As mentioned in the previous post, we officially finished up the wedding at 4:00 am or so and at that time, various members of the group had made arrangements to leave. Kristyn & Jonathan had a plane to catch. Nick, Maegan, Ken & Melanie had a train to catch to Agra. Priyanshu & Tamanna had other events to attend. That left Robert and I with the better part of the day to sightsee a bit in Delhi. We actually ended up sleeping a lot in an attempt to make up for the lack of sleep the night before. We packed up and left the hotel just before noon and therefore needed to get some lunch. What better to eat than some McDonald's (at Khan Market): ice cold Coke (for the caffeine), Spicy Paneer (cheese) wrap and fries. Actually pretty darn tasty.
After the quick lunch, we hit the road and set out to walk to Humayun's Tomb. The maps in the guidebook didn't really give us a great idea of distance and it ended up being quite a long walk through the hazy Delhi air (worst air quality day of the whole trip by a country mile) and through some less than savory areas of the city. Regardless, we got here and got to see one of Delhi's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Another predecessor to the Taj Mahal, this mausoleum began the trend of grand tombs in fancy gardens that would become so popular.
Humayun's Tomb, found in the center of the building. The story of his death is quite sad as he was heading down a flight of stairs carrying a stack of books out of his library. He heard the call to prayer and in his attempt to kneel down, caught his robe and fell down the stairs. I'm not sure how steep the staircase at his library was, but the stairs at the tomb were pretty steep.
Walking back from Humayun's Tomb, we headed towards the recently renovated Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (redone for the 2010 Commonwealth Games) and down to the Metro Station nearby. I admired the colorful art on the central station pillar as we waited for our train to come.
Another lengthy walk from the Metro Station took us to the Qutub Minar complex where a group of ancient ruins could be viewed. We arrived a bit tardy and actually missed the closing time for the daily entrance. Somewhat fortunately, they allowed for twilight tours of the complex. Upon entering the complex, you walk through a small garden and encounter the ruins of the Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid (the first mosque built in Delhi after the Islamic conquest.
Quite obviously the Qutub Minar dominates the complex (and gives it it's name). Built around 1200 CE out of red sandstone and marble, it initially served as a Victory tower while now, it stands as an excellent example of Indo-Islamic medieval architecture. Throughout the years, subsequent rulers repaired and or added on to the minaret (the tallest in India at 72.5 m). Pretty impressive sight in the waning light I must say.
In the courtyard of the mosque stands the Iron Pillar. A curious relic of unknown age, it's said to be as old as 912 BCE or from the time of the Gupta Empire (~300-400 CE). Standing 7 m tall, the resistance of the pillar to rust and age ultimately indicates the impressive craftsmanship of the ancient Indian iron workers. At this point it got quite dark and there wasn't much point in hanging around the complex much longer.
We decided to head on back towards central Delhi to find something to eat (back to Khan Market actually). I thought it quite a happy coincidence that the Metro token I had featured the Qutub Minar on the face.
After dinner, Robert and I met back up with Priyanshu's family for a brief little shindig. The family decided earlier that day to spontaneously throw a party for Priyanshu's parents to celebrate their marriage anniversary. We were fortunate enough to have a bit of time to hang out just a little bit longer before we headed off to the airport. As always, hanging out with Priyanshu's family was festive and fun (i.e. food and singing). After checking-in at DEL and going through security, Robert and I did a bit of shopping before going our separate ways to our flights. I saw this sizable sculpture walking through the terminal and I'm not exactly sure what it is.
Not having slept much over the last few days, I welcomed the sight of these "Sleep pods" tucked to the side of the terminal walkway. US$10/hr, it offered a nice, quiet place for a nap while I waited for my departure time (3:00 am). I didn't get to sleep long, but I enjoyed every little bit of shut eye that I could. We all know how uncomfortable it can be sitting in Economy class for several hours on end.
Had a long, relatively restless flight from DEL to FRA (Frankfurt, Germany). I had high hopes for my brief layover in Germany but I didn't have enough time to go outside and there just wasn't anything interesting to do in the airport. It was modern and clean, as you may expect of a German building, but it just didn't have the character, charm or interesting attractions as DEL, SFO, or other airports have. Ultimately, I filled the time with some newspapers and a cheese/bacon soft pretzel before hopping onto the next Lufthansa flight bound for SFO and saying auf wiedersehen to cloudy Frankfurt.
And that wraps up my incredibly exciting and lengthy NYC/India/FRA trip (finally). A first for many things including the Highline Park, travel to India, participating in a good friend's wedding and flying through Germany. Thank you so very much to Priyanshu's family whose hospitality was so unbridled and generous as to make the entire trip so enjoyable (despite the few annoyances that we encountered elsewhere in Delhi/Agra/Jaipur). Alrighty, you'll have to wait till the next blog post to see where I ended up next for the holidays. I'll just say that I had far more time in airplanes/airports in store for me yet in December. Until then...
Posts
1 comment:
you have a wonderful blog. thanks for sharing your life and experience here.
Post a Comment