We woke up nice and early ("woke up" is a euphemism for listening to gravediggers all night) to get ready for our first day of sightseeing. Our first task though? Breakfast!!! While our hotel offered a complimentary breakfast, we checked out the wares and didn't find anything particularly appetizing, so we decided to go explore. J had done some research and found out that there was a very popular, authentic place to get breakfast just a few blocks from our hotel. So off we went.
I have to admit, I was very overwhelmed very quickly when we left the hotel, and I completely understand why all of the travel websites, books and blogs I read warn about "going with the flow." J and I, who are very white, to put it plainly, stuck out like sore thumbs as we stepped out of the alley where our hotel was located and tried to get our bearings. Apparently, we also are easy targets as Americans because our natural inclination is to walk on the right side of the road (theoretically, you drive on the left-hand side of the road in India, but that's a very loose suggestion as no one seems to follow any traffic laws and I saw zero lane markings on any streets). Within a few seconds of walking on to the street, at least ten different men approached us and asked us where we were going, what we were looking for, whether we wanted to see what they were selling, and whether we needed a tour guide for the day. We politely declined the offers of assistance and set out on our merry way. A few of the more persistent "helpers" followed us all the way to our destination. I give J a lot of credit here, because he figured out where we going. I quickly learned that in this neighborhood, there were no street signs to really speak of (and in fact, I didn't see very many the entire time we were in country).
Finally we arrived at Sita Ram Diwan Chand, which sells ONLY one dish--chole bhature. Chole is a spicy green chickpea curry, served with a fried, puffy bread called a Bhature. It was also served with onions and pickled carrots (which are RED in India, not orange!) The whole dish cost approximately $1, with extra Bhature.
J and I agreed, it was one of the best things we ate on our entire trip. There were no other tourists in the store, and no one spoke much English. The shopkeepers gave us forks, which I guess they keep in the back for people who look like they might need them, but we tried our best to eat with our hands. Then we discovered there were no napkins. Instead, there is a hand washing station in the corner of the store, which is obviously more environmentally friendly. But there are no towels to dry your hands afterward, so, glad I was wearing a cotton shirt.
On our way back to our hotel (it was still relatively early in the morning and none of the attractions were open yet), we were again assailed by a number of "helpers," and every two seconds, an auto rickshaw driver stopped to offer us a ride. Ultimately we agreed to take a ride in an auto rickshaw for approximately 25 cents, just so that we wouldn't be accosted anymore. Also, I'm not going to lie, walking down the road there is a little frightening as there are no sidewalks, and at any given moment, I felt like I was inches away from being run over. I really thought I was going to be afraid of being pickpocketed after everything I read, but the true danger is death by auto rickshaw.
Once we arrived back at the hotel and assessed what our plan would be for the day, we decided to hire a driver to take us to some of the main sights in Delhi. We weren't feeling quite brave enough yet to jump right in on public transportation after our morning foray, and it was very affordable. So off we went to see what we could see on our first day in Delhi!
Our first stop was the Laxmi Narayan Mandir, a Hindu temple dedicated by Mahatma Gandhi which was specifically designed to be open to all individuals of all castes. Photography was not permitted inside the temple, so we got a few shots outside before we went in.
Shoes are not permitted at Hindu temples, so we were instructed to leave our shoes in a small room and store our valuables (i.e. cameras and cellphones) in a locker manned by a guard. It seems like this was a special provision for foreign tourists, as there was also a "shoe check" for Indian visitors. When we tried to deposit our shoes there, though, they sent us to the guard room. There were also small vendors where Hindus could purchase offerings to leave at the temple. I'm not entirely sure what the offerings were, but I did see some coconuts and marigold garlands.
The interior of the temple was breathtaking, and J and I spent quite a bit of time there enjoying the architecture and the atmosphere. There were many families there, and there was a small girl who was quite preoccupied with J and I. She asked us if we were Buddhists and kept following us around as we walked through the temple.
Our next stop was a quick drive past the Rashtrapati Bhawan, or the official Presidential Estate in Delhi's central government center.
The estate is the second largest presidential residence in the entire world (behind Turkey, according to Wikipedia). It was constructed in the early 20th century by the British when the head of the colonial government was moved to Delhi, and the whole governmental complex in the center of New Delhi was designed by Edward Lutyens. It reminded me a little bit of Washington DC in how planned the buildings are, with symmetrical, impressive facades, a parade ground (the "Rajpath" and our next stop on the tour at the other end--the India Gate, a memorial to the Indian soldiers who fought in World War I.
The India Gate was very magnificent, and I found it to be much more interesting than I thought it would be. It was...ENORMOUS. I think one of the things I appreciate most about Indian architecture is that its architects appreciate the impact of size. The details are also quite spectacular.
There were a lot of Indian tourists at the Gate, and a lot of salespeople and vendors for street food and (delightfully)....ice cream! LOTS of ice cream push carts and bicycle carts. We did not indulge at the Gate, though I definitely wanted to.
After the India Gate, we headed towards Humayun's Tomb Complex, one of the premier examples of Mughal architecture (15th century), especially in New Delhi. This was the first place we went where we saw any other Western tourists. In India, there are two different fee structures for admissions to monuments: the Indian prices, and the Foreign prices. For both of us to gain admission, we paid about $7.50. If we were Indian, it would have been about 25 cents for both of us.
There were quite a few beautiful spots at Humayun's Tomb. While the actual Tomb itself is magnificent, I really enjoyed the tomb of Isa Khan, which is set in an octagonal sunken garden.
The architecture was truly stunning, and there is a concerted effort to rehabilitate and restore this world heritage site. Further down the path was the real deal, Humayun's tomb itself, which was one of the earliest Mughal tombs and a predecessor to the Taj Mahal.
Interestingly, I noticed that there were six pointed stars (aka Stars of David) used to decorate the Tomb. My research has led me to discover that apparently the six pointed star was regularly used in Mughal architecture, and only became a Jewish symbol in the 19th century. You learn something new every day!
After spending some time at the Tomb, we stopped for a quick lunch. Our driver took us to a restaurant that was full of tourists, which disappointed us slightly, but the food was tasty and at that point, we were so hungry we didn't care where we were eating as long as it was food. I tasted my first paneer (cheese dish) in India, and it is SO DIFFERENT than the paneer at Indian restaurants in the US. It's creamy, it's firm, it's tasty, it's amazing. There was a lot of paneer in our future.
Our last stop of the day was the Qutb Minar complex, which is located in the southern suburbs of New Delhi. It was built in 1199, and is the tallest brick minaret in the world.
The tower is just so amazing. J and I were in complete awe while we stood at its base, craning our necks upward. It is so intricately carved and designed, with alternating pointed and rounded edges. We could have spent hours looking at all of the details.
There were a lot of other interesting ruins on the site that we enjoyed walking around. It was late afternoon when we arrived at the complex, and the sun was starting to take on a really beautiful, soft tone on the red sandstone. The fact that we were in INDIA was really starting to sink in, and we just couldn't believe what we were seeing (and kept repeating to each other, "Can you believe we are HERE?!")
And then, I had to go to the bathroom. Let's just say I was glad that I packed toilet paper.
After we wrapped up at the Qutb Minar, we decided we would not have any time to see any more monuments (it was nearing 5:00 and most monuments close at 5:30), so we headed back to the hotel. Fortunately, we were able to switch to a slightly nicer room for our second night, and were able to take a hot shower (we missed the boat on hot water the day before). After freshening up, we went to Connaught Place, a popular shopping district, for dinner, and then crashed pretty early.
Not bad for our first day!!! We were slightly overwhelmed, but so happy to be in India seeing all of these amazing sights and experiencing such a different culture. At that point, I couldn't believe how much more there was to see.
Stay tuned!!! Our trip to the Disney Temple is up next....
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