Today was ANZAC Day, a day when Australians and New Zealanders stop to remember those fellow countrymen who fought, and are currently fighting, in wars around the globe. I have been to the ANZAC Day Dawn Service in Perth, Australia, Gallipoli in Turkey and now in New Delhi, India.
The Australian and New Zealand High Commissions in New Delhi join forces every year to commemorate this occasion, taking turns who hosts - this year was the Aussies turn.
So with the alarm set for 4.45am, we woke up, quickly showered and headed to the Delhi War Cemetery. Unfortunately it was so damn early, and not being awake properly, I forgot to take my phone which had our GPS/map..... so we only had some 'old-fashioned' printed directions. It didn't go well and we were convinced we were lost. So at about 5.25am we cracked it and headed for home. Thankfully, regaining composure, we U-turned and tried again. This time we successfully found the ceremony and luckily hadn't missed too much.
The Delhi War Cemetery is really lovely! Surrounded by Indian Army facilities it is in a very quiet little spot which is obviously perfect, by rare, in this city. It is beautifully kept and the morning was lovely and cool. The views from the cemetery obviously didn't rival those of Perth or Gallipoli but it made up for it with its calm and peaceful ambiance. The really lovely part of the day was the number of Aussies and Kiwis that had crawled out of bed at this very early hour to honour the fallen.
There were speeches from the Australians, New Zealanders and Turkish, then wreaths were laid by many different countries including Fiji, USA, UK, and the Indian Armies. Finally they played 'the last post' on the bugle - a must on ANZAC Day.
Our 'nearly 2' year old came with us and enjoyed the bugle and managed to maintain silence for 2 minutes - a miracle!
Following the ceremony we walked around to look at the war graves and saw Australian, New Zealand and UK graves along with many others - all of them so very young.
Then it was time for breakkie. Everyone formed a convoy for the Aussie High Comm where a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs, baked beans etc..... was put on, which either fuelled the work day for some and footy time for others!
All in all, well worth it and a really nice experience.
The Australian and New Zealand High Commissions in New Delhi join forces every year to commemorate this occasion, taking turns who hosts - this year was the Aussies turn.
So with the alarm set for 4.45am, we woke up, quickly showered and headed to the Delhi War Cemetery. Unfortunately it was so damn early, and not being awake properly, I forgot to take my phone which had our GPS/map..... so we only had some 'old-fashioned' printed directions. It didn't go well and we were convinced we were lost. So at about 5.25am we cracked it and headed for home. Thankfully, regaining composure, we U-turned and tried again. This time we successfully found the ceremony and luckily hadn't missed too much.
The Delhi War Cemetery is really lovely! Surrounded by Indian Army facilities it is in a very quiet little spot which is obviously perfect, by rare, in this city. It is beautifully kept and the morning was lovely and cool. The views from the cemetery obviously didn't rival those of Perth or Gallipoli but it made up for it with its calm and peaceful ambiance. The really lovely part of the day was the number of Aussies and Kiwis that had crawled out of bed at this very early hour to honour the fallen.
There were speeches from the Australians, New Zealanders and Turkish, then wreaths were laid by many different countries including Fiji, USA, UK, and the Indian Armies. Finally they played 'the last post' on the bugle - a must on ANZAC Day.
Our 'nearly 2' year old came with us and enjoyed the bugle and managed to maintain silence for 2 minutes - a miracle!
Following the ceremony we walked around to look at the war graves and saw Australian, New Zealand and UK graves along with many others - all of them so very young.
Then it was time for breakkie. Everyone formed a convoy for the Aussie High Comm where a yummy breakfast of bacon, eggs, baked beans etc..... was put on, which either fuelled the work day for some and footy time for others!
All in all, well worth it and a really nice experience.
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