Shorter day today and thankfully I only spent money on lunch and some tips/donations (no huge shopping extravaganza!). My guide and I became buddies and I have to admit, I am having an excellent time. I really like India and this is maybe one of my most favorite trips I have ever taken! Crazy to think of all the ups and downs that preceded getting here. So far every person I have met is so friendly and I feel very well taken care of. Indian people are good people… and now I’m partial to Sikh people because my guide taught me so much about the religion. It’s not like I’m a VIP irl but I feel like one!
Today I visited…
Qutub Minar… large complex of monuments and ruins with the most amazing Arabic script carved into the facades… and the iron pillar, which has been there since the 4th century BC and has Sanskrit inscribed on it! I’m sorry, this place was more interesting to me than Pompeii in Italy or Valley of the Kings in Egypt. It will be cool to compare it to the ancient ruins in Greece someday.
The Lotus Temple – shout out to my boss’s boss, who is Bahá’í
Lunch at a very nice Indian and Chinese restaurant where I had a very unlikely meal of liver masala (I’m a freak for eating liver I know)
Then I sat with a snake charmer!!
Rashtrapati Bhavan, Raj Path, and surrounding government buildings (I guess the equivalent of the Washington D.C. mall and the White House, although the Rashtrapati Bhavan is bigger than the white house and Buckingham Palace)
Lastly a short metro ride… literally just as good as the tube in London, if not better, and almost exactly the same, down to the “mind the gap” recording. They dispense a token as your ticket with a rfid chip it. Tag it to get in, and deposit it to get out
My guide said he would miss me tomorrow when I go to Rishikesh, and actually I am going to miss him too!
Thank you to everyone who has made Delhi amazing, including Kawaljeet from Maavalan Travels, all the peeps at Colonel’s Retreat (my home stay accommodations, they are so awesome), my guide Paramjeet, and my driver Madan!
No pics today, hopefully I can add them later. Check out my Instagram for pics!