The good news is that both Marga and I are flu free at last … (and we really hope it lasts).

Apologies to all the Internet Explorer users – there was a bug that affected the ability to view older posts. Hopefully it is fixed now. If anyone encounters a problem, please let me know. And since we are talking about the blog – if you click on any of the pictures in the blog, a larger version of the picture will open (same as on the website), and now let the blog begin …

Marga and I were invited to attend the opening of the South African Business Forum in India in Delhi. We took the opportunity to extend our stay and to take in the sights and cultural nectar that Delhi has to offer.

We were really impressed by Delhi, especially the grand and impressive streets of New Delhi and the hi-tech shimmer of Gurgaon. Delhi is a city filled with history and New Delhi is the eighth city created in the Delhi area (“Old Delhi” is the seventh).

Other than exploring the sites, we also had the wonderful opportunity to speak Afrikaans to a lot of South Africans who attended the forum.

As usual we were welcomed by an odd-looking sign:

By now we were able to recognise it as our “personalised” welcoming the moment we saw it.

Our travel report:

Qutab Minar
We first visited Qutab Minar – a 73m high tower (the highest in India). Construction started in 1193. It is a really impressive structure with lots of impressive ruins around it.

Lotus Temple
Our second stop was the Lotus temple. A very impressive structure that is one of the temples of the Bahai faith (which has temples all over the world).

India Gate
Next up was India Gate, which really comes alive at night.

Jamma Masjid
When we reached Jamma Masjid our clothing was deemed unfit, and we were issued additional clothing items to ensure that we are dressed for the occasion.

The Red Fort
The Red Fort was the base from which India was ruled from in the past. It is a large fort with impressive structures inside. Unfortunately between Arab invaders and British soldiers some of the grand decorations and exquisite (and valuable) treasures have departed from India.

Humayun’s Tomb
This very impressive tomb (which looks similar to the Taj Mahal) was built by Humayun’s wife after his demise.

Characters in Delhi

We snapped a few pictures of characters that we came across while exploring Delhi:

The not so good …

The only complaint that one can have of Delhi is related to something most major cities suffer from : pollution. We scaled a tower at Qutab Minar to get a view of the city, but it was a little hazy …

We enjoyed our time in Delhi and also got to practice some Hindi. Tourist season seems to have started and particularly at the Red Fort and Jamma Masjid there were a lot of beggars/hawkers/guides that were eager to attract any tourist’s attention. Admittedly the Hindi phrase practiced fairly often was “Nikkal Jao” which basically translates to “Get Lost”.

Pir milenge

As always we took bucket loads of photos – you can see them on www.hyd.co.za.

We had a fantastic time and next time we will definitely try to take a cycle rickshaw into Old Delhi. Here are glimpses of the “local” transport:

The weather in India is cooling down and the best time of the year to visit is upon us – so let us know if you want to experience a bit of India’s magic. Visitors are most welcome.

Pir Milenge (until we meet again)