Bye bye India
Trip Start
Aug 07, 2011
1
12
110
Trip End
Jul 14, 2012
Where I stayed
Delhi, India
Friday, September 2, 2011
We left Jodhpur on Weds night and took the overnight train to Delhi which got in at about 7.30am. Managed to sleep well this time which was great! Then took the Metro to Chandi Chowk to go back to the same hotel we stayed in earlier on in our trip in Old Delhi.
After a snooze (well sleep, standard) and a couple of movies we headed out to get some food at a restaurant called Karim's - a family run restaurant that in the past were the principle cooks/chefs for the maharaja.
The next day we thought we'd do a bit of culture and go to the national museum situated in New Delhi. New Delhi was a completely different experience to Old Delhi - there were far fewer people, there was green space like parks and trees, and is where the secretariat buildings are. We walked past India Gate which stood magnificently at the end of the park before going into the national museum.
The national museum was ok to help understand the history of India, although personally it wasn't as interactive and entertaining as it could have been. A lot of the artifacts were pretty similar in each of the rooms. Anyway, it was nice to 'mooch' around for the day before the flight to Singapore.
Before we went to the airport we thought we'd chill out for a little bit over a beer so we caught a rickshaw to Connaught Place (CP to the locals) to see what we could find. We managed to find the least Indian place around, a Mediterranean restaurant that served European beers!! Result....if not a little expensive. Fran decided to try the Indian house wine from the menu which actually wasn't too bad and I had a beer.
We decided to stay and eat - a mezze platter to start, then pizza for me and the buffet for Fran (so paella, salad etc). Although we loved the Indian food it was so good to have a change from the 'norm'.....it was there that we decided that on the last day in each country we visit we'll try and have a meal that's completely unrelated to the country we're in at the time. We'll see.
Anyway, we went back to the hotel after dinner to pick up the bags and then walked to get the metro to the airport. The connection to the airport was at New Delhi station and the cynic in me thought that the metro to the airport would be a bit like the Heathrow Express.....massively overpriced.....but thankfully it wasn't considering how far it was out to the airport itself.....80 rupees (or about £1.15) isn't bad at all.
Nothing of note really happened at the airport other than Fran and I reflecting on our time in India. We can't believe how quickly the last 4 weeks have gone - all the moving around and visiting different places sure makes the time go quickly. It's made us realise that we definitely need to make sure we take everything in and make the most of it all.....although there still will be time for a lot of chillaxing and snoozes!
So, what were our favourite parts of India this time around? For me, the backwaters were just amazing! The lusciousness of the vegetation, the calmness of the wildlife and the friendliness of the people all added up to a truly marvellous part of India. For Fran, her favourite part was Munnar. She loved the trek into the mountain and the breath-taking views. She also had the best food at SN restaurant and the journey to/from Munnar on the bus was stunning!
Phir mileynge (see you later) India, you've been good to us and we'll miss you.
Onwards to Singapore! We can't wait!
