Exploring Delhi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcPHJG2Gi5U

exploring Delhi

A dear friend invited me to attend a wedding. Since I've heard a lot about how over-the-top and elaborate Indian weddings can be, I was definitely intrigued and wanted to witness one with my own eyes. While I've done solo travel before, I wasn't sure I was bold enough to do this solo trip on my own. I ended up going for it, with the mentality of 'If not now, then when?' and 'I'm not getting any younger.' and 'When would I ever do this again?'

So I booked flights and found myself a tour guide online. I decided having a tour guide was the way to go because I wasn't sure about wandering around the city entirely on my own. One of my requirements was that I wanted a woman to be my tour guide. It was hard to find female tour guides, or perhaps they did not widely advertise on the usual platforms I searched on. The one I ended up booking, though her services were definitely on the more expensive side, did take care of me. She also included in her services airport pickup and picked me up from my hotel and dropped me off on the days she showed me around Delhi.

Overall, my first time exploring any part of India was a good experience. The only part that I found difficult was the air quality. I was warned ahead of time that crop burning season during the winter is especially rough, but experiencing it firsthand is entirely different. When I first landed in early December, the AQI was already high, in the high 100s. By the time I left Delhi airport, it was over 600. I'm very grateful I was able to see everything I saw, with good company, and also grateful and incredibly lucky that I did not get sick.

Sights

• Lotus Temple This was my first time learning about the Baha'i Faith. I am a little surprised that this particular house of worship exists in India, since the vast majority of the religious community in India practice Hinduism, but they do say that all are welcome to worship no matter what religion they practice. It seems like numerology is important, as there are 9 petals per row, 27 petals total, and 9 pools surrounding the temple.

  

  
  

  

  
  

• Qutb Minar & Qutb Complex This is a huge sight with a garden, pillar, tombs, the iconic minaret or victory tower that signified centuries of Muslim rule in India.

  

  

  This was the first of several complexes I ended up visiting made primarily of red sandstone. These complexes are nice to visit as they are rather peaceful oases from the chaotic city, especially in the mornings.

  

  
  

• Humayun's Tomb If you don't have time to go all the way to Agra, just looking at this grand tomb might just be close enough. Empress Hamida Banu Begum of Mughal Emperor Humayun commissioned the creation of this garden tomb that eventually inspired the Taj Mahal.

  

  From this angle, the Taj Mahal really does look like Humayan's tomb. The design of the overall garden is built on 9 squares, with Humayan's tomb in the center square. There are water channels flowing from the river banks through the centers of the other 8 larger squares that then divide these into smaller quadrants. Eventually this garden tomb ended up housing many others including several other Mughal emperors.

  

  
  

• Jama Masjid Another one of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's creations, this massive mosque is also made of red sandstone and white marble. The design is set atop an elevated stairway. At the top of the stairs, I found out that women are required to wear robes to cover up. One might infer that the patriarchy's rules are at play. It seemed a bit odd to me that some women weren't required to pay for robe rentals, like my guide for example, because they were already in 'traditional attire.' I was covered completely in jeans and a jacket, because it was winter after all. They charge ₹50 in cash to rent a black robe. Shoes also must be removed. You can also purchase ₹100 in cash for disposable slippers. Making tourists pay for these items, and the robe in particular for women, feels rather coerced and a bit of a money grab, if I am to be honest, even though the cost is only about $1 USD.

  

  
  

• Chandni Chowk Market My guide took me to experience what a local market feels like. There were lots of shops selling accessories and jewelry, which I was informed are often used to customize and personalize bridal outfits.

  

  There were tons of food stalls selling a lot of fried snacks. I was only interested in having a look and snapping a few photos. My guide also informed me that my stomach and my foreign immune system should not have any of the street food, though she did want me to have a look through my own eyes.

  

  
  

• Agrasen Ki Baoli There were quite a few locals here enjoying themselves on the stairs of the stepwell here. From this perspective, I managed to omit the stairs and all the surrounding patrons. My guide told me that you can often find young people perched here, experiencing young love. How sweet.

  

Eats

Honestly I can't say I have any recommendations because I didn't have a lot of time to explore local restaurants before the festivities of the wedding. However there was a lot of local food to eat at the wedding. These were a couple of the restaurants that my guide took me to, because that is where she had previously made arrangements with establishments as a licensed tour guide. I would not say they are worth going out of your way for them, but if you are nearby it's tasty and will probably fill you up. Prices however, are pretty similar to what you'd find in the U.S., so these spots are clearly meant for tourists.

• Cafe Rendezvous Suribachi Restaurant & Bar
  

  

• Cedar Clubhouse
  

  

• Mister Chai I had time to spare before a late evening flight, so I had a spot of tea at Shangri-La Eros, because they are open 24/7. Of course, their tea is also definitely priced for tourists. I did appreciate that their tea comes with some biscuits.

  

Accommodation

The room is comfortable. The theme is quite interesting, with its colorful lobby, and quirky holiday decorations at the time. The breakfast was pretty good, with a decent selection of local breakfast dishes in the buffet, and a cook-to-order station. If you are up for it, you can definitely fill up with enough carbs to last you through the afternoon.

Wedding was beautiful!

This two day affair was very elaborate, or at least it seemed that way to me, someone who has never been to an Indian wedding before.

This is probably the only time I'll ever wear pink

Here's a couple of photos I snapped of the setting before more guests arrived for day 2.

There were many performances that captured the family's affection for all of the close family members, as well as their talent in the performing arts!