Kind of uneventful relaxing, we hope while trying to work through the jet lag.
Tony mistakenly set alarm for 5:45am. was so startled awake then I couldn't go back to sleep. Ready to throw him out. GRRRR>
Today was tour of the city day, Palaces, history lesson and markets, spices, Old Delhi and New Delhi and a lot in between. For neophytes like us it was a little daunting. Thankfully Devi met us in the lobby promptly at 9:30am and off we went for our ‘THREE HOUR TOUR’, well it ended up way longer than that. He gave us a run down of the day and we headed off to the OLD Delhi and the first palace of the MOGHULS . So much history and so may MOGHULS, Sultans, Raj’s, stories of British rule and of course the famous GHANDI interspersed.
My gosh does Devi know his history what a great guide. He made it come alive. It is fascinating the history of India it is wild and varied. We learned so much. Hope I can retain it all. The transitions from one epic to another filled with intrigue and plotting. From crazy leaders who had reputations of being barbaric, who killed off family members to gain power to soft Hindi leaders who were too nice and were annihilated after not killing their adversary. It is amazing how history repeats itself. Fake news existed even way back when. They say” we are destined to repeat our mistakes. Going through this history lesson of India the parallels are amazing to modern times.
Then off to the market, there are men looking for work, they display their specialty in front of them. So if you are a plumber you sit in a special part of the market with other trades men with a copper pipe and plumbing tools in front of you, similarly if you are a carpenter you sit with a bucket of saws and cutting tools. It was fascinating and amazing how easy it would be too find a qualified workman
Riding the rickshaw through old Delhi was freaky. I swear I was going for a tumble numerous times but Santos our bike riding expert manoeuvred with poise and ease through the very narrow potholed and congested streets. He stopped for us so we could walk through the spice market the smells were so strong you either sneezed continuously or coughed your way through the stalls. My it was colourful and fascinating. It was amazing to be a part of this. Devi had stories and explained things in Indian culture we had never thought about.
He talked lovingly of his home state Rajasthan. Devi is clearly passionate about its history and Indias’. I hope we can have him as our guide through Jaipur.
Scorching hot for us close to 100 F- 37C.
Exploring Old Delhi
