SOUTH ASIA BLOG October 19th, 2024 - DELHI

 

10/19/24– Wow, we get over ten hours of sleep and feel ready to tackle our last city of Delhi. Breakfast is more simplistic then previous stays but still enough to get us a good start and take a few pastries with us. Of course the lady at the next table is coughing quite a bit. The sickness is trying its hardest but somehow we keep dodging. Did I mention our hotel is yellow?

Our first place we want to go to is the Qutub Minar. Mostly built around 1199, this tower is part of several historically significant monuments in the complex. It takes forty minutes by Uber to get here and the ride itself cost us only $3.25. I don’t know how these drivers make any money but I definitely doubled the fare in a tip.

We get dropped off at the wrong gate and walk around to the ticket counter. There’s a line forming to get in, but since we are in the foreign line we are able to get right through (foreigners pay quite a bit more than locals). They hand us a token to scan at the gate and soon we are walking through history.

At first glance, it feels as if we're entering the Roman Forum with the ruins quite large and spread out (including one of the first mosques built by the Delhi Sultans). With the heat index around 95 already, we dance from shadow to shadow the best we can to avoid getting baked from within.

While strolling around the complex, we get stopped by a group of young men wanting to take a selfie with us. We oblige with a smile and carry on, but so funny how often this happens. We stay perhaps an hour before calling an Uber to our next location.

        

Fifty minutes through heavy traffic later (filled with locals knocking on car windows to sell their stuff), we finally arrive at Humayun’s Tomb. This is the tomb of Mughal emporer, Mirza Nasir al-Din Muhammad, and is one of the first of its kind built in 1558. 

Other tombs as well as a garden surround the complex (which later was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal almost 100 years later).

The steps to go up to the mausoleum are quite high, but well worth the sweat as the inside is quite striking. It’s now closing in on 3pm with the sun out in full force, so we book an Uber back to our hotel.

Feeling hungry, and knowing we aren’t going to find beef anywhere, we use a delivery app to order some chicken sandwiches. Mine actually says “Chicken Surprise Burger” on the wrapper so hoping for a good outcome.

Tomorrow will be our last day on this trip before heading back to New York. Not sure if we plan to do anything else or just call it early on account of exhaustion. We’ll see how we feel after breakfast.

Side note: The surprise in the chicken sandwich is spice. Of course!