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Saturday 3 December 2016

India Trip: Alvida

Reaching New Delhi in the evening, our driver dropped us at Akshardham Complex. Entry to the complex are absolutely free but some sites (like the magical fountain) would need minimal fee in which we skipped. The detailed carvings at the major dome, be it the wall or ceiling, are overwhelming and from our observation, they seem to be hand-made which make them more amazing. The complex is just like the Hindu's version of Fo Guang Shan that I visited back in Kaohsiung, Taiwan last year. Oh, one point to note that the photography is not allowed within the complex.

We visited a tea shop before checking back in at Treebo Natraj Yes Please. The shop owner showed different types of teas that are being produced from different regions of India. My knowledge on tea now is slightly better than before, beyond than just Darjeeling Tea. Mango tea left the deepest impression in my mind for its strong prominent flavour. India is the largest mango producer in the world.

Red Fort was our first stop on the next day. Due to the traffic condition around the area which makes it hard to find parking, we were asked to take trishaw, and it wasn't free. Hesitated, we hopped on and explored New Delhi like typical tourists for first half of the day. This is our third fort for this trip after Amber Fort in Jaipur and Agra Fort in Agra. The resemblance is observable: made up of sandstone and hence, bright red structure. Entrance fee is 250 Rupee.


On the street of New Delhi 

Red Fort

Okay, I have an unpleasant experience prior entering to the fort as I accidentally stepped on seem-to-be cow dumps. I thought the day wouldn't get any worse after that.

To tell you the truth, I never thought I would see people wearing saree on the street. Just like how I don't expect the chinese wear cheongsam and Japanese wear kimono, on the streets (exception for tourists). Okay, come to think of it, maybe they are tourists. I don't know.

Birds are flocking in the sky

We made a trip to Old Delhi after exiting from the fort. Our driver (I'm not sure what's the guy called who ride the trishaw) told us some of the buildings at the street has been there for more than 130 years at least. The wiring at the street was far more unimaginable than that I saw in Krabi, Thailand. As we passed by the street, I noticed the patterns of the shops in seems to go section by section. A stretch of shops will be selling saree and the next will be books and spices come after that and eventually cards too.


Jama Masjid at the end of the road

We returned to our car and we made a quick visit to Gandhi Smriti, which showcases the life and death of Mahatma Ghandi. This was the place where Ghandi spent his last moment before he was assassinated. There's a section at the site that showed the last steps that he took before coming to the fateful spot. Free entrance.



Rest in peace, Ghandi. 

We were brought by our driver around to have a glimpse of India Parliament building and the famous Indian Gate. We spent the evening at Connaught Place which is basically a shopping street in New Delhi. For a while, we felt like we are back in urban civilization after all those days we visited heritage sites. It comes to my realization the books sold in India are rather cheap. Those books that you see being sold on the street walk are legitimate. I didn't manage to locate kama sutra though.

Section of Indian Parliament Building

View of Indian Gate from our car


Connaught Place

We thought our adventure was yet to end as we still have one day to explore before our flight late night on the next day. We were wrong.

Prior to our dinner, I had Ayurveda Massage in which is located just right next to our hotel. The cost was 2000 Rupee. It was heavily oiled full body massage. Rejuvenated after an hour session, we were off to dinner. Never thought this would be my last dinner (proper dinner) for this trip.

As we returned to our hotel, one of us started to feel discomfort in her stomach. We thought it was only her. As the clock struck 1am, I remembered it vividly, I was awaken from my sleep and went to toilet and vomited. Apparently all of us experienced the same symptoms. Had the herbal pills that I brought from Malaysia for precaution and I went toilet for second time. By that time, I was yet to experience any bowel movement. We were too weak to travel on the next day and stayed in for the whole day at hotel, barely eating anything other than banana and ORS drinks. Our flight was 1am (exactly 24 hours after the initiation of my sickness) and the waiting was quite a torture. I even skipped the inflight meal that I have ordered as I decided to sleep away. Not to mention I was too cautious with my bowel movement as little consumption (even if it's just water) spelled almost immediate toilet trip. I only get to fully recovered after a month returning from the trip. Until today, I still haven't any sort of Indian food.

This trip was an eye opening for me in every aspect that I could imagine. It may not be a conventional touristy kind of places that people will usually seek for during holidays but being a traveller, this is one of the countries that I would recommend to visit to experience the cultures from different parts of the world, minus the diarrhea (my diarrhea persisted long enough that I could spell it correctly now at first attempt). This trip definitely will make you to appreciate your country better. There are more to offer from this country and how my trip concluded shall not stop me from revisiting India.


Till next time.

Recap our India Journey:
Jaipur - Agra - NEW DELHI

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