Some random facts about India: it has the third largest economy in the world (ranked behind the US and China), it has the highest number of malnourished children, and 30 percent of the population use bribes to get public officials to do what they are already supposed to do. Many people live in areas that have no access to roads. The population of India grows by about 18 million people each year, the same number as the population of the entire continent of Australia. It seems just about every factoid about India is interesting.
At breakfast I met Ray, an Australian from Darwin traveling solo. Tomorrow he is heading north for some trekking in the mountains. He had similar plans to sightsee in Delhi today, so he decided to join me and my driver, Ramji.
We both needed to get train tickets. There is a special office in the train station that sells tickets to tourists. A few seats on each train are reserved to allow tourists to book last minute trains. I tried to book a train almost two months ago, but I was only able to get a slot on the waitlist. After we waited for 1 1/2 hours, we had our train tickets and were off for some sightseeing.
It was slow going.... People were protesting in the street for equal rights and to protest corruption. The driver didn't speak much English, so that is about all the information I could get.
The protest eventually cleared about the same time we got a flat tire.
Ray and I hung out and took in the sights while Ramji fixed the tire. We saw a few of the "sights" today, but driving around and seeing life in Delhi was much more interesting to me. This goat, above center, seemed to like his little platform.
View from where we were waiting. Some locals invited us to smoke hashish with them while we wanted for Ramji to change the tire--no thanks.
Our first stop was Qutab Minar, built in 1193 by the Mamluk Dynasty. Each of the five sections of the tower tell a different story. It is the highest stone tower in India.
Quwwat-ul-Islam, the first mosque built in India, sits at the base of the tower.
Islam does not idolize images, so Islamic pillars typically have ornate designs rather than images of gods or goddesses like other religions.
A tomb inside Qutab Minar.
We did a quick walk through of the Lotus Temple, which looks very similar to the Sydney Opera House.
It is a Bahai temple. The Bahai believe in the oneness of mankind and want to unite all religions. They want all nations to adopt a universal language and to use a world tribunal to adjudicate disputes between nations. "It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.". -Bahu u llah
We made a quick stop at the India Gate, a war memorial arch built to honor the 90,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in World War I.
Almost a million Indian people were later killed during the great divide, when the British divided India to form Pakistan in the late 1940s. Millions of refugees tried to get to the "right" side of the newly formed border; Muslims went to the newly formed Pakistan and Hindu followers stayed in India.
Near the memorial is Humayun's Tomb. It was built in the mid-16th century by the wife of the second Moghul emperor, Humayun. The Obamas were taken to visit this temple during their trip to Delhi. His tomb lays in the center of this building. Twelve hectares of gardens surround it. This architectural style, a mix of Persian and local architecture, was refined and then used to build the Taj Mahal.
The unique birds flying throughout the surrounding gardens were probably my favorite part. There were birds that looked like parrots and a few types of scavenger birds. The chipmunks here are gray and black.
View of the front entrance from where the tomb lays.
Window covering surrounding the tomb.
The complex also houses the tomb of the emperor's favorite barber.
Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President's house. It is a 340 room palace. At one time there were 418 gardeners; 50 gardeners were assigned the task of chasing away birds.
View through the gate. She has quite the palace.
Adjacent to the President's palace are the Secretariat buildings, housing the government ministries.
These ministry buildings are near Sansad Bhavan, the Parliament House.
A few blocks away sits Shri Lakshmi Narain temple, built beginning in 1938. It is a Hindu temple, and is one of my favorites because the wall inscriptions include an English translation.
Cameras are not allowed inside the temple. The interior has swastikas throughout its walls. As the oh-so-helpful English translation explains, swastikas signify an implied prayer for success, accomplishment and perfection in every walk of life. The symbol is found in all Buddhist countries. It is believed that the Aryan scripts (including Roman, Greek and Latin) originated from this symbol.
The temple also had quotes imprinted throughout its walls. A typical message in the temple: "The peace of the eternal lies near to those wise men who know themselves, who are disjoined from desire and passion, subdued in nature of subdued thoughts, for such persons it does not matter whether they stay at home and practice Karma-yoga or dwell in the jungle and practice Jhana-yoga."
Ramji and I shared a quick chai tea before I caught my overnight train to Varanasi.
Our barista. He wanted me to get in the picture, but I was pretty sure I couldn't fit back there with him. A few locals came over to talk and practice their English. I got some clarification--it is red tobacco that they chew and spit on the walls, ground, etc. It is called bettle.
At the Delhi train station, finding your train car and seat is an event in itself.
I'm told this sign means it is the correct train. The best use of 20 rupees is to show a porter your ticket and let him lead you to your train. My seat was HA2, which was in the A-C section.
It is a 12 hour train ride to Varanasi and costs about $38 for a first class ticket. I have 3 cabin mates--2 students and their uncle heading home to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu new year, with their family. They wanted to know which Bollywood stars I like. It seems I need to brush up on my knowledge of Indian films.
Vendors walk the aisles selling chai tea, veg or non-veg meals, and water. They don't announce the train stops (there are probably at least 15 throughout the night) and there are no station signs so I hope the train runs close to schedule so I know when to get off. So far, train travel isn't too bad.
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Location:New Delhi, India
Loving all of your new friends and how friendly everyone is even offering you some of their hashish. Maybe you arent as far from the golden triangle as we thought :-)
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