well, guess what... china's gone and done it again. xanga is officially blocked, rawr.
SO... mahalo to adley for letting me use his VPN connection, though i'm unsure whether he knows adey let me use it.
here are the delhi pics!! enjoy!! 
---
after a @_@ plane ride from mumbai, we met adriel's parents at the airport and arrived at the Hilton Trident Gurgaon. NICE HOTEL. the entrance gate in the left picture reminded me of Wells' War of the Worlds. --- me and mrs. chan on the huge lobby sofa
---
the reflective pool at the hotel --- since we flew to india during the chinese new year, the flight gave us some hong bao with chocolate gold coins. i love the phrase at the top: "make a pile" hehehe
---
we had the afternoon free, so we all headed over to the Qutab Minar, the highest stone tower in India. built in 1310 as part of an islamic mosque, the Qutab Minar stands today in its red sandstone and white marble majesty. --- a stray dog and me. one that which shocked me about india was the amount of stray dogs everywhere. in china, stray cats rule the streets, but in india it's a dog's land.
---
lots of people hanging out at the mosque during sundown --- we went at the perfect time; the lighting cast amazing shadows on the mosque and the earthy colors stood out in the sunlight.
---
parrots chillin' at the mosque --- the chan fam and me in front of the minaret. picture taken by a local indian family who spent the afternoon at the mosque because it was their son's birthday. they offered us some cadbury chocolate and forced us into taking some, even though we politely declined
---
adriel and his long lost indian princess. a group of young indians really wanted to take their picture with us. i read somewhere that indians like to take pictures with tourists, they they show the pics to their friends and make up stories like, "yeah i slept with her that night" etc. hahaha... it was a weird experience. the girl approached AD first, then her boyfriend came to me to take a picture, and the girl got all pissy. hehe. --- adriel and his other princess
us and the lit lanterns at our hotel at night.
---
the hotel reflection pools at night. i really appreciated that short taste of luxury during the trip because it made the contrast between the rich and the poor really stand out. --- the next day adriel woke up with revef eugned (read that backwards, haha) and had to stay at the hotel and rest, so i headed out with mrs. chan and we went sightseeing during the day. our first stop - the india gate, a memorial for the 90,000 soldiers who died during WWI and the Afghan wars. lots of tourists (both foreign and indian) and therefore, lots of hawkers coming up to you trying to spread henna paste on your hands for a few rupees.
---
after a short car tour of the president's house and the parliament, we headed to the Purana Qila, or "old fort." i don't know much about this place other than that is was built by Humayun, the second Mughal emperor, and that it had a mosque in it. whatever it was, i loved the architecture there. i don't know much about architecture, but i love the different colors and shades of marble and sandstone and the arches (do they have a different name when the arch has a point at the top?) look at the tiles!!! love the use of bright colors.
---
an old artifact in the Purana Qila museum. it's amazing how these intricate stone carvings and impressive structures were made without advanced technology. i can only imagine how much planning and labor went into these forts and tombs and mosques. i need to visit the pyramids one day.
--- the lake outside the Old Fort with little foot paddle boats for rental
---
after an hour or so of admiring indian handicrafts, fabrics, and marble & precious stone items the Cottage Emporium and a quick bite in the car, we headed back to the hotel. on the way there, we caught sight of some monkeys next to the road. can you spot 'em? --- saw this in the local paper: BDA Approved!
---
the red light on this stoplight reads, "RELAX" --- adey trying to cool his fever with a pail of water
we left adriel's parents that night and headed to navroze's guest house, which we stayed at for the remainder of the trip. their family is so warm-hearted... let us stay in their guest house even though we just met them a few nights before!
---
weeee! --- the next day our guide mukesh took us all over the high heavens. we started off with a trip to Humayun's Tomb, "an elegant example of early Mughal architecture, the tomb of the second Mughal emperor also houses the graves of his wives." since we didn't have a chance to see the Taj Mahal in Agra, mukesh took us to the "Taj of Delhi"
---
seee? the taj of delhi! har har --- just fyi...
---
sooooo amazing. how in the world do you build something like this without machiiines? --- us being tourists
then we took a drive past the Lotus Temple, the Baha'i house of worship. pretty cool beans temple.. really looks like a lotus!
---
next stop: Raj Ghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi and also where he was cremated. Mohandas was the man! we visited a museum devoted to his life while in Mumbai, and dang, he really is the man. lots of people here paying their respects.
---
dude. --- the one person bench!
---
there's mukesh (bottom right corner) leading us down a busy side street to our lunch destination --- i love that indians smile when they see the camera
---
lunch at Karim's! good food and cheap prices. half plate of mixed veg, veg rolls (bland, but good with the spicy veg curry), lamb, veg pulao, and a bread (dang, i forgot what this bread it called but it was SO good! crisp and buttery... mmm...) i wrote down the total cost somewhere but too lazy to go hunting for it. if you want good indian food at a safe, clean establishment, eat at Karim's. just across the street from the main entrance to the Jama Masjid.
---
after lunch we headed to the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. lots of people there just relaxing and enjoying the day.
watching the pigeons take flight --- soaking up the sun
---
the water --- chillaxin
if you plan to visit the Jama Masjid with a camera, hide it well - 100 rupees charge to bring your camera in. good thing i had a huge bag
also, you must take your shoes off at the entrance. make sure to carry your shoes with you in your hands, or they might be missing when you go back to the entrance.
---
after the mosque, we headed for the Red Fort via rickshaw. mukesh bargained with the rickshaw drivers, then when they saw that their passengers were not locals, they got really upset for giving mukesh a local price. talk about discrimination... yikes. --- sidestreet shop
---
intricate marble inlay designs at Red Fort --- look at the stones in the marble! so impressive
from our touristy map: "Red Fort - a colossal structure of red sandstone buil by Shah Jehan in 1638, and was the last seat of Mughal power till the last emperor was dethroned. Inside the Fort are majestic audience halls (which once housed the diamond-and-ruby studded Peacock Throne), the Pearl Mosque and marble palaces."
---
fifteen candles sat in this, and a waterfall would stream out over the top (see the slit between the platform and the top of the "fireplace"? SO NEAT. if i am ever so rich that i don't know what to do with the remainder of my money after donating to charities and investing, i am totally putting a waterfall structure like this in my house. --- more marble inlays. sad... you can see where the gemstone pieces were stolen.
---
it must have taken so much work and time to do all that! --- the colossal Red Fort
the entrance fees to the Red Fort read: Citizens of India - Rs. 5, Others - Rs. 100. ridiculous! even though it's only $2 usd for foreigners, what a blatant display of discrimintation. another reason why i really felt like a tourist in india.
---
after the Red Fort, we followed mukesh to a jalebi stand. YUMMERS. --- looook at that syrupy jalebi!!!
---
adriel unsure if he should give a treat to the begging dog at his feet
---
giving into the powerful eyes of the poi dog --- returning home on a rickshaw
---
we walked to the Khan Market that night to buy toiletries and other items that you can't find in China
and decided to auto-rickshaw it home!
---
waking up the next morning, still ill --- mukesh took us to the Mughal Gardens, the president's garden, that morning. entrance is fee, but the gardens are only open to the public a few weeks out of the year. i guess we got lucky
the gardens were really beautiful. i wanted to touch the petals of a flower, and mukesh started yelling, "no no no!" he told me after that he thought i was going to pick the flower. come on, i'm from hawai'i, i have respect for all flora and fauna, i know better than to do that, esp. in a garden. why do people always think i'm some kind of american idiot who doesn't know how to respect other cultures?
anyway... then mukesh dropped us off at some asian food restaurant (i know, haha) which was actually pretty good! we wanted to see what asian food was like in india because mukesh told us that his favorite chinese dish was "chilli chicken" hahaha. obviously an authentic chinese dish.
look at the spread!
---
after lunch, we headed to a market to look around at the different goods... didn't buy much but had some masala tea and ice cream --- trudging on without the cane
---
a watch repairman at another, more local, market --- stopping at Devan's Coffee & Tea to buy gifts for friends and fam
---
AD and the OX --- spent our last night at a PVR cinema because there's no real local nightlife in india. watched ghostrider (horrible movie) but it was the only movie we could make, hehe. after the movie we walked around the area for a bit, buying magazines and other goods that china can't offer.
---
our last meal in india: McDonalds! hahaha.... i never eat McDonalds (except when in Hong Kong... HK McDs kicks ass) but we needed to try the McDs here because of the vegetarian options! look, a McVeggie burger!!!
---
panner (indian cottage cheese) salsa wrap! mccurry pan shahi paneer! a vegetarian fast food heaven. --- the only time you'll ever see me eating a mcdonalds burger
---
and then the trip ended with AD looking 7 as ever.
hope you enjoyed the pictures! we went super touristy, but i'm hoping that if i ever have the chance to visit india again, i can experience more local life. ciao for now... write to you from hawaii!!
) and now to finish editing this PS and working on some Yale applications... eep! here begins the long busy week... i really hope i can find some time to study, well, other than my hour long lunch break. ciao~
and it was all JUST enough food - not too much, not too little, but juuust right.
we made the arduous trek (not really) out to Pudong's Zendai Plaza to brunch at Cafe Du Monde. jambalaya, BBQ prawns with some kind of delicious topping, pecan waffle, bacon, toast, bread, breadsticks, mocha, french drip coffee, and of course, BEIGNETS. mmmm. pictures will soon follow once i upload them all.
sob!! this past week was niiiice... i'm going to be a little heartbroken when i come home to a cat hair filled apartment.
i need to start doing whatever it was that helped keep my memory sharp. and no, eating fish has not helped - in fact, i think my memory started to disappear when i introduced seafood back into my diet. but i can't complain, as my weight finally dropped too, heehee. go protein! i'm saying this after i ate the last of the cookies in the house, eehehhehe.
Recent Comments