The flights went well: six hours to London, a 3 hour layover and seven-and-a-half hours to Delhi.
When we arrived at 1:30 am we couldn't find our tour host. When we finally reached him by phone he said that he had been at the airport the previous night! Oh well. It took two more hours to get out of the airport and to the hotel.
In the morning all was well, we got on the road with our driver and picked up our guide. Driving here is insane; there is a wild mix of buses, cars, tuc-tucs (motor rickshaws), bicycles and bicycle rickshaws and virtually no one pays attention to lanes. They do honk a lot.
New Delhi is defined by the British colonial architecture: monumental buildings, very wide streets and a mix of Indian and British ornamentation, for example the monument in front of the President's Residence has both elephants and cherubs.
A more modern piece of architecture in New Delhi is the Baha'i House of Worship. Baha'i is a sect that promotes peace. The building is in the shape of a lotus blossom.
Old Delhi is made up of More Mougal style buildings dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of the streets are very narrow as we found on our bicycle rickshaw trip throug the Bazar at Chandi Chowk. Each part of the bazar sells something different: shoes, clothes, jewelry, even wedding invitations.
The Jami Masjid is the largest mosque in india. Built by Shah Jahan in 1656 it is huge, taking 5,000 workers nearly 5 years to build. Eva had to don this delightful smock and we had to remove our shoes to walk across the scorching stone courtyard.
The tour guide wass obliged to take us into various shops where they try to sell things. This one was an education. The term cashmere refers to the back and belly wool from certain goats that live in the mountains in Kashmir (a region in northwest India). Pashmina is wool from the same goats but from the throat. It is not shorn but is collected from the bushes where the goats roam and is a finer, softer texture. Nice models!!
When we arrived at 1:30 am we couldn't find our tour host. When we finally reached him by phone he said that he had been at the airport the previous night! Oh well. It took two more hours to get out of the airport and to the hotel.
In the morning all was well, we got on the road with our driver and picked up our guide. Driving here is insane; there is a wild mix of buses, cars, tuc-tucs (motor rickshaws), bicycles and bicycle rickshaws and virtually no one pays attention to lanes. They do honk a lot.
New Delhi is defined by the British colonial architecture: monumental buildings, very wide streets and a mix of Indian and British ornamentation, for example the monument in front of the President's Residence has both elephants and cherubs.
A more modern piece of architecture in New Delhi is the Baha'i House of Worship. Baha'i is a sect that promotes peace. The building is in the shape of a lotus blossom.
The Jami Masjid is the largest mosque in india. Built by Shah Jahan in 1656 it is huge, taking 5,000 workers nearly 5 years to build. Eva had to don this delightful smock and we had to remove our shoes to walk across the scorching stone courtyard.
The tour guide wass obliged to take us into various shops where they try to sell things. This one was an education. The term cashmere refers to the back and belly wool from certain goats that live in the mountains in Kashmir (a region in northwest India). Pashmina is wool from the same goats but from the throat. It is not shorn but is collected from the bushes where the goats roam and is a finer, softer texture. Nice models!!
Wow... you two are so inspiring! Maybe, someday, if my job drives me to the brink of madness, we'll seek peace in India also. I've heard that honking one's horn is a way of admiring another's salwar kameez. I hope you'll make some photos of the food with descriptions. I imagine that when you return you might add vindaloo-Esteva to your menu. When you return, will you have different names? Maybe Sabdatiga for Steve or Ekabuddhi for Eva. R.
ReplyDeleteThe kid and I are laughing at those mannequins! Mother you look very chic in your orange caftan.
ReplyDeletexo Heather, Pru and Cal