(Part 4) In India Like a Local: New Delhi's Pride

- March 27-28, 2018, Tuesday to Wednesday.

- Around 2 and a half hours by flight from Mumbai is India's capital, Delhi. I flew via Jet Airways that early evening, and arrived around 9pm at Indira Gandhi International Airport. I was immediately fetched by my airport pick-up service arranged by my awesome hostel, Bloomrooms @ Delhi Railway.

- Delhi, or National Capital Territory of Delhi, is the capital territory of India, and is made up of several districts. However, it is normally separated into Old Delhi and New Delhi. Old Delhi is the capital founded by the Islamic Mughal ruler Shah Jahan in the 17th century (he was also responsible for the Taj Mahal.) It is older, and has more historical landmarks. New Delhi, however, is the extension of Old Delhi founded by the British in the 19th century, and currently has more modern infrastructure and European-style architecture. I've actually been in Delhi twice before this third time, but as it seemed to always be some kind of arrival/departure port, my impression of Delhi was not that deep.

What I always look forward to when arriving at Indira Gandhi International Airport.

- After around a 45-minute drive from the airport, I finally reached my hostel, which was right beside the long-distance railway station. Bloomrooms (click here for website) has many branches across India, and in Delhi alone it has 2 - the other one being in Link Road. A friend of mine recommended this branch to me, which is more accessible to most places of interest, so I booked at this particular branch. It looks small from the outside, but its definitely gave visitors a sanctuary from the busy streets of Delhi. The street outside the hostel is filled with people, auto-rickshaws, cows, and cars even late at night. It might seem daunting to those not used to India's streets, but again, this is India.

If the US has Lady Gaga, India has....

This is my room. I love it so much!!

Yes, that's me.

- The next morning, after a comfortable full night's rest, I was ready to finally experience going around Delhi. Delhi has an extensive downtown non-suburban metro, something that Mumbai does not have yet (they're currently working on it though,) so it's easier to go around and reach the tourist sites. Fortunately, Delhi metro station was just a 5- to 10-minute walk from my hostel. Convenient!!

- Riding the metro in Delhi is very much like in any big city in the world. You may opt to buy a Smart Card, which is a reloadable card, or you may opt to buy a single-journey token from the machines at the station. I realized that the stations and even the trains in India are far better than the ones in Manila. They were very clean, very fast, had outlets where you can charge your gadgets, and very wide. To be honest, their metro system was cleaner than some metro lines in the USA or some big cities in Europe. Going around Delhi was actually a breeze because of their efficient metro. For tourists, only two lines will be frequently used: the yellow and the violet lines, which intersect at Central Secretariat Station at the center, and Kashmere Gate at the northern part of Delhi.

Saw this as I was going to the metro station. A lady drying cow dung.

Dried cow dung patties are sold as fuel sources.

It's a very regular thing in India.

Long-distance trains at the railway station.

- From Delhi Station I went south to Kalkaji metro station (violet line) to visit the Lotus Temple. It is a Baha'i house of worship that was opened in 1986. The Baha'i faith originates itself in Persia, and promotes the unity of God, the unity of religion, and the unity of humanity. The Lotus Temple in Delhi is one of the most famous Baha'i temples because of its distinct structure. As it is a place of worship, there is no entrance fee. However, to enter the main hall, there are temple volunteers who will guide you through the temple and explain a bit of the history and main pillars/teachings of the Baha'i religion. (No photos allowed inside the main prayer hall.)

In bloom all year round.

Supposedly a "mistake," but some mistakes turn out for the best.

Case in point: I am somewhere behind these ladies, but when I saw this photo I just fell in love with the candidness and color of everything.

I intentionally dressed up like a fat Indian lotus.

Going to the entrance of the main prayer hall.

Geometry.

I was going for the making-my-scarf-fly shot.

Summer.

- After visiting the lovely giant white lotus, I discovered that there was a Big Bazaar right below the metro station. Of course, I did a bit of shopping before hopping on the metro and going to Central Secretariat metro station to see the political hub of India along Rajpath. Rajpath is a boulevard that houses many of India's political buildings, with the Rashtrapati Bhavan (president's house, opened in the 1920s) on the west end, and the India Gate at the east end.

Big Bazaar, you are my favorite department store ever.

Rajpath, with the Rashtrapati Bhavan at the far end. I didn't bother to go near it anymore, and with the heat and what's left of my itinerary, I was already happy with this.

Very Indian photo.

- I had the bad decision of walking the whole length of Rajpath, which is around 3-4 kilometers long, and under the scorching summer sun. At the very least, I had some shade upon arriving at the National Museum, which is along Rajpath as well, near the corner of the Rajpath-Janpath intersection. It was established in 1949 and as expected of any national museum, has exhibits of all things Indian from its early historic eras until contemporary times. Unfortunately, some of the galleries - particularly the textile gallery which I was dying to see - was under renovation. Still, I enjoyed the museum a lot because I was finally able to see some of the things that I only used to see in books or photos.

Ready to learn!!

Timelines of Asia and Africa's earliest civilizations.

Early clay tablets that are not too decipherable.

A popular artwork from the Harappa and Mohenjo Daro era, "the dancing girl."

Another famous one, which takes the shape of a priest.

Early script.

Mauryan-era art. This was the time when Ashoka the Great spread Buddhism across Asia. 

Probably a mother goddess.

It's a nice museum.

My favorite kind of art: Indo-Greek art. This one is supposed to be Buddha.

Gandhara-style Buddha.

Another one that is supposed to be Buddha.

Gupta era, with more Hindu art like this one.

Brass Shiva Nataraja statue.

Tibetan art.

Sri Lankan tourists giving their respect to the Buddhist-relic exhibit.

This was donated by Thailand.

It's supposed to contain the teeth and some bones of Siddhartha Gautama himself!!

Script evolution gallery: how the earliest Indian alphabet evolved to become today's Indian and Southeast Asian scripts.

- The museum also had some larger than life decorative arts, precious (and sparkly!) jewelry, Northeast-Indian costumes and ritual paraphernalia (since the culture of this region is distinct from the usual "Indian culture" that people know,) and war objects.

Whatcha lookin' at.

Would love to have one of these giant ones at home. (If only I had the space.)

A giant garuda.

Throne.

Royal jewelry.

I couldn't stop looking at them. But just imagine how heavy these must have been, since Indian royalty would normally be bejeweled from head to toe!!

Ancient snakes and ladders, an Indian invention.

Portuguese-era Catholic statues from Goa.

Mughal-era coins.

Northeast-Indian costumes.

Musical instruments.

More instruments!!

Saraswati and her veena all made from bamboo!!

Supposedly a part from a Jain temple.

How elephants were armored for war!!

- I had my lunch at the cafe at the museum since it was the only nearby restaurant in that area. At least I got to rest and cool myself before continuing my "runway walk" along Rajpath, which, historically, was some sort of "runway" for the royals anyway. I walked under the sun, occasionally approached by auto-rickshaw drivers to ask if I wanted a tour of the whole area, of course for a fixed rate. I declined, because that's not the way I roll. Eventually I reached India Gate, not to be confused with "The Gateway of India" in Mumbai (click here to see). India Gate was finished in 1931 to honor those who perished in the First World War.

India Gate, finally, I am seeing you up close!!!!

"INDIA."

Memorial.

- After taking some snaps, I walked all the way to Purana Qila or Old Fort, and in hindsight, I should have taken a rickshaw to Purana Qila from India Gate (it's not that far, but it wasn't near either.) The current building inside the Old Fort were most likely from the 1500s, but archaeological surveys show that some structures in the fort were actually from earlier kingdoms from several centuries past. The worst part about my visit was that it is currently closed for major restorations/renovations. At the very least, I was able to visit the small 16th-century mosque beside it, called Khairul Manzil.

Would have loved to do a photoshoot here, but I was in a hurry.

There is something about ruins that fascinates me.

Interior.

The entrance/exit.

Main gate of Khaizul Manzil.

- Tired and sweaty, I rode an auto-rickshaw (they are colored yellow and green in Delhi,) from the front of Khairul Manzil all the way to Patel Chowk metro station, which is the closest metro station, and rode all the way to my final destination for the day - Dilli Haat. From Patel Chowk, I rode the train to INA station (yellow line), and Dilli Haat is just a few steps away. Dilli Haat was opened in 1994 by the Delhi government, and is an open-air market place with paid entrance. The sellers who come from different parts of India rotate every 15 days so you're sure to see something different every so often. There are two more locations apart from the INA one: one in Janakpuri, and another in Pitampura. The INA one, although smaller than the two newer ones, remains to be the most vibrant as it is the original. The shops sell souvenirs of all kinds, mainly handicrafts, textiles, and some traditional clothes. Although the prices can be a bit high compared to what you may find outside, shopping in Dilli Haat is hassle free and in some cases, prices can be negotiable (i.e. you may haggle.) There are cultural performances too, and another favorite feature of Dilli Haat is that you can try various snacks and dishes from all the states of India!!

What commuting in India looks like.

This is what their metro looks like!! Neat!! (Of course, this isn't during rush hour.)

Welcome to Dilli Haat!!

Good amount of people, not too crowded.

If Broadway and Abba have Mamma Mia, Dilli Haat has....

Plenty of handicraft shops.

- Surprisingly, I didn't get to buy much, since they did not have too much silk products for men during this round. It is always easier to find stuff from women. (Sigh.) Despite this, I thought that I'd experience the food in Dilli Haat. I chose one of the states that I would probably have difficulty visiting due to security concerns, so I chose Nagaland. Nagaland is a state that borders Myanmar, so the people here look more Chinese and Southeast-Asian. Their culture is also closer to their Southeast Asian neighbors, which of course includes food. I tried their pork and bamboo with gravy, which is one of Nagaland's signature dishes. Other Naga dishes resemble Burmese or Thai dishes. It was not as pungent, but it was very spicy (just the way I like it.)

Carpets?

Color!!

A man selling ektaras. (One-stringed fiddles.)

Pork with bamboo to be paired with some rice.

- I went back to my hostel just as the sun was about to set, especially since I've been getting pieces of advice from people regarding being out at night in Delhi; to make the long story short, best if you're not out at night in Delhi. Anyway, I had to be back in my hostel because I needed a lot of rest for my long journey the day after: the former capital of Agra!!

- Don't forget to read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 5 here, Part 6 here, and Part 7 here!!