Delhi, India (2-16)

Sunday I left Indonesia and moved on to India, a journey that took about twenty hours from the guesthouse in Tanah Lot to the hotel in Delhi. First I took a car to the Bali airport from which I flew to Jakarta. At the Bali airport, I enjoyed the statues of the typical Indonesian entrance and Barong. In Jakarta, it took an hour to collect my baggage and take the shuttle to a different terminal. A man tried to get me to take his taxi—twice—by telling me that the shuttle would take an hour. But I talked to a woman who said that it wouldn’t take that long and that the taxi drivers charged foreigners too much. I had noticed that he didn’t speak to anyone else waiting for the shuttle. I was a little concerned because I had only two hours between flights, which is usually adequate, and half an hour had already passed. But I arrived at the terminal in time to get everything done.

The next stop was Singapore. The terminal there has a butterfly garden, which was a lovely respite after flying and while waiting. It also has a koi pond that has the biggest koi I’ve ever seen. Next was the flight to Delhi. The plane arrived half an hour late and I got in the Visa on Arrival line with a large Chinese tour group. Since it took four minutes for each person, I was in line for half an hour. When I finally exited, our agent was there with a sign and a smile. And with the news that Kasey’s flight was also delayed, which meant that it arrived at 1:00 AM instead of 11:30. But she arrived. However, her luggage didn’t because her first plane was also late and she barely made her connection, but the luggage didn’t. We arrived at the hotel at 3:00, ready to sleep. When he dropped us off, the agent gave us each a marigold lei. Since India’s time is 2.5 hours behind that of Bali and China where it was 5:30 AM, it was a very long day.

Monday we met our guide for our tour of Delhi. We started in Old Delhi, which took an hour to get to from the hotel. The air was hazy from fog and pollution. We passed the Red Fort but didn’t go in because it wasn’t on our itinerary and it’s closed on Monday. It was still exciting to see my first Fort, which was also my first sight of Old Delhi. Red sandstone gives the buildings their color and name. I had learned from reading that the Forts were the palaces where they royalty lived. 

Old Delhi is mostly populated by Muslims. It covers less area than New Delhi and is under half of the area of the city. Streets are narrow with smaller lanes in the residential areas. It was very crowded. 

Most transportation is trishaws with the bicycle in the front, small tuk tuk-like vehicles, and motorcycles. 

Trishaws are also used for transporting cargo, and some had amazing loads.

Our guide told us that India has the second highest population—after China. It is known for population and pollution while China is known for population and fakes.

Our first stop was Jama Masjid Mosque, built in 1656 and is the largest mosque in India. The guide advised that there was no need to pay the camera fee (INR 300/$5) to take photos inside because there wasn’t anything to take photos of. But I paid it anyway and, of course, was glad I did. 

The building is beautiful. Inside, a man collected my camera ticket; so there was vigilance regarding use of cameras, not just signs. I especially enjoyed the intricate inlaid designs and carvings.

Next we visited the site of Gandhi’s cremation, which we viewed it from above. There is a black marble block with flowers on top and an eternal flame beside it. Black is a “bad” color for Hindus and was used because he was assassinated. 

Walking in the park was our first opportunity to enjoy women wearing the beautiful saris that are typical traditional dress. Our guide seemed proud to point out that this was the only site Obama visited when he was in India; he didn’t have time to go to the Taj Mahal.

We passed people with two camels. The guide said that people keep camels like people keep horses, which was interesting. In the afternoon we passed a man with an elephant.

The next site was the President’s House, also called the Viceroy Palace. This is where the President lives and also where the government offices are. It is the largest such building complex in the world. The residence is in the middle with the government buildings on both sides. The government buildings are exactly the same, providing symmetry.  

We stopped briefly to photograph the gate, which was designed by the same man who designed the Buckingham Palace gate and is exactly the same.

The two kilometer road to the palace was lined with bleachers from the parade on January 26 to commemorate the date of India’s constitution. This annual event is attended by thousands, and Obama was among them this year. They were just starting to remove the bleachers to be stored until next year.

We then went to the India Gate, an arch to commemorate the 19,000 Indians who died in World War I. Their names are inscribed on the bricks.

Then it was time for lunch. When we talked about what we wanted to eat, the guide said he’d take us to a food court where we could have anything we wanted. But we were taken to a restaurant. When we walked in, I knew it was a restaurant catering to tourists and would be expensive. This was Kasey’s first Indian food other than that on the airplane. I especially enjoyed a lassi and cheese naan. Since I like lassis, I had one every day while I could. Our guide checked on us twice to make sure everything was OK. The second time I felt like it was more to see if we were ready to move on.

We stopped to look at the lotus-shaped Baha’i temple, one of seven in the world, which is beautiful. 

Then he took us to Delhi Haat to see “the real Delhi.” The sign advertises it as “craft cottage industries.” It’s a large warehouse-like building that has a number of shops selling crafts such as saris, pashmina shawls, paintings, clothes, carpets and jewelry. A man there took us around and delivered us to a few of the shops. Since it was our first day in India, we weren’t ready to think about purchasing anything, but looking is always good. We made it clear that we weren’t buying anything, but our guide and the salesman made it clear that we could use our credit cards and they would ship our purchases for free. Someone was with us every second, which was uncomfortable and took the pleasure out of looking. Back in the car, we passed several such places advertising crafts.

Our guide then informed us that our tour was over, but it was only 3:00, and, since we’d started late, we had only had 4.5 hours of our all-day tour. We mentioned that a couple we met in the restaurant had visited a Hindu temple and asked if we could visit one. He asked again if we wanted to see Qutab Minar, a minaret at a mosque that he had dismissed earlier. So we agreed. Then he said that it cost INR 200 to enter the site and we couldn’t get a good view from outside. I said I wanted to go anyway. He was correct that the view from outside wasn’t very good, mostly because the air wasn’t clear. If it had been better, I would have pushed to go in, but it wouldn’t have been much better clearer. The minaret is noteworthy because it was built in 1199 and is the tallest brick tower in the world. The colors of the bricks would be beautiful on a clear day.

Kasey had to remind the guide again that she needed to change money. To get to the place he took her, we walked through part of a market area, which I enjoyed seeing.

Since we had asked, he then took us to a Hindu temple. I felt like this was asking for something special, but when I looked at the itinerary later, the temple was listed. He just wasn’t going to take us. Shri Lakshmi Narain Temple was built in 1938. You are not allowed to take cameras inside, and they check bags to make sure you don’t have a camera or a phone. (The guide kept them for us while we walked around.) We especially enjoyed architecture of the beautiful, red and yellow building. It is decorated with elephants—at the tops of columns, door handles, etched on decorative building blocks. Again, I had to push to go to the side area where we had seen a woman taking photos of the building.

Then our tour was over. It was 5:00, and we’d had a full-day tour. I felt like we’d seen enough of Delhi. The guide asked us if we were satisfied with his service—a hint that we should give him a tip. He was the least favorite of our guides.

When we passed a car being decorated with flowers, the guide confirmed that it was being prepared for a wedding. Weddings can be held in hotels, banquet halls, or in a park depending on the couple’s financial status. They are held over three days and lots of people attend. The bride wears traditional dresses. If they are rich, they buy the dresses; if not, they can be rented.

After arriving at the hotel, we walked to a market the guide had said was nearby. The driver had pointed up the street when we asked how to get there. When we were walking around the roundabout there, a man told us how to get to the market. Off we went. Several minutes later a man, perhaps the same man, told us again how to get to the market, giving us the same directions from a different place. We crossed the street at the stop light as instructed, and a different man asked if we were going to the market and gave us directions. We walked on and met the same man who now suggested we take a trishaw for a good price. Another man said he’d been in the U.S. and suggested we go to the metro station. I later learned that there is a market at the metro station; so he may have been really helping. The second man then pointed ahead and a trishaw appeared—for a good price, of course. We decided that it was time to turn around. We didn’t get to the market, but it was good to have a walk.