Report after 4 days in Delhi: airport and parks...

guioom

Hi,

I'm writing a brief report about my first stay in Delhi, 2 days at the beginning of February, plus another 2 days a week later.

btw, I'm in my late twenties with wife and 7-month old baby boy.

Airport departure/arrival:
- arrival: got to IGI at 4AM. Waited there until 6AM. ordered a cab from the first pre-paid taxi stand just outside the gate. (I saw another one further out later). flat rate to go anywhere in Delhi: 250INR. the guy tried to forget one 100rupees note in the change...
the guy at the radio-cab stand told me there were no cab available at that time... well. might be true.

- departure: Flight was at 4.30AM. the airline told us to get there at midnight for check-in!!! we did arrive around midnight, to find a huge unorganized crowd in front of each of the 3 gates to get into the terminal. took us more than half an hour to pass that. the airport is under rework, so it's quite a mess. anyway, no problem afterwards.

Delhi:
For the first part, we were staying at Delhi Bed and breakfast. great experience. I can definitely recommend. the area is south-east of Nizamuddin, a little far and there's not much around, but it's quick to go anywhere, we found out.

1st day:
Lodi gardens at dawn; awesome experience, with historical monuments left to birds and early yoga practicionners (and some joggers) in the rising day.
Then lounge on the BnB rooftop terrace in the morning sun
Then off to Purana Qila. nice mosque and very relaxing garden.
Had lunch at the small outdoor foodstalls in front of the zoo. cheap and OK.
Then on to the zoo. Lots of pupils and tourists. a pleasant stroll with lots of animals, as it can be expected in a zoo.
they all seem to have enough space, well at least more than in some zoos in other asian countries. the rinos and white tiger are quite an attraction.
then taxi to india gate to meet some friends. we walked to connaught place (their choice). noisy road with lot of traffic. had coffee once there and dinner at Nirula's later. not many beggars as I had expected. nothing special IMO, mostly shops of global brands.

2nd day:
off to Old delhi. start with a lunch at Haldiram's on crowded Chandi chowk. quite a clean and quiet haven with good veg food at the 1st floor restaurant. snacks downstairs.
from there, walk to the Red fort. nobody bothered us, even when we stopped for some picture-taking. there was a parade on one side of the road.
Visited the Red fort. was worth it. especially enjoyed the fact that you can lay in the grass inside. again, very quiet for such a monument in such a populous country. but it proved to be the case in most places we visited anyway, incl. Taj mahal.
Then, not-so-pleasant walk to the Jama Masjid. the guy at the gate was charging foreigners 200INR for camera rights. anyway, I had forgotten to take out money, so had to walk back to CC, and the alley we took was quite picturesque, with jewellers and other small shops. very cool, bustling but authentic. and without cars as it's too narrow.

After a week in other places in India, we came back for 2 days in Delhi, staying at a guesthouse in Hauz Khas.
1st day: afternoon spent at hauz khas village and in the deer park nearby, with a "reservoir" and cool tombs, as well as a rose garden. the "village" had a little feel of "Montmartre". well, it's just one street.

2nd day: went to the qutab minar complex. also worth it. again, a pleasant area, large enough to find peaceful corners, and a good mix of monuments, quite different from others, with a "puzzle" feel to most. impressive tower.

That's it for the brief report, folks.
Will try to answer to your questions if you have any,

Cheers,

Guillaume

shashank.aggarwal

Great..you had a relaxed tour of Delhi, and that is th best part, people tend to rush things and use Delhi just as a base, however you spent some time in the city and that is the reason you had a good experience..

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Random Reviews

kristinm

We certainly found that Delhi rewards a slow approach - 1 thing a day and then quietly poking about here and there... it really is a nice city. Shashank - what was the name of the great South Indian I told you we ate at in Connaught Place??? Sagar something??? It really was excellent.

shashank.aggarwal

Sagar Ratna !!

kristinm

MMMM Yum!