Post #204 20 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our journey from Sydney to Delhi, via Singapore, and our two days in Delhi.

We did Webjet's "24 day India Grandeur tour" flying Singapore Airlines. We flew out of Sydney on Saturday 22 February 2020 and returned on Monday 16 March 2020.

In northern India we visited: Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Ajmer/Pushkar, Jodhpur and Udaipur.  Flew to Mumbai for a day; then another flight to Chennai.

In southern India we visited: Chennai, Puducherry (Pondi), Trichy, Madurai, Thekkady, Alleppey, and Kochi (Cochin).

We saw and did a lot; it was a good introduction to India. But we just scratched the surface of this fascinating and complex country.

There were 12 in the tour group, all from Australia, four married couples and four single ladies. Debra & Peter Love (Albury); Michelle & Bryan Mann (Brisbane); Bronwyn & Darryl Hensley (Maleny Qld); Vera & Alex Olah (Canberra); and four ladies from the Gold Coast: Jill Kelly; Elizabeth Mincher; Ros; and Elaine. Good group, average age about 75.

It will be simpler if I do a post on each of the cities we visited.  This post is about our time in Delhi.

On Saturday 22 February 2020 we flew from Sydney to Singapore (8 hours); three hours at Changi Airport, then on to Delhi (5 hours). Did you know that they serve full meals on Singapore Airlines, with proper cutlery? Great service - no wonder their planes are always full!

Terminal 3 at Changi Airport - marvellous!!! Thirty years ago Sydney Airport held its own, but has now been left far behind airports in countries such as Singapore and China. The Howard Govt privatised Sydney Airport and it has marked time ever since.  Why on earth would you privatise a monopoly?  One of many mistakes. 

Goldfish pond at Changi Airport.

Planting real trees in the Airport.

A beautiful "Butterfly Garden" at Changi Airport.

Part of the display in the Butterfly Garden.

We flew Sydney - Singapore - Delhi; and coming home Kochi (Kerala) - Singapore - Sydney. In northern India we spent most time in Rajasthan State, famous for its forts and palaces.  In southern India we visited Tamil Nadu State (Chennai, Pondi, Trichy, and Madurai) and Kerala State (Thekkady, Alleppey, and Kochi). Strangely this map doesn't show Mumbai and Kochi (Kerala), two major cities.

On arrival at Delhi Airport we were met by Diwan Khan, our guide in northern India, and taken to the Vivanta Hotel in Dwarka, about 20 km from the center of New Delhi. We had good hotels on this tour, although often far from city centers (like this one).  The air conditioning in our room was stuck on 21C, too cold for us, but wouldn't shift. Finally the staff brought us a radiator!!

Meeting the tour group in the foyer of the Vivanta Hotel on the first morning. There were 12 persons in the group, all from Australia, 4 married couples plus 4 single ladies.

Our tour group in front of The Red Fort in Delhi, from left: Vera, Bronwyn & Darryl, Michelle & Bryan, me, Jill, Peter, Ros, Debra, Elizabeth, and Elaine.

Another view of the Red Fort, and its (dry) moat. Construction started in 1638 and took 10 years by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who wanted to move his capital from Agra to this location then called Shahjahanabad. The walls extend for 2 km, and vary in height from 18 meters on the Yamuna River side to 33m on the city side (in this photo). Every 15 August the Prime Minister makes his Independence Day speech from the main gate of this Fort. We didn't go inside the Red Fort, as the guide said we would visit an even-bigger Fort in Agra.

Our next stop was Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, built 1644 - 1658. This is the impressive main gate of the mosque. While most Indians are Hindus, the rulers for centuries were Moslems (Mughal Dynasty, originally from Afghanistan / Persia). They lived in the Red Fort, and worshipped in nearby Jama Masjid.

The Jama Masjid, an impressive building, the largest mosque in India.  It reminded us of mosques we saw in Iran (Iranian mosques are even more intricate), no doubt a  reflection of the strong Persian influence on Mughal culture.

Part of the crowd in the courtyard of the Mosque.

Some of the women were fully covered (but still had smart phones!!).

The pool in the courtyard in front of the mosque; cleansing themselves with water before praying is important to Moslems.

The women in our group had to wear special cloaks to visit this mosque.

What's so funny about giving our shoes to the "shoe minder" (behind Diwan), before we entered the mosque???

Our guide Diwan, introducing the mosque to us. He introduced himself to us simply as "Diwan" - later we learnt that his family name was Khan and he was of Moslem background.  Diwan said that he had a PhD in archaeology and was a lecturer at a private university.  He does guiding during the tourist season to earn extra money. He is married with an 8 year old son. Diwan was knowledgeable about Indian history (although I was puzzled by his frequent references to the influence of the Ottomans on India???).

Another shot of Diwan explaining the mosque to our group.

The Jama Mosque was unusual as it did not have an "interior"; it was long and narrow. Looked huge from afar, but was actually quite shallow.  There were many visitors in the courtyard, but relatively few worshippers as in this photo.

After visiting Jama Masjid we rode tuk-tuks (autorickshaws) through the Old City of Delhi. Wow, what an fascinating place - is this the real India? - a maze of narrow alleys and shops and people and history. You could very easily get lost in this jumble.

Fruit and vegetable street stalls in the Old City.

We visited Spice Street in the Old City, full of vendors selling everything from chilli to tumeric, many other spices, pickles, tea and nuts. I think we shopped at Roopaks store (with other tourists)?

We then visited the Raj Ghat, as sort of Hero's Cemetery/Garden, where Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948. Also cremated nearby: Nehru (1964), Indira Gandhi (1984), and grandsons Sanjay (1980) and Rajiv (1991).

Visitors have to pass a security check-point, here called a "frisking room". Separate entrances for women and men.

Gandhi's cremation spot is marked by a simple black marble platform (behind Vera), incorporating an eternal flame). 

The Garden featured a number of Gandhi's famous quotes including this one: "The power of a true word is such that it leads one from selfishness to selflessness". He was a remarkable person, a great leader and philosopher, yet so humble.

In 1931 the British moved their capital from Calcutta to New Delhi.  We drove around New Delhi and especially the Parliamentary area.  Impressive wide avenues and roundabouts and lots of trees. President Trump and his wife were due to visit - images of Donald and Melania were everywhere. According to the local newspaper the Govt spent over $8 million preparing the city for Trump's visit.

Another sign welcoming President Trump and his wife.

While President Trump was in Delhi, Hindu extremists attacked a majority-Moslem area of Delhi; shops, houses, even a mosque, were destroyed; 53 dead, 200+ injured. When asked if he had raised this conflict with PM Narendra Modi, Trump said that it was an internal matter and besides Mr Modi had assured him that all religions coexisted happily in India!

If you believe that, you'll believe anything!!!

 After lunch we visited the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple. It was built on the site where the 8th Sikh 'guru' lived in 1664.  We all had to wear orange head-scarves. As part of their religion Sikhs do volunteer work in the Temple.  There are huge kitchens and they provide free meals.  On a Sunday (like today) they feed up to 20,000 visitors (all welcome)!!!   

The huge kitchen of the Sikh Temple.

Another shot of the huge kitchen in the Sikh Temple. Note the enormous pots. All the labor is provided by volunteers.

That evening we visited Quth Minar, the first major mosque in Delhi. Construction began in 1193 to mark the victory of the Moslem invaders from the north over the Hindu king. There is a solitary minaret 73m high, on a 15m diameter-base tapering to 2.5m at the top. It is a truly spectacular sight, lit up at night.

On the way home Diwan suggested we stop at the Village Arts shop for a cup of tea.  Sounded good. We were served masala chai tea - delicious!

We were taken straight to their carpet room, and given a sales presentation on Indian / Kashmir handmade carpets. A number of us made purchases, including Vera and me.
It transpired that Diwan took us to such shops in every city we visited. We were convinced that he got a commission on any sales. After the first two shops we started voicing our displeasure - "we didn't come to India to shop!" - but somehow he always managed to maneuver our itinerary.  In one city he asked if he could take us to see something special - Indian-gypsy handicrafts - but of course once we got inside the shop it was all about carpets again, with not a gypsy in sight!
This is obviously how guides supplement their incomes. Similarly with lunch - we always ended up in relatively-expensive tourist restaurants. He must have got a kick-back from these establishments as well.  In hindsight we should have been tougher with Diwan, but we didn't know the ropes and had to rely on his guidance.   

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So ended our first, busy, day in India.  First impressions:

Delhi is a huge city, a city of contrasts, from the rabbit warrens of the Old City to the wide, treed avenues of New Delhi.
Lots of history; ancient forts and mosques and temples and British colonial buildings.
Delhi is almost dead-flat (in fact, the whole north India plain is very flat).
Delhi is reputed to have some of the worst air quality in the world; it was certainly smoggy when we were there, but not too bad - maybe we were lucky?
The people seemed relatively well-dressed, well-fed, and friendly. A few beggars, but not the abject poverty that I expected.

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Delhi, the capital of India, was a great start to our tour.  The next day we were supposed to leave early for Agra, but that city was locked-down for President Trump's visit.  So we had a quiet morning in the Vivanta Hotel, and left for Agra in the afternoon.

The next post will describe our time in Agra.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling,

Vera and Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Friday 20 March 2020