DAY 21- Saket B & B & Delhi delights
A stay at Saket B & B is like sleeping at a mates place. The rooms are simple but have everything needed, and a nice bathroom with hot water and strong water pressure in the shower, often a bonus in India – all spotlessly clean. We loved the free WiFi.
We thought the location in Saket was great if you like to be in a quiet non-touristy area away from the pandemonium of downtown Delhi. It is a short stroll to the metro and a 25 minute ride to Connaught Place costing 18 Rs one way. The Metro was easy to navigate and we even found a women’s only carriage.
Everyone at Saket B & B was really friendly and helpful; whether it was arranging transport for us, suggesting a good takeaway menu for dinner, or the staff getting up for our crack of dawn departures to hand us a packed breakfast and to ensure that we were safely on our way…
Saket’s breakfast room
Today we hired a guide to show us the sights of Delhi. It was interesting that this comprised soley on showing us monuments and buildings and often the best bits of travelling in India are about meeting the people and the sights getting to/from the sights….
like the ‘it’s a wonder the lights ever work and no-one is electrocuted’ wiring…..
Rickshaw power
Choosing your goat….
That said you can’t disagree that the rich history and splendid buildings are amazing…. here are some of our best bits of the day…
The people at the Sikh temple were so nice…. we left our shoes in a special visitors room and were given an orange head scarf. Then with bare feet we walked through the wet cement of a construction site, arriving completely grubby at a washing station to wash our feet and hands as is the custom to cleanse before entering the temple….
A smartly dressed man in a bright red turban, overhearing our guides introduction to the Sikh Temple, jumped in to explain the workers were all volunteers and we watched mesmerized as basket after basket of wet cement was passed between people to lay a new floor at the Temple entrance…
We were also shown the Sikh langar or common kitchen, where vegetarian food is prepared daily to feed hundreds of people. Whatever your religion you can eat as an equal, again prepared by volunteers…
The largest Sikh temples in Delhi provide for 50,000 – 70,000 meals a day
Humayans tomb 1565-72 AD is a world Heritage site beautiful building and ground. a 100 graves and is where the Obama’s were taken on their recent visit to Delhi,
A beautiful example of early Mughal architecture built in the 16th century
Qubt Minar complex we arrived at the beautiful religious buildings at sunset and it is easy to see why they form one of Delhi’s most spectacular sights.
Qutb Minar 1193 AD – mighty victory tower dates from the onset of Islamic rule in India
Queasy -ul-Islam Masjid – India’s first Mosque known as the might of Islam Mosque
Outside the main gates we were drawn to the lights and singing of prayer..
It was a fitting magical end to our last day in Delhi…. off to the airport now!
Little Wandering WrenI
Location:Delhi
