We spent the bulk of our holiday break touring some of the more famous sights in India. We set off for the great triad of northern cities/states known as The Golden Triangle: Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. We found a great travel agency that let us customize our journey and we felt very safe and comfortable over the course of our 6 day adventure. It was a quick cheap flight from Bangalore to Delhi. Our minibus and driver were there to greet us and took us to our hotel, Le Meridien. We got checked in and then loaded up for the first sights of our tour.
We drove through the colonial part of New Delhi and made our way into the old "Walled City." Delhi is also known as the city of 7 capitols. Over the years it has been conquered and rebuilt time after time. There are ancient walls that stand crumbling around the forts that were erected with each new conquerer. As we approached the walls of old Delhi, the sprawling roads of the colonial capital narrowed into crowded passages with not enough room for sidewalks or gutters.
Road signs are written in 4 languages: Hindi, English, Punjabi, and Urdu
A quick glance down the main parade route to the capital building
The remains of an ancient wall as we headed into old Delhi
We stopped briefly at the Red Fort, an imposing structure amid the ancient architecture found in this part of the city. Built in the 16th century by a mogul emperor, it now houses a few museums. We did not tour the interior of the fort complex, but stood at the elephant gate and learned of its history.
Just outside the fort, our guide led us through the crowds and got all nine of us boarded onto cycle rickshaws. We were pulled down a long stretch of road our driver called the street of temples. Block after block we passed a Jain temple, a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple, a large Baptist church, a Sikh temple and a McDonalds ("American temple" quoth the rickshaw driver with a toothless smile). The drivers then squeezed us through the crush of vehicles and pedestrians into the labyrinth of Chandni Chowk. Translated, the name Chandni Chowk means 'fascinating market'. It is the largest market in all of Asia, and second largest in the world (the first largest being the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul). Our rickshaws wove through the wedding market, the silver market and the spice market areas. The streets were narrow and teaming with people and goods. The occasional car would fight its way through, and just like water, all other traffic would jam into corners and shops to make way.
Heading into the heart of Chandni Chowk. The shops on the street level are topped with layers of residential accomodations. The power lines hanging all over the place are as dangerous as they look.
Our rickshaw tour terminated at the steps of Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque. Unfortunately we arrived right at sunset and were not allowed to go inside as the Muslims were being called for prayer. Rama, our guide, informed us that there is not much to see inside the ancient structure. There is a pool of water (traditional) and large open areas for devotees to gather in prayer. We watched the sun set on the old city from the top of these steps.
A young boy posed with his infant sister for pictures and then asked for money, bringing his fingers to his mouth as a way of signing for food. Rama shooed him away, but we gave him and his sister a little something first.
The evening traffic gave us some time to chat about the day and enjoy the party atmosphere of the minibus.
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