We arrived in Delhi after a very enjoyable flight from Bangkok at about 11pm. A host of demanding flyers near me meant that the flight attendant kept being called over to my part of the plane - which I took full advantage of ordering a fair few drinks and more than my fair share of peanuts! We met up with our airport pick-up and made our way to our hotel. The streets and roads around the airport had the same beige haze as Beijing, noticeable even at midnight and probably reflective of the two emerging industrial powers. Anyway we got to our hotel and everyone went silent. We had booked a room costing the equivalent of £2 a night and the Spartan accommodation reflected this. No A/C and a squat toilet. We decided to grin and bear the first night and see if we could upgrade in the morning. All the A/C rooms being taken we relocated next door - and for only £1 extra a night got air conditioning, a western toilet and a TV with Anerican shows - the latter proved to be a boon as I'll explain.
We spent the greater part of the day sleeping and then sitting out our travel around India. Other than trying to sell us a trip to the mountains in the north to 'relax' (generally code for Kashmir in Delhi) and then a complete tour of Rajasthan we didn't want we managed to settle on the actual connections we had planned in the first place (Amritsar, Agra, Jaipur) and added in Pushkar as we had a lot of spare time. The guys seemed really nice and genuine (I say 'seemed' as at the time of writing I am sitting on a sleeper train to Delhi where we're supposed to change to Agra except one of our seats on the connection is not yet confirmed - a fact they neglected to mention and have since assured us they will organise other transport if the worst comes to the worst) and directed us to a nice restaurant where I had my first 'Thali' (a selection of curried and curd dips with chapatti and in thus case rice) as well as providing us with a driver to take us round Delhi and see the sights the following day.
So rising and getting ready for 9am we joined our driver who took us around Delhi we started with the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid. The former a huge complex of buildings from the Mughal period - where a couple of local teenagers asked for a photo with me (the first of what has proved to be many of such occurrences) and the latter the largest mosque in India, impressively built more like a fortress than a place of worship! It's situated, like a lot of things in India in a less than glorious location amongst a very ramshackle cotton Market and proved to be a money hole - attempting to charge me for using my camera and looking after my shoes when I'd already paid to get in. The architecture for both was beautiful however, and they are in my opinion well worth the entry fees, which work out at about £4 each roughly speaking. We also visited the Lotus Temple, which ministers to the Baha'is in Delhi. It wads great contrast an incredibly modern building and very simple on the inside - quiet, peaceful and mostly without ornament. The only criticism was that we had to take our shoes off and in the heat of the day the stone outside practically scorched my feet. The dance-walk I developed to try to avoid burning amused the Indian visitors! We then went to see India Gate - a memorial to Indian soldiers and got driven around the president's palace complex as you're not permitted to stop and look around. Despite having planned to see more the heat had got the better of us.
I'd expected India to be something of a culture shock but I don't think anything could have prepared me for Delhi. The whole experience is very in your face, it's hot, smelly, crowded and noisy and so we were glad of a retreat to the hotel and some western TV to take the edge off. That evening we set out to battle the other pedestrians, guys in Tuk-Tuks and Rickshaws offering us rides and the odd cow (which though obviously I should have expected still proved a bizarre experience) to get some dinner. There's some terrible poverty in the city and passing so many beggars, even merely on the way to get something to eat - especially the children - really makes you feel guilty for everyone you refuse.
The third day we left late into the afternoon to explore Connaught Place the main and very western shopping complex. We were taken off course twice by Indians who I imagine must have been on commission for a shop well out of our price range as backpackers before we made it to our destination. The problem is they appear to be so nice and helpful even when they're trying to con you - and sometimes they frankly just don't listen to where you're trying to get to - knowing better where to go than some sheepish tourists! Haha! Nevertheless how they make money I don't know as it was clearly not the underground clothing bazaar that we were looking for (which turned out to be in the centre of Connaught Place as we'd initially believed - and was not merely an electric goods Market as two separate men had told us) so we left immediately. After a day of being harassed by rickshaw drivers none of us felt much like buying anything and so headed back to pick up our train tickets ready for our first to Amritsar the following morning.
An early rise saw us board our train with limited trouble. We had been told we might be beset by locals telling us our train had gone already and trying to sell us nee and fake tickets. The event was relatively smooth and we enjoyed our trip in first class including a complimentary breakfast - accompanied by a cup of 'chai' (strong sweet tea which I've been converted too - but probably won't drink at home given the four sugars per cup!). We arrived at our hotel and spent the better part of the day there planning out our four days - which in hindsight was probably an error as there isn't so much to do but allowed us to see all we wanted at a slow pace, which was nice given the heat.
The next day Ben and I headed out into Amritsar with the intention of exploring a little. We found our way to Ram Bagh Company Gardens which houses
Maharaja Ranjit Singh's summer palace. The gardens were very nice but somewhat 'under-construction' (at least I hope they were as the plans seemed to indicate that it would be lovely when it was finished). After seeing Gandhi's monument and the statue of the Maharaja (honoured for uniting the Punjab) we attempted to make our way to one of temples scattered around the city. Unfortunately the heat of the day got the better of us and the roads which made no sense and less than useless map with which we'd been provided didn't help, so we retreated to the hotel to rest before going out to are the Golden Temple that evening. The Temple was beautiful all lit up at night and the atmosphere was amazing as we arrived amongst many pilgrims and locals amidst the services (which I think go on all day but are attended in great numbers in the evening). After a good look round and several conversations and pictures taken with some of the Indian visitors (who were endlessly fascinated by our presence - one boy telling us it made him happy to see us there) we returned to the hotel.
We had a late start the second day and decided to take in the Wagha Border ceremony. Leaving our hotel at half 3 we made it to the Indian-Pakistan border about half 4 and joined the crush to get to the bleachers where the audience sits. After a good half an hour making it through security we were ushered to the foreigner's gallery - the closest set of seats to the gate. The ceremony itself was like a huge party with music playing (including Jai-Ho which the locals found amusing that we new the words to, at least to the Pussycat Dolls' version anyway!) and people racing with Indian flags and dancing for the entertainment of the crowd. The Pakistan side seemed less full and quieter at first but it soon filled up and after a while gave the Indians a run for their money chanting as MCs on burg sides lead calls for 'Hindustan' and 'Pakistan' respectively. The regimented display of the soldiers was also impressive - grown men able to kick their legs to an inhuman height! All in all it was a very enjoyable experience - with a beautiful sunset background.
Our third day in Amritsar saw us take in a couple of the Hindu temples. The first was the Shiwalla Mandir, a very peaceful temple set out in the middle of s lake, we were given a bindhi and some crackers to feed to the fish and then posed for a photo with a whole extended Indian family! The second temple wad much more lively - we arrived on the middle of a sung service with lots of devotees of all ages milling around. We ended the day in the Celebration Mall' where we ate in the food court and watched 'Thor' in 3D. It was a bit of a crap film - but the only one besides the 'Fast and the Furious 5' that was in English and it was quite amusing how funny the locals found it when mistaken for a terrorist Thor was questioned as to whether he trained in Pakistan and when Thor and Natalie Portman's character snogged! The experience itself was a little bizarre as I almost forgot I was in India - so far the India I have experienced has been just like Aravind Adiga chronicled in his novel 'The White Tiger', including the difference between the craziness of the street compared to the quiet privilege of the westernised malls.
Our last day in Amritsar saw us go back to the Golden Temple - which is totally different during the day as for one it's a lot less busy, meaning we were able to go inside the Temple itself and looks different bathed in sunlight. Then we went to see the Jallianwala Bagh - memorial gardens to honour the site of and those Indians shot by the British for attending a meeting on Indian independence in 1919.
We then headed back to our hotel to get our transfer to the railway station and our sleeper to Agra.
P.S. This particular blog bring written over the course of a few days you, happy reader, will be glad to know that we made it to Agra fine and our waiting list sat was confirmed upon arriving at our connecting station in Delhi.
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