PARO, BHUTAN to NEW DELHI, INDIA
Fri Apr 1, 2016
We woke up early for our flight from Paro to New Delhi to begin the India portion of the trip. The flight was clear and beautiful, with magnificent views of the Himalaya’s, including Mount Everest. Unfortunately we were sitting on the opposite side of the plane, and could only peek around peoples heads to see out the windows of the other side.
After a 2 hour flight, we arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport. After going through customs and collecting our luggage, we met our transportation to the hotel in New Delhi. We were staying at the Claridges, in the heart of New Delhi. A beautiful luxury hotel, which is a couple of steps above our normal accommodations — we couldn’t have asked for a better place to start our India trip. Upon our arrival at the hotel, we meet Pushpendra, our guide for the next 14 days.
On this trip, we are travelling with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), a group which specializes in soft adventure travel for small groups. For the India portion, the five of us who traveled to Bhutan will be joined by ten additional travelers, for a total of 15 on the trip. During our voyage, we will be visiting:
– New and Old Delhi, the capital of India
– Jaipur, the pink city of Rajasthan
– Ranthambhore, a National Park to search for tiger’s in the wild
– Agra, the ancient capital of India, home of the Taj Mahal
– Khajuraho, the site of magnificent ancient Hindu and Jain temples, and
– Varanasi, India’s “Holy City” on the banks of the Ganges River
Although the India portion of our trip officially starts tomorrow, several of us walked to the nearby Birla House, house where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Inside the house were many videos, photographs and displays of the life and death of Gandhi. Gandhi’s bed and few possessions are still in the house, along with “footprints” showing where he walked until he was shot three times in the chest by Nathuram Godse, a militant Hindu nationalist. The actual location is marked by a gazebo and a memorial.
Walking back to the hotel, we note that New Delhi is nothing like our impressions of India. The beautiful tree lined streets are wide and spacious. We later learn the New Delhi was built by the British to house the upper crust and elite.
After a quite dinner at the hotel restaurant, we headed to our room to prepare for the next day.
Tomorrow, we will see a very different side of the city, visiting the narrow, winding, crowded streets of Old Delhi.
