Today is a day of some repeats for us, from our visit last year (but new sights for
the others). First stop is Akshardham, a
new Hindu temple built in 2005. It is a
spectacular complex but exterior photos are not allowed, and no photos in the complex or the main temple. Too bad, because it is a magnificent
building. However, we did buy a few post cards...just so we can remember.
The next stop was the Raj Ghat, a memorial at the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation. It is a thoughtful and somber location with wide green lawns, a large simple black granite memorial, and an eternal flame.
The next stop was the Raj Ghat, a memorial at the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation. It is a thoughtful and somber location with wide green lawns, a large simple black granite memorial, and an eternal flame.
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| Jessica with some school children. |
We then joined the group for a rickshaw ride through old
Delhi and the Spice Market.
The traffic around old Delhi got particularly bad on occasion, especially at some of the major intersections where there were cars in each other’s way, motor cycles, bikes, rickshaws and a gazillion pedestrians.
Much of life in India is lived in the streets. We saw a gentleman getting a shave
and several young men “bathing” (with clothes on) in the street.
There are also gentlemen who, by profession, will clean your ears. You can tell them by the "Q-tip" that they have sticking out of their turban or under their hat or behind their ear.
We also saw a game of cricket being played in a very narrow street.
The traffic around old Delhi got particularly bad on occasion, especially at some of the major intersections where there were cars in each other’s way, motor cycles, bikes, rickshaws and a gazillion pedestrians.
Much of life in India is lived in the streets. We saw a gentleman getting a shave
and several young men “bathing” (with clothes on) in the street.
There are also gentlemen who, by profession, will clean your ears. You can tell them by the "Q-tip" that they have sticking out of their turban or under their hat or behind their ear.
We also saw a game of cricket being played in a very narrow street.
We took a walk through the Spice Market where you could find nuts and spices everywhere.
Some of the shops were very, very, very, very narrow. Yes, the opening below where the gentleman is sitting is the actual entire width of the shop.
Our guide took us up some back stairs to the top of a building where we could look overl the Spice Market...
and the building's courtyard.
We also saw rose petals drying on rooftops. The bright colors looked a bit out of place in the browns and beiges of the buildings.
The ride included several stops at Tara’s favorite eateries in what amounted to a snacking trip through Old Delhi. We stopped for jalebi (think shiny, very sweet funnelcake),
and lassi (a yogurt drink). Unfortunately, the lassi place weren’t making them that day…something to do with Diwali. However, we did have a snack of another fried treat.
While at this stop we were entertained by several monkeys walking around on the exposed electrical lines.
The guide announced that the exposed electrical lines were the safest kind because it made it easy to see smoke and fire on the lines.
The tour also included a stop at the Haveli of Mirza
Asadullah Khan Ghalib, the most famous poet of the Urdu language and arguably
the India's best poet (born in 1797).
We eventually stopped at
Karim’s for dinner. This is a local,
very successful chain of eateries that specialize in Muslim cuisine. As usual, we all deferred to Tara to select
our dinner items that we ate family style.
Dishes included a mutton dish, a chicken dish, a kabob and lots of
veggie dishes.
Local delicacy was the goat trotters. Yes, it’s what you think it is (the feet).
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