So some of you might have known that Josh and I (that is my other half incase you were wondering) have been planning for the past twelve months to go travelling through Asia. So here I am starting the journey in Delhi, India. I am not going to lie, for the first day and perhaps a couple of days before leaving home I was very sad to leave and really, really scared because let's face it it is a tad different to going on an all inclusive holiday, where you know you have your flight companies rep to hand. After many emotional goodbyes between ourselves, friends and our families I honestly thought that after all this time and effort with organising the trip, I wouldn't be able to even get on the plane. I did get on the plane though, through tears throughout the whole journey and told myself that as soon as I got into the adventure I would love it. After a decent nights sleep at our first hotel in New Delhi - The Connaught hotel, based funnily enough in Connaught Place I woke up excited with no tears.
When we first arrived in Delhi, I did not know what to expect. I think everyone we spoke to about doing India on our own told us horror stories; that it would smell awful, look awful and would be incredibly dangerous - especially me with my blonde hair. However from what we saw from the forty minute taxi ride to our hotel it was not at all bad, with pretty lush green parks and a couple of cute monkeys running around as if they were dogs (perhaps not so cute if they bite you and give you rabies). Today we have had a day trying to fit in as many popular sights within New Delhi and Old Delhi. I will try my best to keep you all on the road with Chlobo's Closet throughout our journey. Firstly I am going to tell you that any pictures I post on here may not be to the best quality, as I will be unfortunately using images taken from my iPhone but when I get back to the UK I will upload the better digital SLR photos so they can blow your minds. So shall we get started? At least you won't be as tired as my legs reading this.
Old Delhi: The Red Fort
A spectacular piece of Mughal architecture known as the Lal Quila or the Red Fort to us English. The building is made from a vibrant red sandstone, which was built on a western bank of the River Yamuna. The Red Fort is one of the largest monuments in Old Delhi, with its thick bulging torrents and bastions that have withstood the vagaries of time and nature. The fort is set above a wide, dry moat in the northeast corner of the original city Shahjahanabad. The walls extend from two kilometres and vary in height from eighteen metres on the river side to thirty-three on the city side.
Babar who was the first of the Mughal rulers (Emperor to you and me) set Delhi as the seat of his empire back in 1526. Babar had a son called Humayun who decided to build his own city, Din Panah (remember these names if you can because they will crop up again as we go through). However trouble was at bay and in 1540 Sher Shah Suri drove Humayun out of India, bringing Din Panah to the ground and building a sixth city of Delhi called Sher Shahi. The Purana Quila (Old Fort) was the building he created. The Mughals then reestablished themselves and Delhi was no longer the capital of the city. The emperors son, Shah Jahan after reigning in Agra for eleven years decided to transfer his capital to Delhi again and build the Red Fort as a royal residence within the new capital - Shahjahanabad.
The reign of the emperor was the golden period of architecture and the abilities of local craftsmen and builders produced some of the best works in Mughal architecture. The detailing on the walls is outstanding, with its colourful marbled walls, which were cut and fitted with precious and semi-precious stones with care to form patterns such as flowers. The history behind this building is magical and a wonderful fulfilment of information. On leaving the sight and walking back to the main entrance to go onto our next destination, a group of young school girls found us very curious. With big beaming smiles, they approached us with a lot of hellos and hand shakes. The next thing I knew I was thrusted into a paparazzi session having a flock of girls having pictures with me. It was really, really sweet and you will come across this a lot in India because it is not very common to see blonde hair and they are generally interested in where you have come from and learning from you.
Old Delhi: Raj Ghat
At this peaceful and quiet location lies the remains of the greatly famous historic leader of India - Mahatma Gandhi. This is where one of the worlds greatest man was sadly cremated on 31st January, 1948. The marbled bed on which Ghandi was cremated is called the Samadhi, which has beautifully coloured flowers symbolically placed on top with constant burning candles surrounding it. There is huge, luscious green gardens and stunning bright flowers that surround the Samadhi and it really is a tranquil spot in Delhi to come and sit and take in the grounds.
Old Delhi: Humayun's Tomb
This was one of my favourite places to visit in Delhi, I thought the whole grounds and architecture were more than breathtaking. I could have spent countless hours just strolling around here day dreaming. Apparently the famous monument, the Taj Mahal was modelled on this Emperors tomb. The tomb was built in 1565AD and was commissioned by Humayun's wife, Bega. Humayun if you recall from earlier was the son of the emperor Babar. This was one of the first garden tombs in India and was designed by Mirak Mirza Ghiyas who was a Persoan architect. The tomb was strategically placed near one of the sites Humayun founded in 1533 called Purana Quila (Old Fort), which we touched upon earlier. It was also the first building to use red sandstone on such a grand scale. Besides this main tomb there are several smaller sites that dot the pathway kneading up to it. The detailing here contrasting with the colours is simply magical and in all honesty I am slightly lost on words on how best to describe it, it is certainly a place you need to see for yourself to believe it.
Thank you for taking the time to read my experience thus far on my exciting journey, there is much more to come and I hope to keep you on the road with us, providing we have wifi. Please again remember that posts will be updated with more substantial photographs and editing for page layouts will be tweaked. I shall also be uploading a post when I return home on what to pack, should you be going on a back packing experience too and are querying on what to take to travel light.
Lots of love
Chlobo xxx
