Nearly the end of the post.

Well it has been nearly a year since I have been on my blog - I have well and truly neglected my duties and as it so happens my time in Delhi is nearly at an end.

It has been a busy, stressful, happy, unhappy year... So much has happened that has made it memorable for good and bad reasons. There has been sickness, health, death, birth and travel. Lots of travel.

Some of the places we have ventured to this year include Australia (our annual pilgrimage home), Jaipur, Amritsar, Mumbai, Agra, Rishikesh, Mussorie, Ranthambore. Plus we went further afield and visited Dubai, Italy, Croatia.

I might do a quick recap on each place over the next couple of days and give my best bits!

Jaipur - I've been to Jaipur a bit over the four years and I still love visiting. My top things include:
stay at the Samode Haveli. It's not too far from everything, the rooms are huge and full of old world charm. The hotel restaurant has wonderful Indian food and the wine is very reasonably priced. Breakfast is served in an amazing room, painted intricately to keep you entertained over your coffee.

Visit the Jantar Mantar but get a guide as they make everything clear and easy to understand and make this a really interesting site. Take an elephant to the top of the Amber Fort and enjoy fantastic views on the way up while checking out the beautifully painted hathi's.

Eat lunch at Anokhi café - yum salads and pastas and fresh food. A nice break from Indian cuisine.

Get a copy of Love Jaipur by Fiona Caulfield as she has the best shopping tips in one easy guide. A trip to Old Jaipur is a must. As is a sunset visit to Nahargarh Fort, it's spectacular.

Amritsar - Amritsar has two wonderful things to do - Wagah Border and the Golden Temple. The Wagah Border is fantastic and a must see. It is a ceremonial event held every night at the border of Pakistan and India. It's a display of country pride, pomp and pageantry! The flags of each country are lowered simultaneously after much stomping shouting and yelling of HINDUSTAN/PAKISTAN!!!!! Foreigners have a special queue which is very welcome as we get a great view of the spectacle.

The Golden Temple is wind blowing. I had the great pleasure of travelling there with my sister. We visited late at night (9pm) and again for daybreak. When I first saw this beautiful building at night it took my breath away. It was as if it was floating and the reflection was spectacular. Luckily for us it was quiet and everything was closing up which made it additionally peaceful.

The morning visit gave the Temple a new light. Luckily my sister encouraged the early morning visit... I was happy to stay in bed! It was truly lovely in the morning, chanting, prayers and again not many people. We visited the huge kitchen, ate fresh chappati and it was wonderful. It will come with me as one of my fondest memories.

Ranthambore Tiger Hunt!
We took the kids to Ranthambore National Park in March to see some tigers. We took Second class AC (2AC) train on the Saturday morning from Nizamuddin to Ranthambore. The train left at a reasonable hour and took about 5 hours. The train was great, no issues at all. There was plenty of space for the kids to sleep, read, eat or watch the iPad. It was a very easy way to travel this distance.

We stayed at Khem Villas which was a very lovely property and they arranged pick up from the station. At Khem we had our own little cottage so it ensured ultimate privacy and the kids could make a bit of noise without us being too self conscious. Khem also had amazing grounds. We went for nice walks, sat around the campfire at night, swapped tiger stories and ate good food. The gin and tonic's were nice too!

You organise your safari's separately. I took our four year old but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone younger than this. You have to be quiet on the hunts and sit still which every little person has trouble doing. However we had a great safari. We saw lots of deer, birds, peacocks, a crocodile and one beautiful tigeress. It was amazing.

In the afternoon the hotel let us use their jeep and a driver and we took our 15 mth old and 4 year old into the national park, but not on an official safari. We drove around, went to the Fort and had a lovely trip. Very casual and easy for the kids, although the walk to the Fort is steep and riddled with monkeys.

I highly recommend this trip - it was a winner!

 

 

Agra - So we could 't leave Delhi without taking the kids to the Taj Mahal. Tom and I have been a few times each before but I really wanted to the kids to go and have a pic if front of India's icon. We decided to splash out and stay at the Oberoi. It is a swanky property with lovely views of the Taj from your balcony. Although jury is still out on whether it is worth the prices they charge!

 

From Delhi we took the relatively new freeway through Noida and on to Agra. It is a very easy drive and very quick compared to the long rode before the freeway opened. All in all it took about 2,5 hours on the way down there. My advice on this one is you don't really need to spend the night in Agra, unless you are particularly driven to see the Taj at sun up or sun down. Once you visit the Taj and the Agra Fort you can easily wind your way back to Delhi in one day. It will be long but it's doable.

However we did stay, we saw the Taj, the kids got their cheeks pinched and photos clicked by Indian tourists and we then took refuge back at the hotel and hit the amazing pool. It was a very nice respite from the dusty streets of Agra.

In the past I have visited the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikhri in addition to the Taj and both are worth a visit if you have the time.

Rishikesh and Mussorie
Our most recent trip was over the Diwali weekend to Rishikesh and Mussorie.

We flew into Dehradun and took a taxi to Rishikesh to the Glasshouse on the Ganges, where we stayed for 3 nights. The taxi drive took about 1 hour (even though everyone told us 2 it really isn't that far). The Ganges is spectacular, the hills amazing and the air fresh. The hotel option was ok but our friends stayed at a river camp and if you can bear the thought of drop toilets and cold showers this is a great option. With our little ones we thought the accommodation would be better but not sure ...... I'd like to try the other to compare.

Either way watching and listening to the river make its way through the hills is amazing! I loved it and was so glad to see the Ganga! We made a trip into Rishikesh at 5 pm to see the Ganga Aarti which was good. Rishikesh is disappointingly dirty and doesn't feel particularly spiritual to me but it was nice to hear the chanting and watch the candles float down the river. Kids thought it was fun.

Then it was onto Mussorie..... well what a drive!!!!It took about 3 hours from Rishikesh to Mussorie and the last hour is winding road all the way to the top. The kids were great on the way up (not on the way down) but it is a pretty incredible feeling ascending to the mountain top and into the clouds.

The architecture is also amazing..... the thought of bringing everything up to the mountain to build a property sounds awful and difficult but some lovely places have been constructed.

We stayed at two different places over the two nights. First we tried The Amber which is a lovely small hotel with magnificent views of the hills. The Amber has a really lovely feel and the kids loved the playground and The Company Garden which is a short walk down the hill.

The second night we went to the new swanky JW Marriott. It only opened a month ago and is very different from The Amber. It is big and 5 star, so which you choose really depends on what you are after. The food at the Marriott was lovely and there was lots of space for the kids to run around. There was also a pretty cool kids club. One of my favourite things about the Marriott was at 4.30pm they set up games on the lawns, had bbq'ed corn cobs, masala chai and cake and you could play with the kids, meet other guests and enjoy the beautiful fresh air of Mussorie.

 

The only thing to be prepared for is the cold and the inevitable vomiting on the way down the mountain if you have travel sick kids.

So that is it for our 2014 travel around India - with Delhi as our base. Next we move base camp to Mumbai and start new adventures from there!

 

Caught off guard.... never!

Saturday morning for us normally means hanging out in our PJ's, watching kids cartoons, sheltering from the hot and/or wet weather and nursing mild hangovers..... however since I am pregnant, the hangovers aren't around, plus the monsoon as cooled things down slightly so it's time to annoy my husband, get him out of bed and load the family into the car for Delhi activities. Let's see how long this enthusiasm lasts......

This morning we visited the ceremonial 'Changing of the Guard' Delhi style. It starts at 9am at the Rashtrapati Bhavan (residence of the President of India) and goes for 40 minutes (check the website for timings) . There is a small amount of seating to watch the event, but there weren't many people there this morning so seats were easy to come by.

We got there about 8.55am so the set up and last minute checks were all taking place.





Last minute checks

 

 



Banners of the Army

 

The sun was out (and hot) and there was a mild breeze, so the whole waiting experience was pretty pleasant. Soph ran around spotting monkeys on the roof tops which kept her entertained.

 

Too sunny!

 

Unlike many things in this country, this event actually started on time, with much pomp and fanfare.... however there was a minor curveball thrown when this cyclist decided to cut in front of the parade. The cops were thrown into a spin and much yelling and pointing ensued!

 



The troublemaker

 

Once this side show was over the real thing got underway - drums, music, marching soldiers and horses - what more could a 2 year old ask for? She loved it!

 

 

 

 

This event has run every Saturday morning since 1773, so it is not surprising that it runs like clock work - down to the men following behind the horses to clean up the inevitable mess. 

 

 

Meticulous army

 

 

 

 

 

 

So was it worth the early(ish) Saturday morning? Definitely. There weren't too many people there, it was calm and pleasant plus I really loved seeing the beautiful horses and the handsome soldiers all dressed up in their regal uniforms. 



 

 

So handsome!

 

Gaelic days

I have ignored my blogging duties but it's been crazy busy, the weather has been getting better everyday, the rain has stopped and the mossies are biting!

One of the main events recently was the inaugural Tadhg Kenelly Cup. The TK Cup, as it is affectionately known, was the first Australian vs the Irish Gaelic game in Delhi. The Aussies turned up in bright yellow Sarojini sourced tee's while the Irish looked just a touch more professional. However uniforms mean nothing when it comes to football (the Dockers have proved that....oh hold on a minute).

It was an early start for all the lads and ladies and it was stinking hot! Everyone took the field and did their absolute best to beat the heat. I have never watched Gaelic before and I thoroughly enjoyed the game and was glad I wasn't playing, instead just sipping my latte on the sidelines. It did take awhile to get used to watching the round ball be kicked and marked and not sure I'll ever get used to that however the element that was familiar was the occasional unfriendly elements of the 'friendly' game.

Some pics from the day:

Fierce contest!

Ruck or netball?

Some very amused Mali's

Exhausted team at half time

 At half time there was some confusion over the score and a mild disagreement, a resolution was found.... and play continued.

After the game there was thankfully consensus on the score and the Aussies took the chocolates, 26-25, don't get much closer than that do you?

After the game.... all friends again

Captain receiving the trophy

The winning team!

The not so winning team but happy with the result none the less, except for perhaps the man on the end?

Following the game we all moved on to watch the Rugby World Cup together but we're not talking about that game here.

Yes I went to a Crafts Museum

So I went to the Crafts Museum..... I am not really into 'craft' or good at it but I thought it might be an interesting excursion. Hopes were low on my arrival, there was alot of work going on and there was pretty much no one around, not even my mates were to be seen! My guess is the workers were slightly more switched on for Michelle Obamas visit last November. 

Thank God for mobiles, I quickly traced my friends, we woke the ticket seller who plugged in the cash register to issue me with my ticket (admission is about Rs150 for foreigners or Rs 10 for Indians). With the cash register plugged in we had power and a ticket. He then handed me the ticket which I then handed back to the man beside him who gave it a wee rip and I gained entry - hurrah!

The first rooms known as the 'Bhuta Sculpture Gallery' were full of beautiful sculpture and ornaments. There is some really beautiful things here capturing India's rich history, unfortunately there was also bright pink damp crystals on display to absorb the moisture and a real mustiness hangs in the air. An incredibly hot day doesn't help the situation. Or maybe its just museums.... while doing research on this piece I found this on the crafts museum website:

'The institution of the museum, aimed at housing objects of antiquity, is of Western origin.  Indians themselves did not have a tradition of setting up museums of fragmented sculptures, rusted swords and out of context painting.  Broken images were immersed in holy water, worn-out objects were left to decay and merge with the very earth from which they were created. It is due to this continuous process of abandonment of the old and reproduction of the new that the tradition of craftsmanship have formidably survived in India. as archaeological museum concept in the nineteenth century, it missed out on the fact that, unlike the West, the 'past' and 'present' were not so severely divided in its case, and it therefore failed to give adequate importance in its museums to the evolving context of its culture - the living practices of rituals; festivals; weekly markets; picture-shows of itinerant storytellers; the materials, techniques and tools of artisans; the cultural changes and the attitude towards the past and the contemporary tradition as such.  it is this overlooked dimension of Indian culture which is emphasised in the concept of the Crafts Museum.'

I will test this out with visit to other museums around town. Anyway I digress.

Moving on from here we visited the folk art that at times was a little bit scary...... we moved on and got a bit more air but moving to the 'Courtly Craft Gallery' where there are displays of an old home which is pretty speccy with stunning moorish lattice work on all the windows.

Then it was time for textiles. These were really impressive and my favourite part. Sari's from all over India and beautiful traditional costumes.

WOW! Loved it.

Pretty impressive trousers

The hand weaving on these pieces is extraordinary! I would love to have tried one on to see what it weighed, it was just beautiful and so intricate.

I also loved the jewellery on display. Even though it is quite ancient the styles could easily be applied to modern day.

It took us about an hour and a half to walk through the galleries and then visit the 'display village'. At the end you get to a number of artisans that are selling posters, clothing, jewellery etc.... at touristy prices. Unfortunately there wasn't a little stall selling chai as the courtyard would have been a nice place to cool down with a drink and just watch.

This museum was actually a very pleasant surprise and a quiet little spot to chill for an hour or so.

National Crafts Museum

Pragati Maidan,

Bhairon Road,

New Delhi-110001

9.30 am - 5 pm

Lotus temple.... If only it smelt like flowers

T, S and I braved the monsoon weather and spent our Saturday afternoon at the Baha'i House of Worship or 'Lotus Temple'. It is one of the more modern and striking buildings in Delhi (turns 25 this year), built to be a place where all religions can be and pray together. In 25 years it has apparently seen over 70 million visitors.

Once again our arrival with S caused quite a stir and a flock of paparazzi. S is going to find it very odd when we go home and people aren't pinching her cheeks, grabbing her arm or falling over themselves to take pictures of her.

Help me Daddy........

Daddy...... get me away from these people....

After running the gauntlet and entering the grounds, we then had to battle with the masses and remove our shoes, put them in a bag (kindly provided) and drop them to the men working underground in the shoe storage. Would I ever see my shoes again? I didn't care, I was too distracted by the stench of hundreds and hundreds of feet that have been trapped in shoes during some of the hottest and muggiest weather I have ever experienced. It was a mildly unpleasant experience, you know what I mean .......we've all smelt a bit of bad foot odour and this was on masse.

Of course, the initial shock passes and you make your way towards the amazing temple and turn focus to this, a pretty impressive piece of architecture.

Obviously my first thought was how much this looked like the Opera House in Sydney. Yes,but it's modelled on the beautiful Lotus flower and has been designed in line with Baha'i requirements.

We were there in time for 3pm prayer, so lined up with everyone and waited our turn for entry and were given strict instructions as to our expected behaviour inside the temple.

Patiently waiting in the queue.

- absolute silence (practically impossible with a one year old...)
- no camera (shame but completely understandable)
- stay as long (or short) as you like (many people just walk straight through to the exit as can't follow step one and two above)

Inside the building is quite stark but lovely. Again this is in accordance with Baha'i scripture that says no pictures, statues or such can be displayed inside. Compared to other religious sites around Delhi it could appear to be pretty dull (and a bit western). Redeeming features: enormous high ceilings, light flooding in from outside and the silence.

Silence turned out to be easy for some of us but once again we were surrounded by curious peeps wanting to sit next to S and cluck at her. S managed silent bemusement, others not so much.

After a bit of self reflection we made our way to the exit and spent a bit of time looking at some of the cleanest water surrounding the temple I have seen in a long time while the rain slowly trickled from the sky.

It was then shoe collection time, which I made T do, I couldn't face it! Poor blikes working down there all day.

In summary: the Lotus temple is a nice space, the gardens are really lovely but you can't sit on the lawn or anything....obviously in an attempt to keep it looking nice. It's easy to see why people would come here to hang out, it's free and a nice, tranquil little spot in the chaos of Delhi. Worth a visit.

Surrounding gardens.

Note: Closed on Monday.

Endless Moet....... and some pretty great duck

Last Sunday was S's first birthday, a big milestone for her father and me so after a little party and some present opening we put S to bed for her little sleep and slipped off to China Kitchen at the Hyatt Regency to celebrate. China Kitchen does a weekend lunch for Rs 3200 (A$65) and you have unlimited Moet, dim sum, duck, Sichuan cuisine and fondue. Of course you can have the lunch without the delicious bubbly but why would you do that?



China Kitchen menu



So with just a little bit of excitement in my voice I ordered the Moet lunch and waited with anticipation for the first glass to be poured and it was delicious. Congratulations to us, one year successfully completed and we don't seem to have done much damage - excellent result.



Moet bubbles - first of many



I love dim sum and have done so for a long time. When we lived in Melbourne going into Chinatown on a Sunday was one of my favourite things to do. I haven't eaten it since we arrived here and I figured this was a good place to start. The entree dim sum was very delicate compared to the trolley laden dim sum I am used to and it was beautiful. I hate to carry on about a spring roll too much but this one was perfection.



Delicious spring roll



Waiter: Would you like the entree again Madam or would you like to move on to the next course?

Me: I think I will have the entree again thank you. 



and again......



After that was the soup....it was really good but no competition for the star attraction.... THE DUCK!



Very slick duck presentation.... just like Old Kingdom :)



Accompanied with the usual suspects - pancakes, spring onions, cucumber and hoi sin - I devoured the duck.... piece after piece..... pancake after pancake. I love duck and this duck was superb.

Following the duck was the completely unnecessary Sichuan selection. Only unnecessary as I was so full of yummy duck and Moet. However I pushed through and enjoyed the selection of lamb, noodles, chicken, vegetable, rice, prawns.

After this course was the chocolate fondue........ I did my best. Marshmallows, dried apricots, fruits, profiteroles, brownie, ice cream. It was amazing but we really couldn't do it and oh how we tried but I did have one more glass of Moet just to seal the lunch off nicely.



Fondue action



So three hours of lunch later and we were two very happy parents, recharged and ready to go home and play with our little one year old. China Kitchen was such a lovely experience - delicious and decadent and a must do.







Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians (aka Delhi vs Sachin.....)

On Sunday 10th April T and I got invited to watch the IPL (Twenty 20 cricket) at Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. The two big guns were facing off -  Delhi Daredevils (DDD) v Mumbai Indians (MI). After my last trip to Feroz Shah Kotla I wasn't too pumped for the cricket, as West Indies v Netherlands hadn't been much of a game, but I had big hopes for the IPL.

I arrived at the stadium and was ushered to the girls security entrance where I was frisked and informed I was carrying a knife in my bag. I asked them to x-ray the bag again and look inside as I was pretty sure I didn't have a knife. They went off to discuss it among themselves and never came back. I walked on.

When I arrived at my gate I again went through security and again was informed I was carrying a knife. I assured them I wasn't and they looked thoroughly, very thoroughly, through my bag and frisked me again. All credit to them - at least they were being cautious. Anyway turns out I wasn't carrying a knife and the offending object was my Aesop hand cream!

So after this drama, we got inside just in time to see the Delhi Daredevils (DDD) get taught a bit of a lesson - all to the tune of pop music and bad cheer leading (in tight gold sequin hot pants - channeling Kylie).

Delhi were all out for 96. However no one was too disappointed and were pretty buoyant for the break where the cricket equivalent of Karl Langdon was up and about running the half time entertainment. There was also the endless game of trying to get your face on the big screen - something our friend did manage to achieve! Another highlight was the very impressive mosquito fumigation.

Second half and the crowd where pretty excited by the appearance of their hero - Sachin Tendulkar! (Excited enough to cheer, but not enough to watch the actual game when they could potentially get on TV.)

So to the 'little master'.... easy for him and easy for Mumbai. The crowd loved the IPL, lapped up the full on music, the dancers and the cricket 'lite'. I can see how a closer game would be pretty exciting but unfortunately this wasn't. 

So it was time to leave, we headed out the gates with tens of thousands of others to get our car. On the way out the inevitable question of our nationality. T quickly answered 'Australian' to which the response was 'We beat you in the cricket!'.  

Photos of first trip to the wilds of old Delhi

T and I decided it was time..... we had visited Old Delhi when we were here 5 years ago but hadn't ventured in this time around. So last Sunday we headed in to see the Jama Masjid, the principle mosque of Old Delhi. As soon as you pass through Delhi Gate....... chaos ......and this was a 'quiet' Sunday. Many of the shops were closed, but where shops were closed, impromptu markets had taken their place on the pavement. These markets sold everything from household items and books to socks and shirts. There was even shops for used mechanical parts - everything has a use and a price here, nothing is wasted.

Our driver dropped us off at the mosque but also very near to our restaurant of choice, Karim's. But before we had lunch we had a walk up and down a couple of the streets. It is an overload to the senses.....we saw chickens in cages and tied up goats whose hours were clearly numbered, food stalls, kitchen appliance shops, hotels and all this while you are trying to avoid being cleaned up by a rickshaw or motorbike. 

Curry anyone?

Pots, woks and bowls

Street food that I am not quite ready to dip into.... although it looks very pretty.

In case you are looking for accommy?

Face of Old Delhi

For lunch we ate at Karim's, an extremely famous restaurant that has been around since 1913. It is worth the fuss, the place is buzzing with local Indians and those who have just visited the mosque. The food is delicious. We ordered Tandoori Chicken, Chicken biryani (not great), naan and a qeema naan. All served with lime and red onion. We took the locals lead and ate with our hands (although as foreigners we did get given knives and forks which we proudly left alone).

Tandoori chicken

Qeema naan (mince naan)

Next time we get a curry - this is three of the curries on offer.

Following lunch we headed to Jama Masjid and on the way not surprisingly saw a local game of cricket

The Jama Masjid is enormous and wasn't too busy this Sunday - there was space for us to walk around and have a good look (and for everyone to have a good look at us). Not surprising given they made me wear a particularly bright unattractive, suffocating, polyester gown...(please note I had been culturally sensitive and worn trousers, a shirt and a scarf).

As of the 2001 census about 138 million Muslims live in India and it is the second most practised religion after Hinduism so this mosque is a fairly popular place to be.

Mother and children at the sacred pool

Seriously cute!!!

'Seriously cute' with her sweet big brother (I am getting my own back and taking pictures of other peoples children).

This guy wanted us to capture the memory of his hat and my bad outfit.

View of Old Delhi traffic from the mosque. Never complain about Punt Road again....

View of the walls of the mosque from the tower.

Sacred pool

Outside the mosque is a hive of activity - everything you could dream of is for sale clothes, jewellery, trinkets and dates....

Bicycle rickshaw with 5 young men aboard... poor bloke peddling.

Mr green shirt was very keen on getting our business and couldn't quite understand why we would want to walk anywhere.

This guy didn't want to take anyone anywhere - rancho relaxo.

So our first toe has dipped into Old Delhi and it was well worth the trip, after all it is the real Delhi and helps give a sense of the enormity of this city. So many people all trying to live and work in such a small space. No place for our little S but just incredible.