News flash: Delhi is an awesome city! We only spent three days there, but it was a great time. The grounds of the city are a lot nicer than any of the other places we've been, with beautifully landscaped boulevards. And there aren't (huge) piles of trash everywhere you look. Delhi has a nice mix of old and new, with monuments and ancient forts springing up in the middle of modern areas. There is a lot to see and we tried to fit in as much as we could. On our first day in Delhi, due to how late it was once we arrived, we couldn't tour any of the main attractions of the city. We decided to look for a teashop that had been recommended by Lonely Planet and ended up finding two little shops positioned right next to each other. The first shop was much more posh than the second, and they offered us a free cup of tea. John picked an Oolong and I chose a fruity blend. We sipped our delicious tea and reveled in our brief escape from the hustle of the street outside. Afterwards, we walked out of the first shop and into the second. This store was more cluttered, with tall shelves full of tea. However, we ended up having a much more personal experience here. The owner, as soon as we walked in, said, "Hello, may I share a cup of tea with you?" He was a very kind man and we enjoyed a cup of his favorite tea, which is actually quite rare. It is called Sikkim and is only grown on one small plantation in India. We had a nice conversation over tea about tea as well as America and our education. After an hour or so we stepped back out into the world and took an auto to a local shopping area. We were looking for one shop in particular (again, a Lonely Planet recommendation) but it was closed by the time we got there. A friendly young Indian man helped us find the store and when we saw that it was closed he took us to a good restaurant for dinner. It was nice to spend the day talking with several different locals who were genuinely interested in talking to us, instead of harboring ulterior motives, like angling for some rupees.
Our second day was spent sight-seeing with two of our flatmates, Kasia (from Poland), and Esteban (from Colombia). They were both excellent companions, and if we had more time together we would have undoubtedly become excellent friends. The first stop on our tour of Delhi was Humayun's Tomb. It is the burial ground of about 150 members of the royal family of the Mughal Empire. We spent at least an hour taking pictures at the first tomb we spotted before we realized that it was only a minor, secondary tomb. The main structure was a sprawling building, not unlike the Taj Mahal in design. In fact, the construction of the main tomb marked the beginning of Persian influence on Indian architecture. We were lucky that our tourmates shared an interest in taking awesome pictures. We had a lot of fun posing in ridiculous ways and even managed to get a sweet jumping picture. Delhi was unbearably hot that day and we got extremely tired and hot wandering around the grounds. After a few hours we grabbed some much needed pani (water) and moved on to our next destination, Smriti Gandhi. This is a museum/landmark that is built in the house where Gandhi spent his last 144 days. It is also the place where he was murdered. They have footprints in the sidewalk leading from where he stepped out of his house to the point where he was gunned down. At this spot is a monument. It was kind of eerie walking down that path and standing on the spot, thinking about what an important and honorable figure was lost to the world right there. The museum, inside the house was very inspirational, with quotes from Gandhi on the wall as well as pictures. I got chills reading some of the eyewitness accounts of the tragic scene that took place right there. The house also had very nice landscaping and it felt very calming to sit and gaze out at the tranquil garden.
From Smriti Gandhi, we walked down the road to the street where all the government buildings are located. Delhi, if you didn't know, is the capital of the country, so they have an impressive collection of government buildings. Think of Washington D.C. but all the buildings are off of one long street. The designs are somewhat similar, with big columns and domes, but these structures are brown, probably sandstone, and have intricate Indian designs. We walked all the way up and down the street, looking at the Parliament, different party offices, and the President's house, which kind of puts the White House to shame. We were all exhausted and hungry after our long walk so we decided to head back to the flat and order some pizza. That night we looked over all the great pictures we had taken that day and talked about and exchanged music. The next morning we woke up and took an auto north to the old city. We saw Jama Masjid (an epic mosque) from the outside as well as a giant goat that was bigger than the motorcycle it was standing next to by a good foot and a half. We had lunch at Kareem's, which was picked as one of the best restaurants in Asia by Time magazine. They weren't kidding either, because the food was outstanding. John and I shared some mutton masala with the warmest, fluffiest roti I had throughout my entire stay here. After lunch we started off on our main quest of the day, to find Ali Baba pants. These are the really thin, draped, flowy pants that Aladdin wears. Esteban had a pair and said he knew where to get them so we followed him to a huge bazaar. It was essentially one long street with hundreds of shops squeezed in. We walked the whole thing looking for the best pants and I am happy to say that we found them. John and I will now be infinitely more comfortable than you when we wear these pants, which should be often because they are awesome. We got some other little gifts and clothes and continued to overheat. After the bazaar, we stopped at the Lotus Temple, which is basically a building in the shape of a huge lotus flower. It was Sunday so the temple was closed, but we got too marvel at it from outside the gate.
For our last dinner in India, John and I sought out our favorite dish, Chicken Tikka Masala. This is boneless chicken in a delicious spiced tomato cream curry. We will hopefully learn to make it at home, so everyone can share our love. We found a place that had it and filled our tummies with some of the best food we've ever had. Then we went back to the flat and packed up our stuff. Even though we had only known Esteban and Kasia for three days, it was hard to say goodbye. I have experienced that with a lot of people since I've been here. Honestly, on this trip I have gotten to know so many awesome individuals that I know will be good friends for life. It's great to know people all over the world, because I know that I will have a place to stay if I ever go to any of those countries. Speaking of different countries, John just got on his plane to Frankfurt and I am waiting for my flight to start boarding. I'm getting pretty tired sitting around this airport, which is good because I will hopefully sleep through most of the trip to Germany. Being in the airport doesn't really feel like being in India anymore, but it will feel completely final when I step on the plane, and especially when we take off. I am so grateful for all of the experiences that I have had in India, all of the people I’ve met and the things that I have seen. However, I am getting more and more excited to be home as time goes by. I can't wait to see all of you and share my stories. Hopefully you have some stories for me as well. Boarding should start in about a half hour. Here's to hoping I don't fall asleep before then...
Oh, and check out the pictures of Jaipur on Facebook. 100 pictures! Enjoy.
YAYY ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU'RE HOME FINALLY!
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