The big trip – part 1 Delhi

As the grand finale of our India adventure, Viefke, Benjamin, Stefan and I planned a trip to northern India. The stops are Delhi, Agra, Pushkar and Jaipur.

Delhi is a truly impressive city, with a completely different feel from Chennai. But also quite a bit dirtier 😉

We worked out a big sightseeing programme to tick off all the city's highlights in two days. Unfortunately I fell ill on the second day, so I was laid up for a while and couldn't do everything. Still, I managed most of it. The Red Fort, Delhi's largest building, "Lal Qila", was impressive. The thick red sandstone walls with their towers and battlements are surrounded by a wide, dried-out moat. The monumental building, built between 1639 and 1648, is modelled on the fort in Agra. It was also the centre of Mughal power: halls for private and public audiences, marble palaces, luxurious private rooms, a mosque and elaborately laid-out gardens. Simple marble domes have replaced the copper plates, and hardly anything is left of the precious stones and jewels that once adorned the walls. Reasons for the decay include the looting in 1739 by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah (1688–1747) and in 1857 by British soldiers.

By the way, Delhi is the only Indian city where I've seen real rickshaws (i.e. not motorised ones). In the other cities they're mostly banned…

One of the highlights was when we had a flat tyre (we only used the cycle rickshaws for short distances) and the taxi driver didn't really have a clue how to change a tyre. Good thing we had Benjamin on board, a German engineer, who promptly took action…

We also roamed the city centre a bit and took in the hustle and bustle. Here's a little scene from hectic Delhi: