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My Passage to India — Part 2
November 27, 2007

After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, I was ready to get out and explore my new surroundings a bit. What I usually like to do when I visit a new place is to walk around; for me, it’s a more intimate way of getting know a city and its neighborhoods — walk along the streets, look in the shop windows, observe the people. But in Delhi, this was not something that was recommended, so off I went to the hotel’s travel desk to arrange for a tour of the city. I actually ended up exploring Delhi in two bites, so to speak, since on my first day, a Monday, my choices of what to do were limited; as with many major cities around the world, on Mondays, the museums and some of the bigger tourist attractions and historic sites are closed. I had a lovely first day being driven around the city seeing what I could see — the India Gate, the government buildings and Lahore gate (an example of India’s intricate artisanal metalwork), the varied city architecture and neighborhoods — and feel the general pulse of the city, and go shopping at some to government-authenticated craft shops. On my second time out, I was able to visit more sights including Humayun’s Tomb (regarded as a prototype of the Taj Mahal) and the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral pyre.

India Gate war memorial	Mahatma Gandhi's memorial	Hunayun's Tomb

I was just amazed at the mass of humanity … so many people all around, walking around and going about their business, or living on the streets. And the traffic in the town. No wonder the cab drivers in NYC who are Indian immigrants are so fearless and skilled at getting th

The Red Fort in Old Delhi

rough New York streets; once you’ve seen the traffic in Delhi, nothing compares. It’s a whole different experience. Cars, buses, and trucks share the roads with pedestrians, bicycles, motor bikes, rickshaws of all kinds — both motorized and human-powered, and animal-drawn carts. It can be chaos. There appear to be no set road lanes as everyone maneuvers for position and makes it up as they go along.

Riding in a bicycle rickshaw through Old Delhi.

Old Delhi is even more congested than New Delhi. In order to visit the Red Fort, an imposing structure built of red sandstone in the 17^th century, my driver put me onto a bicycle rickshaw to get me through the traffic around the fort. I rode with my heart in my throat and ate a lot of dust as we weaved our way through the confusion. It was really rather scary and I felt very exposed on this rickety vehicle out in the open, but I made it there (and back again) safely.

As for the shopping …Before attending the Indian Gift & Handicraft Fair, I got to see some of the beautiful handcrafted products that Indian artisans have to offer. And boy did I spend! I couldn’t resist, even though it was only my first day in the country. The temptation was just too much, and I knew that I would regret passing up the opportunity to buy the things that struck my fancy. After all, it’s not every day that I get to visit Delhi, India. And not knowing whether I would be able to get out shopping again before I left, I just had  to buy, didn’t I? What better way to start my Christmas shopping? But did I really need an excuse? No, absolutely not!

My next great adventure on this passage to India was a road trip to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal.

Posted by Caroline Kennedy on November 27, 2007 | Comments (0)