We left you after our seamless transition through check in and security at Delhi airport.
The plane was about 30 minutes late leaving but we settle down in the lounge with a nice coffee. The 2.5 hour flight to Delhi was remarkably enjoyable as we didn't particularly enjoy the trip from Singapore via Air India. We arrived, collected our luggage and headed out to find our driver. Pretty easy, someone holding up a sign with your name on. Well Delhi has a population of a bit over 17,000,000, or to put it another way, 68% of Australia lives here. Guess what, they had all booked a driver at the airport. We have never seen as many people holding up signs in our life. They were about six deep and stretched for at least 40 metres. Taking into account the lack of AAPS, that is about ..... Oh forget it , it is just way too many people.
It was then that we realised that we were, once again, the only white people there so we did not need to find him. It would be easier for him to find us. We relaxed and strolled along admiring the chaos when a man leapt from the crowd brandishing a crumpled piece of paper with our name on it.
Ram Singh entered our lives. He is to be our driver for the next nine days. He introduces himself, grabs the IW's luggage and heads off to the car park with us trotting along behind him.
The car is a small 4 seater which suits our needs well. It is air-conditioned and Ram's english is pretty good. We head off to the hotel through traffic that is thick but a lot better behaved than Chennai. There are horns, but nowhere near the decibel level of Chennai. The roads are wide and the place seems quite clean. (This is in complete contrast to our trip from Chennai airport). There are massive roadmorks going on - constuction of an overhead train link form the Airport to the City and continued construction for an underground metro system.
All this is supposed to be completed by the 2010 Commonwealth Games but that does not seem possible from what we saw. Ram assures us that it will get done in time. Indian optimism is a wonderful thing.
We arrive at our Hotel, three porters rush out to carry our bags. They seem disappointed that we don't have three bags, so they have to fight over the two we have. Checking in is all manual. A huge Ledger Book is produced and you have to record your name, home address, all passport details (which are checked), what city you came from, where you are going, and your length of stay then sign at the far right hand end of the page which is about three paces away.
The room is nice and clean, with a fridge, Cable TV and nice bathroom. We unpack a few things then have about 30 minutes before Ram will pick us up for a tour of Old and New Delhi. We head out the fromt door for a short stroll around the neighbourhood.
First impressions. You can walk on the footpaths - there are not great piles of garbage lying around. The traffic is endless so crossing the road is still a two person task. We stroll to the corner, cross the road and head off. Shops are still the same - two metre wide style, crammed with things, with the owner generally sitting outside beckoning you to 'come inside for a look'. We walk down one side, negotiate the crossing and head back to meet Ram.
We are tired from being up since 3:00 am but only have today here so head off on a four hour Readers Digest tour of Delhi looking at all the major attractions. We had time to stop at some and walk through them but others just did a drive by.
Our first stop was to see Humayun's Tomb. The outside is red sandstone inlaid with white marble. Quite beautiful building and gardens. It was built in 1570 and is of particular cultural significance because it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. It inspired several major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal. We were very pleased that it has been heritage listed and renovations have commenced.
Part of the tour was the invitation from RAM to 'let's stop here for lunch'. It was a beautiful Indian meal that was at least three times more expensive than anything we have had so far. A 'special' place for tourists. We enjoy the meal but inform Ram we do not want any more 'special lunches' as they are too expensive. He nods but whether he understands or not we have yet to find out.
The Parliament House and wide esplanade looking off into the distance to the India Gate is very impressive, akin to the Champs Elysees in Paris. The Red Fort is imposing and the site that was most memorable for us was the Rajghat Samadhi.
The Rajghat is the last resting place of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. . The memorial stone of Mahatma Gandhi placed there is a simple square platform made of black marble, with the words "Hey Ram" inscribed near it. As homage to the Mahatma, an eternal flame, in a copper urn, keeps on burning there. Enclosing the memorial is a low wall, simple with no ornamentation. This is set amid a beautiful park of rolling green hills. It is good to take off your shoes and walk on some grass again, it is so much better than dirt.
It is after 6:00 pm and we head back to the hotel for a sleep. No evening meal because to quote one of my daughters, "We ate enough at lunch to feed a small African nation".
Ram says he will pick us up at 8:00 am tomorrow for an early start so that we can miss the traffic. Tomorrow is the trip to Agra and the Taj Mahal.
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