by Debbie Ross
Womens Travel Network founder.

Day 01 India tour – New Delhi’s sites and a rickshaw ride through old Delhi.

We arrived safely at the hotel around midnight, after 16 hours of travelling. The flight was smooth and time went by quickly.  Our guide Shiv and office manager Minoj greeted us  with beautiful flower leis made of merrigolds  Ruthy decided to wear hers as a crown.

After checking in everyone went straight to their luxurious rooms to unpack and go to bed.  Monday was going to be a busy day.

Breakfast at 7am and on the bus by 9am.  Our guide Shiv and local guide Priiti took us on a fabulous sightseeingt tour of old and new Delhi. First stop is old Delhi and the Jama Mastit or the Friday Mosque which dates back to the 1600’s. Unfortunatey its raining, but its warm and our spirits are high. To enter the mosque we must take off our shoes. Luckily they gave us slippers to keep our feet dry .  Our knees must be covered. Rifky had to wear a makeshift gown to cover up. It’s wasn’t very stylish.

 

Our next adventure is a hair raising rick shaw ride through the bumpy, narrow, busy streets of old Delhi.  It seems this part of the city is in need of re wiring. If you look hard enough you’ll see the monkey in that mess of wires.

The rain has stopped  just in time for our visit of the red sandstone Humanyun tomb. Built in 1565, this was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. It’s hard  to believe this tranquil park like setting is located in a bustling city.

Our drive contnues along the wide sweeping avenues of new Delhi It’s midday and the traffic is crazy, cars and buses dart in and out and horns honk constantly.

Our guide recommends we stop at Veda for lunch,  a trendy restaurant owned by a fashion designer.  We opt for a set menu that gives us a wide variety of items to taste.  The food is fantastic, every mouthful flavourful and satisfying.

Our last stop for this tired, fading group is the impressive Qutub Mindar,dating back to 1198. What a site to behold.  The sun is shining and tourists of all race and colour are out enjoying this site.  Many of the Indian’s ask to have their photo taken with us. We are delighted to take part in this interesting exchange of photo taking.

The Qutab Minar is the world’s tallest brick minaret and one of the finest examples of Indo-Islam architecture and the monuments of the imperial city built by the British in the 1920s.

After  a successful day of sightseeing we went back to the hotel to relax, unwind, freshen up and enjoy a nice dinner at one of the restaurants in the hotel Then offf to bed early.  We have a busy day tocmorrow starting with more sightseeing in Delhi, then a scenic drive to Agra

Our hotel is the Royal Palace, Delhi.  A comfortable, business class hotel in the heart of the city.