On time, no queues in immigration, no spur of the moment flights booked. Like all sequels, dull and unforgettable, adequate words to mark the arrival of Fiona on the eve of the 30th. Hellie had in fact already managed to fall asleep. Nonetheless, the fact that Fiona was feeling 22(ooh) meant that partying was obligatory and we headed off to the local watering hole Hauz Khas Village to meet up with Fi's friends from earlier in her gap yah. Drinks were drunk, jokes were shared and just as 4 white friends rapped along to Eminem during karaoke we discovered that Delhi nightlife calls it quits about 1230. Big night.
First proper day in India and naturally we took in a couple of temples. Not so naturally we got picked up by one of Fi's Indian mates (top gal) in a white rangey (range rover for the non gangsters) and headed off to her gold clad palace for some cracking cuisine and fine furniture. Probably a stark contrast to 9 days time when we will be knee deep in oil and grime. Not just swanning round Delhi, rickshaw preparations have begun after Fiona undertook an impromptu rickshaw lesson and the good news is at least one of us now knows how to change gears. Also interestingly, we discovered that stopping in the middle of a 5 lane motorway is the perfect chance to begin such an impromptu lesson...good to know.
After a delightful day in Delhi, it was of course NYE. Tbh the less said the better. Plenty of rickshaw experience though as 3 unsuccessful rides later we still hadn't found anywhere with fireworks. 2015 thus rolled around with us draped in shawls roaming the Indian streets, acting out firework impressions to policemen in a vain attempt to see the new year in with a bang. Alas, our efforts were futile and we retired to our hostel for a quarter of a beer each and some rounds of heads up.
Whilst 95% of the world will have awoken on New Year's Day, hungover, with kebab in their hair and the overwhelming feeling of drunken shame, we awoke fresh from a 9 hour sleep, ready for our last day in Delhi . Fi headed off to go and visit her host family she had previously stayed with in India , whilst the rest of us went to the Red Fort. The Red Fort, once a giant palace resplendent in gold, marble and silver, also housed a 180 carat diamond that was then stolen in a Persian raid and ended up on Queen Victoria. RickinIt are planning a trip to see the Crown Jewels once back in London.
Amongst all the Mughal ancestry, history and sheer beauty of the Red Fort - all you mentioned was the diamond stolen by the British. Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteDear anonymous. Thank you for your insightful comment - we will try and be more historically impartial in accounts of future forts and temples but a bit of British looting is always good to mention!
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