Delhi was the first stop on our trip to India. After years of talking about it, a co-worker/friend and I finally made it to India. We started our trip with a tour with Gate 1 Travel which led us through Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Khajuraho, and Varanasi. Then we headed to Rishikesh on our own.
We arrived at the New Delhi airport in the evening, made our way through customs, and found a taxi. It was a long ride to our hotel and traffic was CRAZY (at least compared to American standards). We barely missed a pedestrian that walked out into the road, everyone is constantly honking, and we hit the side window of another taxi while trying to merge. Traffic lines are definitely more of a suggestion than a rule here… and no one wants to let each other move over. You must fight for your space in India.
We started our one day in Delhi with a visit to some tombs of past Mughal rulers. The first one, Isa Khan’s Garden Tomb (built in 1547/1548) was my favorite site of the day. It was quiet, old, and beautiful. We entered an ancient gateway and the octagonal tomb lies in the middle of the courtyard. A mosque rests on the west side of the courtyard. Mughal tombs always have a mosque on the west side, the direction of Mecca.
A short walk away lies the more famous Humayun’s Tomb, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Humayun was the 2nd emperor of the Mughal Empire. He ruled the area that is now Pakistan, Northern India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. It was built in 1570 and was the most impressive Muslim tomb built at the time. The architecture is similar to that of the later Taj Mahal. Inside both tombs are coffins in the center that you can view.
The next stop was to see Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in Delhi. It was quite crowded and they charged a fee to bring in any camera.. so I left mine on the bus. The location of the mosque actually divides up Delhi’s communities. To the north of the mosque is all Hindu, while to the south is all Muslim. Outside the mosque we encountered a number of young girls carrying babies, begging for money. I’m not convinced the babies were actually their children… maybe siblings instead. But this was the first of many encounters of begging around India.
We took rickshaws just outside the mosque through the bazaar, whose shops were mostly closed since it was a Sunday. It was fun riding through the narrow streets, seeing street food and people, and watching a man get hit by a water balloon in a premature celebration of Holi. I imagine it would be chaotic when the bazaar is open!
After the rickshaw rides through Old Delhi, we headed to Raj Ghat (Gandhi’s cremation site). Then off to lunch.
After lunch, we visited Gurdwara Bangla Sahiba, a very busy Sikh Temple. Everyone (men and women) had to put scarves over their hair to enter. Along with hundreds of Indians, we walked through the temple while a service with music was in process and we were able to see the place where the Sikh sacred book rests under a cloak. No photography is allowed inside the temple.
Then we walked past the dinning room and visited the kitchen. Sikh Temples offer a free meal to anyone, dependless of religion, nationality, or economic status. The Sikh members are asked to donate 10 percent of their income to the temple to provide this service. The temple we visited feeds about 25,000 people every day. The kitchen was truly impressive with giant woks and Sikh volunteers cooking and serving the meals. A very inspirational experience. That was it for sightseeing in Delhi.
Next up: Jaipur
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