As arranged our taxi arrived on time to take us to the hotel to meet up with the HF group. We were driven south for about 30 minutes, through a much poorer part of Delhi, passing many people who live on the streets, until we arrived at the Crown Plaza hotel. Despite the area!, it is a rather nice hotel and it sold a decent coffee. So, having checked in, then briefly met our group who were looking a bit sorry for themselves after coming off the night flight from London, we sat and enjoyed our first coffee for a few days! We then carried on being lazy and sat and read! Neither of us are feeling confident about going out and walking the streets. And that is most unusual. Even at the other hotel which was in a much nicer part of town, we did not feel able to wander off. I’m not sure why and hopefully we will begin to find that confidence, if for no other reason than we would rather eat in local restaurants than the hotels. They are less authentic and more expensive!!
We had until mid afternoon free by which time our fellow travellers would have had time for a nap and freshen up.
We are on the eighth floor of the hotel and our view is probably typical of Delhi - construction, mess, lots of trees, surprisingly, and smog.
As arranged we met our group at 3 o’clock ready to do more sightseeing. The first stop was Qutub Minar, a tall tower built back in the 12th and 13th century and another UNESCO world heritage site along with the mosque and the Red Fort. It is 73ft high and took 75 years to complete.
In the complex there are a variety of other buildings in various states of repair, all very old. Some are tombs, and all of particular significance to the Moslem community.
To get there we had to drive 45 minutes on Delhi’s roads. It really is indescribable! At one point our bus driver got into a bit of a road rage situation with a truck driver. Of course we couldn’t understand a word that was being said, but we fully understood gestures!!
We also passed a learner driver. She (we have not seen many women drivers) seemed to be driving very sensibly but I’m not sure that that is what you need to learn in Delhi. I think it’s more quick thinking, seeing a gap and going for it, confidence, and when all else fails, then use your horn!! Geoff did see a policeman whack the top of a tuk tuk with his stick but we have no idea what he had done wrong!
Then it was back to the Sikh Temple that we visited yesterday. As well as the Temple we also went into the museum which gave us a bit more understanding of the Sikh religion, aided by the fact that we were accompanied by a Sikh who works for the local agents out here.
Then it was back to the hotel for dinner. The journey took much longer than they hoped as the traffic was just so bad. We leave Delhi tomorrow and are told that the roads and traffic improve when we are away from the city. We can only hope!
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