India

20 years ago, R had a period of travelling for his work. Only once did those periods abroad coincide with school holidays, allowing me and the girls to go with him. We had a February half term in Athens and loved every moment. We had breakfast together at the hotel and then the girls and I would spend the day exploring, before meeting up again with R after work in time for dinner. Every other time, he went alone and we stayed at home tied to our usual routine. On a couple of occasions he went to India, bringing home a variety of exotic gifts to make up for his absence. The herd of wooden elephants still live on our half landing (Nelly from Delhi was the first and, when the girls decided that she was lonely, several others followed), the carved wooden box sits on the kitchen dresser holding our chopsticks, and my embroidered waistcoat is still a firm favourite. Whenever we go to an Indian restaurant and see the ubiquitous picture of the Taj Mahal, R always points out that he has seen it. Finally, he said it once too often and I decided that I wanted to see it too. 

We initially thought of going in November but available dates and visa issues meant that it didn't happen. Then we heard that we would be able to apply online for an e-visa (the UK and Canada were added to the list of eligible countries) and we were on.

We have just returned from 2 weeks exploring the Golden Triangle. As I write this, I am lying in bed, isolating after testing positive for Covid. Tracing back the incubation period, I know exactly which tuk tuk driver was responsible. Even that hasn't dampened my enthusiasm, I finally got to see it and the pictures don't do it justice!

Forgive me for what will probably be a series of photo heavy posts, but I don't want to forget a second of it.

March 7th

We took a 6pm Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow to Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. R had booked Jain vegan meals for the journey - no onions, garlic or root vegetables. The dinner was okay by airline standards, a little bland but not too bad. Breakfast, on the other hand, was a banana masala wrap and disgusting doesn't begin to cover it! I will eat most things but this defeated me; I can still imagine the smell of it. We were so traumatised that L took a photo of it for posterity and one of the first things we did on arrival in India was to change our meal for the return journey to ordinary vegan. We didn't want to risk it turning up again!

March 8th

After an 8 hour flight, we arrived in Delhi at 8am local time. Miraculously, the car that R had booked to take us to the hotel actually turned up. We have form on being disappointed at airports and find it best not to expect things to go to plan. 

Our first hotel was the Jaypee Vasant Continental Hotel. As you can see from the photo of the entrance, it wasn't the prettiest from the outside, but it was probably the most comfortable hotel of our trip and we were happy to stay here again on our return to Delhi before flying home.

Our first day in Delhi coincided with Holi, a popular Hindu festival that celebrates the end of winter and the arrival of spring. It is a playful cultural event involving the spraying and smearing of colourful powders on each other. Maybe the white T shirt that I wore as we first sallied forth to explore wasn't the best of plans! The little girl who smeared our faces with rose smelling pink powder when our tuk tuk paused was very polite and asked our permission first. Not so the youths who sped by on motorbikes and ambushed us. My hair had a pink streak for days. For future reference, it's best to dust off the dry powder - adding water isn't a wise move! It was all good fun and the locals, seeing our colourful faces, were thrilled to wish us a happy Holi.

Here we first experienced the lure of the 'selfie with a foreigner'. Throughout our holiday, we were asked on multiple occasions daily if we would mind if they took a selfie with us. We always agreed, although we were slightly bemused by it. Surely there were enough white faced tourists in India that we weren't such an oddity? Maybe it was because it was nearing the end of the tourist season or possibly they too were visiting from parts of the country which see fewer tourists. Whatever the reason, we never got to the bottom of it. 

Our first destination was the Qutub Minar (Victory Tower); a 5 storey minaret, known for its intricate brickwork. There are 379 steps leading to the top. Following a fatal stampede in 1981, visitors are no longer allowed inside. There are, however, several other monuments and buildings on the Qutub Minar complex to explore.

The Iron Pillar of Delhi -  7.21m high, 41cm in diameter and weighing more than 6.5 tonnes, this 1600 year old pillar refuses to rust (The high phosphorus content protects it from the Delhi climate). It is decorated with Sanskrit inscriptions.

The Alai Minar - intended to be twice the height of the Qutub Minar, the building was abandoned after the completion of the first storey.

The first of many parakeets that we saw in India:

By this time we were getting a little peckish. One of the downsides of Holi was that a lot of the restaurants were closed for the day. Our first meal in India was therefore veggie burgers and fries at a little place that we found. It seemed clean enough and beggars can't be choosers, but it did seem a sad start to the holiday. Coincidentally, our last meal of the holiday was also burgers after the vegan cafe advertised on the Happy Cow App turned out to have closed down and we were too tired to go elsewhere! 

After eating we took another tuk tuk to the Lotus Temple. I do love me a tuk tuk, although the driving in India seems to rely mainly on luck and tactical use of the horn. I'm still not entirely sure which side of the road they drive on as people were over and undertaking on a whim. Turning often involved driving into oncoming traffic until we could drift across the road and join the correct side. Many was the time when I found myself just closing my eyes. 

The Temple was very pretty from the outside but closed  - possibly owing to Holi, possibly it was just too late at this point. From a previous visit, R assured me that the exterior is the best bit.

We continued walking through the park in a thunderstorm - luckily it was distant and we avoided getting wet - to the Iskcon Temple. We had hoped to eat here but again our planned restaurant was closed. We consoled ourselves by buying some masala chai tea and then returned to the hotel to explore the neighbourhood.

Out of desperation, we ended up eating dinner at the hotel. This is never our preferred option on holiday, but it turned out to be quite good. The potato chaat and dosa were delicious.

We ended the evening with a game of Articulate, played on L's phone before going to bed.

Talking of which, I seem to be flagging somewhat (stupid Covid), so I think it's probably time for a little nap. I'll be back soon with more holiday memories.

Toodle pip for now. x