A big, big day on the road with Wendy WU. We finally hooked up with the group mainly by way of Sally going up to everyone in the dining room and asking if they were with WW. Needless to say it worked, she identified people and information was gleaned. The tour guide/ organiser apologised and said he’d tried to contact us but the hotel had given him the wrong room number. Needless to say Sally took him to task for not trying harder.
God knows what I think of the group at this stage. The Guide Hassan seems OK and really likes to be helpful, knows his stuff etc. The rest of the group, it is just superficial chat so far. An overview…there are some at about my level of activity/fitness although I might be the worst on stairs without rails but I haven’t measured that precisely yet.
This is how the day panned out. After brekky we set off in our bus. We drove around parts of Old Delhi including past the Red Fort. We then went to Jamid Masjid….the largest mosque in India built C15. We piled out of the bus and the first thing I saw was this mountain of deep, steep stairs leading up into the sky!! Oh fuck.
But I made it up doing my one legged thing…that was a relief. I wasn’t concentrating on anyone else so I have yet to accurately measure myself against the rest!!! It was interesting and huge and you could imagine how it would be full of 25,000 devotees.
The next bit was probably the most interesting part of the day. We went walking through the alleys and back lanes of the Chandni Chowk Bazaar. That was an absolute attack on all the senses. Total chaos with bicycle rickshaws, motor bikes, people pulling carts overloaded with just about everything. There were food stalls selling anything imaginable (Indian style), there were Oxen and groups of giggly school children and women in divine and bright saris. The vehicles were tooting constantly and jostling for space in the alleys, you had to tuck your toes in and despite being careful I got bashed by an overhanging parcel of some sort. . It made Sri Lanka seem quite tame. We were walking in a group of 21…single file mode but it didn’t feel too bad…no name tags or flags. It was quite a long walk but I did it without too much worry. The main thing is the sweat.
Then we went to the India Gate…down the stairs of the bloody bus, then up the stairs of the bloody bus. Now they are giant steps!
Then lunch. It was a good lunch in a western style setting (pub style) but the food was good. This is where you do the ‘may I sit with you’ thing. The funny thing at lunch is that you have to pay for your drinks (wine is too impossibly expensive to buy) and the girl on our table accidentally gave the waiter $100 US instead of 100 Rupees…now there’s a mistake for you but he fessed up to her and gave it back!!
After lunch we went to Gandhi Smitri which is where Gandhi lived for the last months of his life and where he was assassinated. That was lovely and definitely left you with a sense that this truly was a great man. And last but not least for the day we went to the magnificent Qutab Minar. Amazing and apart from the walk through the bazaar area, this was a highlight. This was the first mosque in India, built by the conquering whatevers. It is a tower hand carved spectacularly all of its 73M length. Surrounded by the ruins of the mosque.The colours of the red stone is dazzling. Amazing really.
Then back to the hotel, a quick shower, caught our breaths and then down for dinner in another part of the hotel which was underwhelming.
I dont know what to think yet. We saw a lot in a day, it was a long and tiring day but manageable for a short, fat, old lady. Tomorrow we are flying to Varenarsi…every day is a day when I don’t know what to expect.