I stayed a few days (26th to 29th) in Delhi at Amrit’s place, lovely located in the South. Amrit is yet another very friendly CS fellow. We had nice evenings together and with his friends!
Delhi is a huge city. The metro system is pretty new and very modern, quite similar to those seen in Bangkok and Tehran, but as these cities suffer from not enough lines and too many people. The crowd in Delhi was the biggest ever seen, people waiting for the metro (starting there) completely filling the platform, in well organized queues however, regulated by some security guys or policemen. Anyway, every trip in Delhi quickly takes one hour, even if you are driving just a few km! And if you stay on the ground, be patient with the traffic jam!
Regarding sightseeing, Delhi has quite a lot to offer, from the World Heritage sites like the Red Fort (made by the Mughals) and Humayun’s tomb to the many Muslims mosques (called Masjid in Hurdu, the Persian like language they speak; In Iran, it is called Masjed!) and shrines, to the narrow streets in old Delhi via the large one in central New Delhi close the government offices.
That is more or less where I spent the day time in Delhi. One I had to meet Amrit again and was in a hurry, took a bus supposing to go in my direction but turning right too early, so I jump out of the bus accelerating. I miserably hit the ground, my 4 year-old Nokia cell phone was in 4 pieces (battery out), but got all of them and it is still working… I arrived a little bloody so Amrit could not say anything although 1 hour too late, but we missed the Sufi singers in the Muslim area close to Humayun’s tomb!
Another time, we got a marvelous Thali at Sai Caterers, a canteen offering all you can eat vegetarian Thali (rice+dal+phulka+curries, etc) to which we add tasty mutton, chicken and fish.
I ate quite well in Delhi, going twice to the Karim’s restaurant, twice because I could not enter in Jama Masjid because of prayer time: the mutton curries are particularly delicious there. The second time, I was with a couple from Australia with their Indian friend, all being 50+. We shared some dished, they left earlier and when I went out, everything was already paid! Thank you again!
The last diner at Amrit’s place was another delicious experience: he made beef, pork and chicken, having 6 other guests. Pork and even more beef are very uncommon in India, the cows are still holy!
The Lotus temple is yet another interesting sign of religion mix in India: it is actually dedicated to Bahai, the newest prophet in the monotheist religions. The most impressive there is maybe the military like organization, quite a contrast with the more chaotic rest of India!