So, we contacted an agent form India, Sampuran Yatra and the agent was Priyanka. We decided on that as it was much cheaper to get it directly from India rather than going from a Sri Lankan agent. Everything was booked in advance. So, we got a good offer for the package and we extended our stay to 9 nights to include Delhi and Agra as well. (Advice make sure you customize your packages so you can get a better rate, book the flight in advance, there can be good offers)
So, we left Sri Lanka and there were two first time travelers. Everyone was excited as this was going to be a new adventure specially in a foreign country. The flight time was around 4 hours and we landed in Delhi airport very early morning.
Our cab driver was Sanjeev. He was to be our driver and throughout the journey. There was no sperate guide as such, but he will take us to the locations, and we had to manage the rest by our own. The vehicle was a Toyota Inova. There were 5 of us with luggage for 9 nights. The vehicle was spacious but not enough for the luggage. What they do is to tie up the luggage into the hood rack. This was a routine job for the driver whenever we changed hotels which was frequent.
For the morning it was relatively cold. It was around 5 a.m. We had the Delhi city tour planned for the day and we were to stay the night in Agra. As it was very early, and we came straight from Sri Lanka we went to a hotel and got two rooms just refresh ourselves and get a small nap. It was a budget hotel and not very comfortable though. But it was the cheapest option and we only had about 3 hours. (Note that the normal hotels in India is not the normal ones we get in Sri Lanka. Their standards are relatively low. So, if you are booking, make sure you go for the best that you can afford).
So, after an almost small rest we went out and Sanjeev was waiting for us. He packed our luggage and off went we on the Delhi tour. We had 4 main stops planned for the day before we headed towards Agra. Below is a small description of the places we visited.
1. Rashtrapati Bhavan - is the official residence of the President of India located at the Western end of Rajpath in New Delhi, India. It is supposed to have a 340-room main building that has the president's official residence, including reception halls, guest rooms and offices, also called the mansion and consists of 130-hectare (320 acre) Presidential Estate that additionally includes huge presidential gardens (Mughal Gardens), large open spaces, residences of bodyguards and staff, stables, other offices and utilities within its perimeter walls. In terms of area, it is the largest residence of any head of state in the world.
2. India Gate - is a war memorial located astride the Rajpath, on the eastern edge of the "ceremonial axis" of New Delhi, formerly called Kingsway. It stands as a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in between 1914–1921 in the First World War, in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in the Near and the Far East, and the third Anglo-Afghan War. 13,300 servicemen's names, including some soldiers and officers from the United Kingdom, are inscribed on the gate. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the gate evokes the architectural style of the triumphal arch such as the Arch of Constantine, in Rome, and is often compared to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the Gateway of India in Mumbai.
3.Gandhi ghat - is one of the main ghats on the Ganges River in Patna. Ghat in India means a fleet of steps leading to a river. It is named after the leader of the Indian independence movement Mahatma Gandhi. The ghat is famous for its Evening Ganga Aarti a kind of ritual prayer. It is also associated with the immersion of ashes of Mahatma Gandhi in the river Ganges.
4. Qutub Minar - is an iconic monument which spells out the narrative of Delhi like no other. It forms a part of the Qutub Complex comprising the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Alai Darwaza, Alai Minar, Ala-ud-din's Madrasa and Tomb, Iron Pillar, Tomb of Imam Zamin, Sanderson's Sundial and Major Smith's Cupola. The tallest brick minaret in the world is said to have been designed on the lines of Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan. Situated in Mehrauli - the heritage storehouse of Delhi, the site is also the venue for the annual three-day Qutub Festival - a gathering of musicians, artistes, and dancers.
The weather was relatively cold on the day, specially during the morning and the air looked brownish maybe because of the fog that covered Delhi few weeks back. It is always better to carry your passport around and if you are from a SAARC country you get a concessional rate to enter the monuments. Only place that charged us was Qutub Minar. They do not even allow a tripod to be taken (They took my selfie pole as it had a tripod and they charge separately for videography)
Rashtrapati Bhavan was a highly restricted place. We only had a view from the outside. The Columns indicated a British architectural style. The building was huge with well maintained gardens. It is famous for its bells. Various Indian elements have been added to the building. These included several circular stone basins on top of the building, as water features are an important part of Indian architecture. There was also a traditional Indian chujja or chhajja, which occupied the place of a frieze in classical architecture; it was a sharp, thin, protruding element which extended 8 feet (2.4 m) from the building, and created deep shadows. The dome, in the middle, reflects both Indian and British styles. In the centre is a tall copper-faced dome, surmounting a very tall drum in several sections, which stands out from the rest of the building. The dome is exactly in the middle of the diagonals between the four corners of the building. The dome is more than twice the height of the building itself.
Indian gate was also another place that any Delhi visitor should stop by. It’s a photographic spot and is a place you should not miss during your visit. You can find many Indians with cameras on their hands asking you to allow them to take your photos and the photos will be printed at an instant and given to you for around 30 Indian rupees. It is a kind of business that they do.
Gandhi ghat was a quite place. Since is a spiritual place it is good for a break from the hassle of the city. You need to take your shoes off when you enter the monument. The place is covered in flowers and you can hear chanting of Hindu bhajans. The path was aligned with quotes from Gandhi.
Qutub Minar is an architectural complex. It depicted Islamic style of architecture. Built as a symbol of victory for Muslim invaders over the Hindu land, Qutub Minar served as a victory tower when Muhammad Ghori took over the Rajput king, Prithviraj Chauhan, in 1192. Later Ghori’s viceroy, Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who went on to become the first ruler of Mamluk dynasty began the construction of Qutub Minar. The lotus borders carvings, garlands and looped bells were incorporated from the local sensibilities. The tower has five tapering storeys superposing with a spiralling staircase of 379 steps. The lower three storeys consist of cylindrical hilts of red sandstone, separated by rims and balconies, with Muqarna truss. The fourth column is made of marble and the fifth is built of marble and sandstone with engravings of Quranic texts and decorative motifs. There are inscriptions in Nagari and Parso-Arabic characters on the walls of Qutab Minar which document its construction and reconstructions by Tughluq and Sikandar Lodi between 1381-1517.
The minar is said to be tilting about 65 cm from the vertical but is considered safe with the experts wanting constant monitoring so that the rainwater seepage doesn't affect its base. Back in the day and even today Qutub Minar stands as an inspiration for several towers and minarets built after it. Chand Minar built in 1445 in Daulatabad, Maharashtra was inspired from Qutub Minar.
It was a long day and there were 233km from Delhi to Agra. It was the evening and almost the office time and it took us more than an hour just to enter the highway to Agra. By the time we reached Agra it was night. We had some trouble in finding our hotel. The day before there had been a fighting between Hindus and Muslims. Agra is predominantly Muslim. There racism is so high that the hotel did not allowed our driver (who was a Hindu) to use the bathroom. (I advise not to go to that Hotel named Taj Palace). Internet was cut, which reminded me of our former president Maithripala Sirisena.
As it was a long day we were waiting to go to bed. The hotel only released hot water when we requested. That was also not that hot. But they had a good meal for dinner as we were booked on half board basis. We had a vegetarian thali and we ordered some chicken to go with it. (Thali is a dish where you have little of rice, chapati, some curries, salads, papadam all in one plate made into compartments). We had a hearty meal and went to sleep as we had a long day after site seeing in Agra.
