A super-short Delhi Trip!

My first ever trip to the capital. And I barely skimmed the surface. How much can you do in just a couple of days?

Yup, that’s all I got. This wasn’t actually a proper holiday; the husband had to make an official trip, and Cub and I tagged along. So much to do, so little time. That’s not to say that we didn’t enjoy; we loved it!! A special shoutout to Sushmita and Swapna who answered all my annoying questions patiently! Thank You!!!

The first thing I noticed was that Delhi-ites are quite well dressed, better than I have seen in Mumbai/Pune/Bangalore. They’re not OTT, but stylish, with good hair and makeup and lovely bags. No, I didn’t stare. Much. Oh, and the airport is lovely!!

It wasn’t as cold as I expected, though Sunday morning was chilly and windy. The hotel was great; Cub had heaps of fun bouncing around on the bed and swishing about in the tub. Everything was very clean and comfortable.

I wish I took pictures of the breakfast and dinner buffet – it was beautiful!!! The croissants were the best – light as air, flaky and just super yum!

Delhi traffic is a nightmare. Especially since our hotel was quite far away from any of the important locations, it took us all morning to reach Select City Walk and DLF Place malls. The malls were very good, with pretty much every major brand having a presence there. Although Cub had just one purpose for visiting the mall:

It’s a big store with three levels, but their Lego collection was disappointing. We got some nice photos, though.

The mall still had its Valentine’s Day decorations on, which was pretty.

There’s Mamma and son posing against the backdrop of a million pink hearts:

Cub took this picture of me, saying I matched the store display ;).

Cub also briefly joined the AAP…....

Another store we visited was a handicrafts store. It was almost like an art gallery!

Our second day in Delhiwas better; Sunday meant less traffic and we got more time to do some sightseeing. The Red Fort is a grand, impressive structure, much bigger than I imagined it to be.

This was followed by a crazy cycle rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk, during the course of which we saw the Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, the Gauri Shankar Shiv Temple, Jama Masjid, Meena Bazaar and of course the utter chaos that is Chandni Chowk!!!

Every samasya has a solution ;P

There are so many lanes and bylanes, with hundreds of shops. Overall, the street seems to be a bride-to-be or trousseau shopper’s haven – sarees, lehengas and everything you’ll need to make your own customized outfit. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, though Cub was a little uncomfortable. He kept complaining that there wasn’t enough space for him to sit :).

Some interestingly named food joints:

We then left to visit India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhavan. The roads in Delhi are gorgeous, anyone who’s travelled on Kerala’s pothole ridden roads will agree!

When you visit Delhi with a train crazy kid, there’s one place you can’t miss – the National Rail Museum. This place was quite good, enjoyable for kids and adults alike. There were groups of school children there in their uniforms, surprisingly well behaved :). There’s also a Joy Train which will take you on a short ride around the museum.

Cub, who dislikes posing for photos, was more than happy to oblige, next to a black engine near the museum entrance. He even did that foot-crossing pose all by himself!

There are many old engines here; some are even the oldest steam engines in the world. And the best part is that you can climb onto them and take as many pictures as you like.

There’s also an indoor museum with many models and exhibits. Really interesting stuff.

I haven’t put too many photos of the main monuments and such since they’re quite well known anyway. I chose to put in those itsy bitsy details which make a trip memorable :).

I didn’t shop much from Delhi, although it does seem to be a shopper’s paradise. I got a few things of which my favorites include these embroidered juttis:

Aren’t they pretty? We wanted to visit the World Book Fair too but there wasn’t enough time. This short trip has whetted my appetite for more. Insha Allah, next time!!