiful art.

We also drove by the Supreme and High courts of India as well as the local parliament as Delhi is the capital of India. Not, surprisingly the place was spotless and garbage free, unlike the rest of the city! Dogs are everywhere, some with little puppies too! Fortunately they all look well feed, although some are quite dirty. You can find them sleeping on the roads, on the grass and at various monuments. Some even have collars. Till next time...