Delhi

After a relatively quiet stay in Greater Noida it was time to dive into the heart of Delhi. For my first couple of days in India I’ve had it quite easy thanks to the hospitality of Neeraj’s sister and brother in law. I am ever grateful for their generosity which included an airport pickup, a place to stay, and excellent home cooked traditional indian food. Not to mention, good company. It has made for an a easy start in a country that can be very difficult to travel.

Delhi is intense. So much going one everywhere. It’s total sitmulus overload. Although utterly overwhelming at first, its hard not to find it extremely fascinating. Neeraj and I arrived late morning via bus. We then took the metro to the New Delhi train station and sought out the area of Paharganj and Main Bazar for budget accomodation. We arrived at Main Bazar via bicycle rickshaw and made our way on foot throught the congested tightly packed streets lined with shops, vendors, and various modes of transportation pushing through the crowds of people. With the abundance of accomodation options we decided to check out a few before making a decision. A sikh hawker, hoping to make a commision, convinced us to allow him to show us a couple of hotels. It’s not ucommon to be approached by charcters like this and it’s usually ok to see what they have to offer. Just don’t fall for the hard sell if you don’t like a place. The two hotels he showed us were actually ok but one in particualar wasn’t very secure. We then shook of the sikh and referred to my Lonely Planet guidebook Eventually we found the right place. For a about $16 USD I have a reasonably clean room with air condition, private bathroom, and hot water shower. After sorting out accomodation we hit streets for the Red Fort.

The Red Fort was built in the mid 1600’s by Emperor Shah Jahan when Delhi was ruled by Mughals. The architecture is mostly muslim oriented but barrows some Hindu, Budhist and even Chinese characteristics. Neeraj hired a very nice older Indian gentleman who offered himself as a guide. He proved to be a good one. The actual fort covers a fairly large area that includes various buildings and large barracks built by the British during their rule of India. The original fort is comprised of sandstone and marble buildings accompaniend with gardens and reflection pools. The buildings still retain a large amount of beauty but everything is in a great deal of disrepair. All of the buildings seem to be a shell of what they once were. The gardens are no longer lavish and all of the reflection pools are empty. However, by walking amidst the grounds you can get a good idea of how grand it once was.
After touring the Fort Neeraj and I parted ways. He went off to meet friends for the evening but planned to join up with me the following day. After one more night in Delhi we'll catch an early train on Friday for Rishikesh to visit the lower Himalaya….