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Arrived Delhi 29th October 2006; unfortunately our transfer didn't show so we were parted with our money at the phone booth into arranging another! Amit took us through Delhi to our hotel (in Karol Bagh). Very hot, very poor, quite a shock in many ways of course. Hotel was a good standard, with excellent food, served in their rooftop restaurant, plenty of Kingfisher. Downsides were location (Karol Bagh is not a nice place) and the pool which was undergoing maintenance!Later we discover its the noisiest place to be in Delhi. 30th October, wandered around central Delhi, just our luck everything is shut today, a 3-day strike apparently, to do with the Government trying to shut down all the illegal shops that have setup in residential areas of Delhi - they have ordered 'Sealings' of all the shops. We took a short trip on the new Metro station there, 10 pence per ticket. We managed to fight off the touts but were still amazed at the stares we receive everywhere. We book our trainticket out of Delhi (phew) and arrange a tour the next day. 1st November, the tour pickup is an hour late, better late than....etc! Nice driver, friendly chap, very knowledgable. See the Jamil Masju, Old Fort, India Gate, Gandhi's rest place (Raj Ghat) very atmospheric place, very moving. Later that evening....fantastic curry in the hotel, our bellies are still fine! Tuesday, we leave for Lucknow later in the evening, overcharged for a taxi, attacked by train porters - amazed that so many people seem to be living on Delhi train station, on the platfoms, under the platforms. Pile onto the train at 10pm, its a comfortable 2nd class 2tier sleeper. We're near the toilet which is good in one sense, except we're kept up all night by the whole carriage using it throughout the night. We arrive in Lucknow, greeted by a tall figure with a big smile - cousin Vijay met us and took us to his house, where he lives with Reeta and their adorable grandson Dhruv (nearly 4 years - pictures to follow). We're treated like Kings, and goto meet the rest of the family at Khandari Lodge (bitto Aunty, Vir, Jaya, Geetanjili), childhood home to David snr. The rest of the week is a festival of curries, everynight amazingly, and huge fuss and attention from the wonderful rellies living here. Among our favourite meals was the Kebabs (a Lucknow speciality) and a potato dish (a Shukla speciality). We met Prema and Jogin at the Army Club. Managed to fit in a bit of sightseeing, the Imambaras, the Residency (site of the mutiny - Brits kicked out) 1857. Jen bought some Sahri's - very fetching! 5th November, fireworks (sound more like explosions) not Guy Fawkes, but a celebration of Guru Nanak's birthday. We leave Lucknow tonight for the overnight train to Nainital (hill station) and we have plans to goto Agra after that, then back to Delhi (unfortunately) to fly to Cochin for our cooking course in Kerala!
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