Melbourne to Delhi..

Departure day is here.  It’s been a long, anxious road to get this far, but I have no doubt the next 2 weeks will be worth the stress.  Looking back no one else showed any signs at all of this trip for me being anything but normal.  But for me this is all so far from what ‘my normal’ has been for the past 12 years.  Two months ago an overseas journey was the furthest thing from my mind – children, husband, work, household – the list goes on.  But here I am embarking on what surely will be another trip of a lifetime with two of the most important women in my life.

I was worried about how the girls, Isla in particular, would be when saying goodbye.  Especially as kinder drop offs are so traumatic for her – how will she cope for 15 sleeps!!  I couldn’t quite believe what I was seeing as she waved with excitement as we pulled away – looking from a distance you might have thought I was arriving home after a long time away!!  And there in the background the two older girls, ever so knowing, were sad behind their smiles.   Who would’ve thought.

So the hard bit over….let’s do this!!!

The flights were uneventful – I haven’t flown Singapore Airlines for a long time, they are still a great airline.  Except for the serving of curry at 3 am – not the preferred mealtime in anyone’s books I wouldn’t think!!!

We had two days in Delhi.  The first on our own and at our leisure.  We flew into Delhi at 6 am so it was a long day in the end!!  But we did manage to engage a driver for the afternoon and saw Akshar Dham Temple, The Red Fort, and India Gate.  The pictures tell the rest of the story….

Day 2 in Delhi was officially the first day of our 14-day tour.  A full day tour of New and Old Delhi.  It began in Old Delhi at Raj Ghat – where Ghandi was cremated and a small amount of his ashes still remain.  A large garden and courtyard have been built as a memorial – a very peaceful place in the centre of a city that is far from peaceful.

It was then on to Old Delhi – the Charwri Bazaar – just waking up at the late hour of 11 (this is my kind of start time!!).  We wandered through the bazaar marveling at both the buildings and the goods housed inside.  Tiny ancient lane ways, power cables hanging dangerously low, men with cobras springing out of baskets and every type of button, lace and fabric you could ever want or need…

After a visiting a Sikh Temple – where they serve 20,000 people a day in their food hall (what an operation – all voluntary too) – we took a Tuk Tuk ride to the spice markets.  It was different from what I had anticipated and we didn’t venture far into the 3 km long market.  We stopped and tried ‘real cinnamon’, smelt delicious mango tea and sampled some traditional chai tea – before I bought enough spice to feed over 500 people!!  YUM!!

We left Old Delhi and it’s madness and headed for Humayun's Tomb.  Built for the Great Grandfather of the man who built the Taj Mahal.  This tomb was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.  It was a magnificent place to visit – grounds, buildings and the tomb itself – wonderful.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped for a quick look at the Presidential Palace and the Ministerial buildings – built nearly 100 years ago by the British.

Our first two days have been a fantastic introduction to India – I feel like we’ve been dropped at ground zero – straight into the madness.  Although our guide today told us ‘it’s chaos….organised chaos!”  I’m yet to see the organized part – it certainly is chaos though.  But what ever it is it works – everyone eventually gets where they need to go!!