The Sights of Delhi  

After getting our back packs at the Delhi Airport following a very long day of traveling, we were immediately struck with the sights and sounds of what we would experience for the next week. The street outside of baggage claim was pure chaos and it was 1:00 am. There were a zillion tiny taxi cabs scrambling all around, honking and the drivers yelling at each other. Our bags wouldn’t all fit in the car (and we don’t have all that much) so on the roof they went and away we went to our hotel.

In the two days we would be visiting Delhi we wanted to see the major sights which would include the Red Fort, the Old City and Humayun’s Tomb. Since we had no plan for ‘attacking’ Delhi, or for that matter all three cities we planned to see, we knew we needed help from the Concierge. We were told that it would be better for us to hire a cab for the day and have him take us to the places we wanted to see, which is what we did. First stop was the largest mosque in India, Jamad Masjid, and the final architectural extravagance of Emperor Shah Jahan (creator of the Taj Mahal). The mosque was begun in 1644 and completed in 1658. It was constructed of alternative vertical strips of red sandstone and white marble and the courtyard constructed large enough to hold 25,000 people. This tour was also our first exposure to seeing firsthand the huge number of people everywhere and the poverty in India. Plus, the streets were crammed (literally) with people selling their wares and we saw every form of transportation imaginable in the tight streets and alleyways.

Once in the Old City our next stop was the Red Fort. The squalid store and living conditions were even worse here. However, the Red Fort was beautiful and massive. The sandstone walls of the Red Fort extend for 2 km and vary in height from 18 m on the river side to 33 m on the city side. Shah Jahan began construction in 1638 and it was completed in 1648. Shah Jahan never completely moved his capital from Agra to his new city in Delhi because he was deposed and imprisoned in Agra by his son Aurangzeb. The Red Fort dates from the very peak of Mughal power and we enjoyed walking the ground and thinking of the history enshrined with this huge fort.

After venturing out for most of the day, which included some shopping at stores the cab driver took us to with “special prices”, it was time to return to the hotel. We still needed to figure out how we were going to get to Agra (Taj Mahal) and Jaipur (Pink City) or where we were going to stay for the next 4 nights. After seeing Delhi and the chaos in the streets we knew we needed a plan. While in our cab I asked the driver if he knew of a car and driver who could be hired for the week to take us to Agra, Jaipur and then back to Delhi and the airport. Silly question, of course he did, and took us to see his boss. We knew what the train would cost so after meeting the boss,‘O.P.’ at 10 am and hearing his rate we considered the ‘hassle factor’ of a train and decided on hiring a car and driver for the 5 days. It would cost only a little more and we could decide when and where we wanted to go, and what we would see and we didn’t have to cart all of our baggage around. The driver knew where the hotels were in each city and would also arrange tour guides for us at the various sights and suggest restaurants. At 1 pm (3 hours later) we were picked up at the hotel and off we went.

If we thought the driving was crazy in Viet Nam we hadn’t seen anything yet. The highway (the major road between Delhi and Agra) was a mass of cars, trucks, motorcycles, donkeys with carts, camels with carts, Tuk Tuks, bicycles and even people walking. It was a constant traffic jam with all of these modes of transportation moving at different speeds. Sometimes cars and/or trucks would just stop on the road to visit a friend, get something to eat at a roadside vendor or because of mechanical problems. Our driver was constantly bobbing and weaving around everything on the road, missing other vehicles on the road by inches (or less). It was 6 hours of sheer driving chaos. We could only sit and watch with our seatbelts tightly secured but we did finally arrive in Agra and in one piece. Phew!!!! The next day we would see and touch the Taj Mahal!!!

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