Back to Delhi

From Leh we flew back into crowded Delhi for one day on our way to Taj Mahal. It’s at least 5 C° cooler than the first day we arrived in Delhi, but it’s still extremely hot!
This time, we know exactly how it goes at New Delhi Station, so we ignore everyone that would try to speak to us and go directly to the hostel and restaurant street, called main bazaar, where we ask other backpackers for a good hostel. They take us to a nice place that is unfortunately full but right next to it there’s another one that is not bad. We leave our things there and go for a quick Delhi tour in one day.
What shocked us the most was the difference between above and underground Delhi:

ABOVEGROUND DELHI
Transportation means are mainly Rickshaws and motorbikes flowing through chaotic and dirty streets.

The whole family is packed onto the bike

helmet is the father’s privilege!

UNDERGROUND DELHI

Delhi underground is another story. The new metro is the pride of the people, although many of them can’t pay for it (or think they can’t: a ride through the city costs no more than on a rickshaw). Everything is sparkling clean, you can’t eat or drink and people behave actually like one would expect in a civilized city: no spitting and of course giving priority to pregnant women and disabled people.

We chat calmly with our nice neighbor, who gives us a metro map and is really happy to help foreigners. No tip asked! WOW…above ground it’s another story.

These pictures were taken right below the street pictures with rickshaws and a loooot of spitting…

SIGHTSEEING IN DELHI
We start our sightseeing in Old Delhi with the red fort and the mosque.

View from the red fort onto the street Chandni Chowk

Inside the red fort with its

majestic islamic architecture

The Jama Asjid Mosque, with an amazing view over the mosque’s 

courtyard, the city and the fort in thr background

The main “ablution” basin, where people

wash their feet before entering the mosque

People praying

Every bit of shade must be used!

We then headed to the Qutb (read “qutub”) Minar Complex, dating from the islamic rule in India. The most amazing thing here is the huge babel-like victory tower .We can’t get enough of it and stay until the sunset...

72.5m high!

One of the governors who followed Qutb-ud-din Aybak (it's commissioner) wanted to build a second tower that would be twice as high as the Qutb Minar. Sadly, this one was never finished!

Islamic gate

Sweating and looking like bummers (which is usually the case when you are backpacking), we end our busy day at a fancy restaurant in the british style neighborhood called connaught place in New Delhi, where I think we can enter just because we are western...Indian people here look much more fancy than this:

The place is expensive but we don’t mind paying extra for having our first western-flavour dinner of the trip.

The Connaught Place