Delhi in a Day Week 2

I took the day off of work on Saturday and decided to check out a few more sites around Delhi. It was another beautiful day. There was not a cloud in the sky. It felt hotter than last weekend, I am guessing around 120. Basically I was testing myself with getting heat stroke. I was on the verge this time.

I left at 10 am. I had a different taxi driver and he took a different route which was all back roads. It took about an hour to get to the first destination. I was getting a little worried as the night before on the National Geographic channel they have a show called Kidnapped Abroad. This episode was in Ghaziabad, the part of the town I am staying in but back in 1994. Bin Laden’s right hand man lived in this town and kidnapped several Americans. That was going in the back of my head as we were going further and further into the back roads. There were even a couple dirt roads.

Finally I saw the Red Fort and new I somewhat where I was. The first destination was Jama Masjid which is India’s largest mosque. It was built by 5000 peple between 1644 and 1655. I had to take my sandals off to enter. With the beating sun, the red sandstone was intensely hot. There were a couple of burlap trails to walk on, but I think I still burnt my feet. The highlight was going into the tower. It was a narrow and winding walk. The top had a great view of the courtyard and a topside view of the marble domes.

Next I was off to Raj Ghat, the place where Mahatma Ghandi was cremated. There was a blackstone monument and an internal flame. I saw the sign saying to enter with no shoes and Leave shoes at no risk. Thinking of a couple scenes from SLumdog Millionare, I decided not to risk it and just walked around on the path that surrounded the memorial.

Next was Jantar Mantar an astromical observatory from 1700 with several measuring devices to tell time and the month. Some of the instruments looked like art work. I used the restroom and this was the first time I saw the squatter toilet.

Next was the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, or Birla Temple. It is a bright red and yellow temple that has many idols. To enter you could not wear shoes. Also any electronic devices were not allowed. They did not pat me down so I had my camera and cell on me. I did not take any pics though.

The last destination was the Humayun Tomb. This was a massive complex of tombs that was built in the 1500’s. The Rough Guides book lists this as the number 6 site to see in the area. It did not disappoint. It is a Moghal monument. Walking around I felt like the tomb raider. There were a couple hidden stairways to walk up on the roofs of a couple of the tombs. They were narrow and had bats flying around. Up on top the views were spectacular. I think I hit every building on the complex. I spent about 3.5 hours walking around.

This is where the heat stroke kicked in. When I got back to the taxi I guzzled 1.5 liters of hot water. The a/c was not cooling me down. I had 2 more spots on my list but told the driver to take me back. There was a language barrier issue. He knew 5 English words and I know about 5 Hindi words. After a half an hour ride I was starting to feel light headed. Once back to the apartment I attempted to take a cold shower, but only hot water was coming out. Then I became nauseous. Finally I mixed in a couple of Gatorade packets into the water for the electrolytes and laid on top of a few water bottles that I had in the fridge to try to cool down. After about an hour I was feeling better. I was worried for a while.

Other minor injuries were burnt red feet from walking barefoot and walking on sandstone. Today I am just going to take it easy and get as many liquids in me that I can to recover. I woke up this morning with a runny nose and a sore throat. Otherwise I am feeling ok.

Once again I took many pictures. They are posted on the picasa site.