We hired a bus to tour some sights New Delhi on Friday. We first drove by this building, which is near our hotel, the Connaught New Delhi. We never got a chance to visit it, but saw it several times.
Here's another local building that we never visited.
We wanted to see the Lotus Temple. It is an opening nine-petaled lotus flower, symbol of purity. It is surrounded by nine pools of water. The gardens are beautiful. Zillions of school children were touring, all saying "Hi! How are you?" and trying to shake our hands. No pictures are allowed inside. It's a Baha'i house of worship.
Next stop, Old Fort, Purana Quila. Here are May Britt, Mette, Silje, Madelein, Lise and Elna. It's in ruins, but was the seat of administration for many emporors.
The last stop was what we kept calling Azkaban, the wizard prison in Harry Potter. It's actually Akshardham Temple, a magnificent and new Hindu complex. It opened in 2005. We were all blown away by it. It has carvings of peacocks (peace), elephants, and gods or people on every surface. You have to look at the pictures on their website, since no electronic devices are allowed inside, not even cell phones. Click on "Carvings", "Murtis" and "Pillars", in particular.
Here are some other sights, these from the day I arrived. We took a couple of autorickshaws to go see things, but mostly they were closed, because of security on the day before Republic Day.
We had a great time with Vandita. She and her aunt helped the guys and me pick clothes. The other women had already bought their clothes. Her aunt helped with alterations, too. With their help, we really looked good at both the henna party and at the wedding. Everybody said so!
That's enough blogging. It was a great adventure. I am so glad we all got to go to India and to Vandita's wedding!
At night, it was lit beautifully
The India Gate is the start for the Republic Day parade. At night, it had a flame on top, and the colors of the flag, red, white and green striped across the top in lights.
Another contrast of India, the beautiful Lotus temple, and the surrounding neighborhood
Running across the street back to the bus!
The last stop was what we kept calling Azkaban, the wizard prison in Harry Potter. It's actually Akshardham Temple, a magnificent and new Hindu complex. It opened in 2005. We were all blown away by it. It has carvings of peacocks (peace), elephants, and gods or people on every surface. You have to look at the pictures on their website, since no electronic devices are allowed inside, not even cell phones. Click on "Carvings", "Murtis" and "Pillars", in particular.
Here are some other sights, these from the day I arrived. We took a couple of autorickshaws to go see things, but mostly they were closed, because of security on the day before Republic Day.
Lise and May Britt with their favorite autorickshaw driver
The Red Fort behind barricades
Mahatma Ghandi's Memorial through the gates.
Mahatma Ghandi's Museum was open. It was very poignant.
That evening, Vandita met us at Lajpad Nagar, a shopping area that is supposed to be the best place to buy clothes. Below is the picture from the KFC where we ate, looking back the way we came.
That's enough blogging. It was a great adventure. I am so glad we all got to go to India and to Vandita's wedding!
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