Holiday in North India, December 25 to January 2

Once again I have the honor to introduce a guest author: my girlfriend Fabienne was in India between Christmas and New Year and - after kindly asking her to do so :-) - was ready to write a blog post about our holiday. You see, maintaining this blog is getting very easy for me... Thanks, Fabi, for your nice work! Under this link you'll find a selection of our photographs.

On Christmas Day, Philipp and I both took the plane to meet in Delhi.  Due to thick fog, Indian domestic flights were even later than the usual delay and the flight from Switzerland ultimately landed well in Delhi and not alternatively in Mumbai. Luckily, waiting 5 hours for clients is seen as petty evil by Indian taxi drivers and we arrived at our hotel in Paharganj at sunrise. After a good hour’s sleep, Delhi’s liveliest neighborhood revealed all its splendour, priorly swallowed by the fog and night: honking auto rickshaws passed cycle rickshaws and placidly trotting cows or water buffalos, beggars slept peacefully on the edge of pathways and street hawkers claimed their business heatedly. As a first timer in India, such street life struck me hard but was a good preparation for the market scene in Old Delhi, which followed next. At the Red Fort the pulsing atmosphere lessened and let room to interact with some of Delhi’s citizens. Taking a picture with a Western tourist seems to be more attractive to many Indians than the respective sight itself. After some initial snapshots, we terminated our rising shooting career and started to authoritatively refuse posing for photos; otherwise we would still stand there and our portraits could be found all over facebook. Nonetheless we often noticed to be secretly filmed by some proud mobile phone holders! At Jama Masjid, the mosque in Old Delhi, we planned to close our first day in Delhi, however the mosque was already closed to non-muslims half an hour before sunset due to prayer.

Delhi: The Red Fort

Our friends which we've already met in Africa last summer liked Delhi too

Which is your most precious asset when visiting India? Time. Planning your vacation in India is a challenge if you are on tight schedule. Early in the morning – or less early in the end because the train was delayed for 4 hours… – we took the train to Agra. After Delhi’s skyline started to vanish in smog and fog, the darkness submerged. On immense garbage fields pigs, sheep and water buffalos were peacefully „grasing“ while children played games along the rails. Some minutes later we passed green rice fields and villages with mud huts. „Incredible India“ – India’s touristic slogan described many experiences on this trip best. In Agra we were delighted by the symmetric architecture of the Taj Mahal. The white marble is dazzling when catching sight of it from the dark entry gate. Have you seen the film „Slumdog millionaire“? The movie is highly recommended by the way! The platform that harbours the narrow canal in front of the Taj serves many foreign and domestic tourists to take pictures with the monument. Numerous guides patiently explain story and architecture. Lady Mumtaz and Sha Jahad’s rest in peace however is interrupted by shrill whistles from the guards that move the crowds around the two tombs. We preferred to spend some time in the beautifully laid garden and the two impressive mosques that flank the Taj. The huge crowd is not the only factor adding to the “Incredible India” experience: Can you imagine the entrance fees to the Taj to be more than 20 times higher for foreign tourists than locals, resulting in a ticket price which is even high by European standards? Most likely this kind of practice is unique to India.

Agra: the Taj Mahal, a classic which does not fail to impress

Fabienne shortly before entering the Taj Mahal premises

Philipp in front of the Taj's silhouette

Aside fog and obstacles on the railways, discrepancies in politics affect the Indian train schedule too. Our night train would not stop in Jaipur due to strike. We left our comfortable 4 bed first class compartment around 100 km after Jaipur and continued our journey in a second class wagon (together with a bunch of workers that commute to Jaipur in the early morning). Take a look at the picture and make an educated guess about how many people fit into this wagon ;-)? 

On the way to Jaipur: an empty compartment of a second class, unreserved wagon

Jaipur is as lively as Delhi but the „pink city“, also known for its jewellery artwork, offers a variety of sights. The City Palace, where the royal family still lives, is decorated with filigrane ornaments and represents a city within the city. At Hawa Mahal the women at court used to watch parades from behind coloured glass. The pink front of Hawa Mahal with its numerous windows is Jaipur’s landmark. Our rickshaw driver also took us to „friends“ that happen to be carpet manufacturers, jewelers and painters... his friendliness however vanished with his foregone provisions. From the monkey valley we enjoyed the view over the city. The Byriani at the hotel’s restaurant added to another culinary Indian experience of mine aside Dhal, Thali, Masala Dosa and Sambar etc. Although we enjoyed the local food a lot we also happened to be victims of it: we still have no idea where we ate spoilt food. Anyway, the last days of our holiday were unfortunately mostly spent in our hotel. But this is said to be part of the “Incredible India” experience too…

Jaipur: The Hawa Mahal Palace from outside

Jaipur: the reason why the Galta valley is better known as "monkey valley"

New Delhi around Connaught Place and down to the India Gate was laid out by the English. Shopping malls encircle a park where laser shows are presented during night. Wealthy Indians enjoy the various consumption options together with Western tourists. On New Year’s Eve the newly built subway is crowded up to bursting which cannot be expressed in words – getting in and out is an adventure! We ate dinner at the Coffee House United at Connaught Place and then moved back to our hotel in Karol Bagh while crossing cheerful people who strolled underneath the arcades and bought party articles. Happy New Year 2011!

Delhi: The India Gate