After leaving Saigon, we flew to New Delhi. Our 3-hour layover in Singapore went by surprisingly quickly as there is a lot to see and do in the airport. In addition to the many shopping options, there were several gardens throughout the airport. We went first to the Butterfly Garden. As soon as we entered, a butterfly landed on me. What a treat! We also went to another garden there, with koi swimming and lotus flowers.
On both flights, Dan was able to use his miles he'd accumulated from flying around the world for work twice last year. I got to fly business class for the first time. It was ridiculous. I had too much space, too much free champagne and wine and too much food. On the flight to Delhi, I had to tell them I didn't want anymore. Who needs so much food and drink when you're just sitting there? In truth, it was quite luxurious, and I wouldn't mind traveling in style again.(By the way, the food was really good on Singapore Airlines).
We arrived in New Delhi about 10:30 p.m. Thankfully, we had our guesthouse arrange for a driver so that was one less thing to worry about. Our driver, Norindra, was very friendly. I'm glad I'd already gotten accustomed to driving that doesn't adhere to following lanes, or yielding right-of-way, so I wasn't that shocked. What did surprise me is seeing an elephant in the left lane at one point, ridden by two men. I'll also have to get used to cars that drive and are driven from the opposite side.
We arrived at our guesthouse and it was HOT. I'm also glad we got acclimated to the heat some in Vietnam. It was much more humid there. Here it's dry and we ended up feeling much more dehydrated and exhausted today. Thankfully, our room does have AC.
This morning we met our friendly and chatty host, Sanjay, over breakfast. He gave us some good tips interspersed between his ideas about world economics (and politics, cultures, etc.) We headed out today with the mission of getting our train tickets for tomorrow to Agra to see the Taj Majal and then to do some sight seeing. We hadn't been able to buy our tickets online, and all of the classes of tickets seemed very confusing. We walked to the metro station, where we noted that there was a special "Ladies Only" section of the platform. On the train, there were also seats marked "Ladies Only", but it didn't seem like that rule was followed at all. We had people stare at us. We figured out how to switch trains and get to the rail station, only to find out that we couldn't buy tickets there. For trains and sites, there's an Indian rate and a foreigner rate. Foreigners have a special counter, but we discovered it's now under construction, so we were sent to the tourist information in the city center to buy our tickets.
I had my first auto rickshaw ride. These vehicles are very interesting. I think they're kind of like a golf cart, but with only three wheels (one in the front and two in the back). The one we took had a roof, but was otherwise open. We barely fit in the back seat, which was fine because we didn't have too terribly far to go. I was concerned some for our safely, but tried to enjoy the adventure nonetheless.
At the government tourist office, the man who "helped" us was more interested in selling us a tour with a driver than selling us train tickets. He told us the train tickets were now not available. We were trying to decide what to do, since we have a hotel in Agra for two nights, and then we plan to come back to Delhi for one night before leaving India. He suggested that we stay less time in Agra since there's only the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort to see and otherwise it's an industrial town. He said we should go to Jaipur and complete "The Golden Triangle": Delhi-Agra-Jaipur (and then back to Delhi). That's what we had originally planned, and then Jaipur seemed like too much, so we cut that part out. We ended up not booking anything through that office, but did leave with a suggestion for where to go get lunch, at a place called Amber restaurant.
On the way to lunch, a man started talking to us and was interested to know where we were from, what our plans were, etc. He showed us where the restaurant was and also said we should go to Jaipur. We thanked him for his help and went in the restaurant. We had a nice Indian lunch. I miss the food in Vietnam, though. As we were finishing up, the man at the table next to us asked us if we were Australian. He also said it's very difficult for Indians to get a tourist visa to the U.S. In talking with him about our plans, he also suggested going to Jaipur. He was from the mountains in the north where pashminas come from. This wool is from a special kind of baby goat. He says it's illegal to shave them, so they have to collect their fur off the brush it gets caught in when they walk past.
After lunch, we saw the same man again who had escorted us to the restaurant. He was quite persistent about taking us to another tourist office, where we could book a tour. I was a little skeptical, but thought we could check it out and at least get information. This office was much nicer looking than the government one, and the people who worked there were friendlier and more helpful. They said we could take the train to Agra tomorrow afternoon, but that there was no availability for when we needed to come back. They also said we should spend less time in Agra and to go see Jaipur. There seemed to be a trend here! We ended up booking a driver with them, as well as a hotel in Jaipur for the night after next. We also got the same driver, Hari, for this afternoon, who took us to see the India Gate, Humayun's Tomb from the 16th century, and the world's largest Hindu temple that was just built in 2005, the Akshardham. At the tomb, a large Indian family was sitting on some stairs taking a picture. I was looking at them and the man taking the picture looked at me and said something, which I thought was, "Could you take our picture?" When I walked down the steps, I quickly realized it was, "No, sit there". They wanted my sweaty self front and center in their family picture! I obliged, flattered.
Having a driver for the next couple of days seems like a great way to get some good sightseeing done in our short time here.
Leave a comment if you've made it this far! We'll post pics soon!
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