A hot one in Delhi
Trip Start
Jun 09, 2005
1
3
105
Trip End
Jun 08, 2006
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Where I stayed
Polonia Hotel
Delhi, India
Friday, June 10, 2005
Life is very different here. We are collected in an ancient white Austin Ambassador with chrome finishings and arrive in our hotel (Hotel Polonia) at about 1am. People are to be found everywhere, whether they are sleeping on the roads or risking their lives on the roads.
We take a tuk tuk, which is a 3 wheeled motorcart to the centre of Old Delhi. The ride is an amazing experience with colours and smells overloading our brains. Beside the roadside there are fruit stalls with mangoes, lychees and melons; laundry hanging out- 100's of white sheets; and sacks of coal and wood. On the road cars, tricycles, trucks, tuk tuks, cows and people unexpectedly appear from all directions. As we reach our destination, John tells me reassuringly that there are only 6 deaths per day in Delhi.
It is incredibly hot (44C during the day, 34 at night). We visit the Jama Masjid (the largest mosque in India), the red fort (the emperor's palace) and the busy bazaars of Chadni Chowk. The red fort is an oasis of calm with beautiful marble buildings of exquisite design, including flowers carved into the walls. On the walls of one chamber, we read the famous persian couplet "if there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this".
The day is half over and John has now retreated back to the air-conditioned hotel room claiming that he feels sick and that perhaps it's time to go back home? I hope that after a rest he is feeling up to some more adventure.
Comments
great to hear from you
Come on John, after all that talk about treking in the Himalayas and that trek across China! It will no doubt get better when you leave smelly Delhi.
Look forward to hearing more news from you on my return from hols, just a couple of hours flight, couple of weeks and only in Sardinia!
Have a great time in the mountains
Jane
....
...and I spent my day fixing broken program code.. :( It's not fair! Glad you've arrived ok and have fun in India!
Jez.
Re: great to hear from you
Well you'll be pleased to know that after a cold shower and the air conditioning on full blast for 1/2hr I feel like a frozen deep fried pakora
We went out for a delicious Indian dinner this evening in the Embassy Restaurant on Connaught Place. Very good especially the Nan bread which tastes really very different.
John