New Delhi Tour

Walking towards the temple we were stunned by the massive green lawns, as it is very uncommon to see lots of grass in Asia. The gardens leading up to the temple were so lush and green; we were expecting dirt and rocks. Observing from far away you can see the distinct shape of the lotus flower. It reminded us of the Sydney Opera House with the various rounded curves, it was truly a unique sight!

Next up was Humayun’s Tomb. This is a massive complex not far from the Lotus Temple. As you can imagine, this is the tomb of someone named Humayun. He was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, presiding over a tumultuous time and briefly losing control of the empire before reclaiming it. His tomb is significant for many reasons. It is the first garden-style tomb, with a large mausoleum and four-way symmetry, which would become a hallmark of Mughal architecture. Additionally, the tomb is built of red sandstone, which most Mughal constructions would follow.

Our first impression was just how big the tomb is. Pictures don’t quite convey the scale, with the lowest platform being several stories tall. We were struck by just how beautiful the sprawling gardens and symmetrical architecture is. Honestly, I’m not sure what we expected, but we quickly understood why this is a major attraction.

Inside the tomb, the architecture is immaculate. There are multiple tombstones in chambers with vaulted ceilings and incredible carvings. As we walked through the halls in silence, we were reminded of our experiences in Uzbekistan, with similar architecture and decorations. 

One of the historical symbols of New Delhi is the India Gate. This gate is a war memorial for the 70,000 Indian soldiers that died during World War 1. On the sandstone, the names of the fallen soldiers are written. The Inida Gate stands on the Kartavya Path, a 3km pathway that connects from the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Indian presidential residence) to the Vijay Chowk Square.

Jama Masjid, located in Old Delhi is the largest mosque in India. In Arabic, Jama Masjid means Friday mosque, which makes sense because it is indeed a Friday mosque. This mosque was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who also built the Taj Mahal. Jama Masjid was completed in 1656 and can hold 25,000 people. We took of our shoes, I grabbed the robe, and hurried to the shade as we were tip toe dancing on the ground because it was so hot.

The mosque is made of red sandstone, which is a popular material in Mughal architecture, along with marble and black onyx inlay. We walked around the courtyard and looked at the prayer hall that is reserved for Muslims. Michael was very popular there as so many people stopped him to take pictures with him. Even though we don’t believe in the same thing, we’ve continue to experienced friendliness at the mosques we’ve visited.

Since we were already on the outskirts of Old Delhi, our tour guide hailed a tuk-tuk and we slowly went through the city. I learnt that being in Old Delhi is seeing the real India. The roads were very crowded especially since there were preparations for Independence Day. While going through the streets, there were many shops, stalls, and random items. It was chaos compare to the organized and structured cities we have experienced before. But there was a beauty to it.

I have heard about the possibility of getting scammed in India and tried to book things based of reliable sources and reviews. When booking a tour I decided to go through Get Your Guide, which I have used many times before. I booked an 8 hour private tour with a private driver to tour around Old Delhi and New Delhi. Sadly, we did not visit half of the places that were listed in the itinerary, and we didn’t go to the sights that were in the picture slideshow.

Even though we booked through Get Your Guide they contract outside companies. Our tour was fine, but we were disappointed when we wasted two hours visiting Delhi Haat C.C.I. There is a famous market in Delhi called Dilli Haat that has many traditional items. Our tour guide took us to a so called “market” which had a similar sounding name. They do this to confuse tourists. They tried to sell us overpriced Indian clothing and convince us to buy custom suits that we couldn’t afford.