Agra - home of the Taj Mahal

The supposed highlight of my trip to India was a visit to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died after giving birth to their 14th child.

The Taj Mahal site plan consists of these:

1.The Moonlight Garden to the north of the Yamuna.
2.Terrace area: Tomb, Mosque and Jawab.
3.Charbagh (gardens).
4.Gateway, attendant accommodations, and other tombs.
5.Taj Ganji (bazaar)

Our initial plan was to wake up at 5am to catch the sunrise. Somehow waking up during winter is always so difficult. The cold made made just want to cuddle in bed and not wake up. On top of that, the cold shower the night before only made me colder. I wanted the warmth of the sun so badly.

After much procrastination, we managed to get up at 5.30am and took a cab to Taj Mahal. The fog was so thick and I could badly see what's in front of me.

Arriving at Taj Mahal, we were approached by a 'tour guide' who brought us to the ticketing booth to purchase our entry tickets and offered to bring us in, claiming that he was the official tour guide to show tourists around. He then threw statistics at us, telling us the number and types of tourists that he has shown around. Thinking that the tour guide came along with the ticket (since the ticket wasn't cheap, costing about SGD $20), we allowed him to bring us around in Taj Mahal.

The fog was so thick and I couldn't see the Taj Mahal from the entrance. It was only when I was right in front of the Taj Mahal structure itself had I managed to see the beautiful white structure. At first look, however, it did not impress. Maybe it was the fog which made the structure look dirty or maybe the years of wear and tear have proved to have taken a toll on the structure.

As we walked closer into the building of the mosque, the tour guide started to tell us more about the story of the Taj Mahal and the reason behind the architecture of the structures of the Taj Mahal. It was then that I'd realise how much of an engineering and architectural feat it was for the people back then. I always envy the royal family back in the past. They were so rich that they can spend lavishly, building something for their own purpose.

I shall now let the photos do the talking. I have got really bad photos because the fog was really really thick! =((

The Taj Mahal mosque or masjid

 

Interior of the masjid

The Taj Mahal

 

The Taj Mahal and the river Yamuna, reflecting the Taj Mahal

 

A photo of us standing outside and taken from inside of the Taj Mahal - the pentagonal tiles served as a very good frame!

After briefly bringing us around the Taj Mahal area, the tour guide then brought us out of of the backdoor of the Taj Mahal into a street that sold white marble Taj Mahals at exorbitant prices. He assured us that we will be able to re-enter the Taj Mahal later even though we were leaving it now. He then brought us into a shop and the shop keeper started selling us different products, all of which we have no money to pay for. Knowing that we must have been tricked into going into a shop so that the tour guide can earn commission should we be forced to buy the things, we wanted to leave the shop. However, just as we stood up to walk out of the shop, the shop keeper started throwing discounts to his products and selling us cheaper stuff. Persistent that we wanted to leave, he then angrily hurled comments at us in Hindi. Thankfully I cannot understand a single word that he was saying and could walk out of the shop without feeling bad or uncomfortable.

We wanted to re-enter Taj Mahal because we were not done with sightseeing that area. However, our 'tour guide' then told us that we had to pay him a small fee to re-enter the place because we were already out of it. Thankfully the guys were really insistent on not paying and started arguing with him about how he had promised us re-entry into the place. The tour guide made a few phone calls, probably complaining to his partner about how he couldn't squeeze out any money out of us and plotting about more plans to try to trick us. After much time wasted arguing with the tour guide, we got our tickets back from him to re-enter the premises. I guess the key to all these is persistence!

Indian men are such a cute and friendly bunch of people. I was sitting somewhere, waiting for the rest who had gone to the toilet and suddenly, one Indian man approached me and asked if he could take a picture with me. Slightly wary and afraid, I agreed for fear of offending them, while secretly hoping that the rest of my group would quickly return.

The first photo

After that photo, his friends seemed to come out of nowhere and one by one, they sat beside me to take a photo with me. I became like a sightseeing figure, posing for photos with them. Yet I have to admit that I was slightly flattered, becoming an instant celebrity at that moment.

The second photo

 

The third photo

It was taking too much time queueing up to take a one on one photo with me, that they decided that they will take a photo with me together.

My friends, finally saw what was happening and had arrived back and so it became evident that I wasn't alone and we all had to settle for a group photo with everyone.

Leaving Taj Mahal, I was filled with mixed emotions. I was disappointed that the fog was so bad that I couldn't really get to appreciate the true beauty of one of the seven wonders in the world. On top of that, it was so crowded that I couldn't fully immerse myself into details of the place before being bumped into by someone. Yet I have to admit that the architecture was really sleek and having to build such a place back then must have been much work and effort, which explains why they took 12 years to finish the whole project.

At the exit of Taj Mahal, I was cornered by Indian kids, asking me to buy the keychains of Taj Mahal that they were selling. Not knowing what to do, I continued walking and they only became more persistent and I relented and bought from one of them and the rest walked away. Only walking 10 steps or less further, more kids approached me to buy the same item which I had just bought and they started quoting prices even less than what I had paid for. It was sad seeing the kids spend their childhood earning a living for survival. My heart bled and I wanted so much to just buy everything from every kid who was selling their items on the streets but I don't have that type of money. Upon much thought, I wondered if these kids were working for a syndicate and forced to the streets to sell the products to gain the symphathy of people like us. What a pity that these kids have to grow up faster than they should, reaching a maturity level much higher than us students who are still in the university simply because they have to earn money for survival.

Merry Christmas - Delhi, a transition to Agra

Merry Christmas! Swee Geok and I finally made it to Delhi. Coming out from the train station, we were clueless as to where we should go. Somehow being in India has made me realise how confused I can get. Is it being in a foreign land? Or is it because India is flooded with people? Or is it because we are constantly being harrassed by the locals?

Upon stepping out of the train, we knew that we had to go to the metro (subway) station to take the metro. As we walked, we found ourselves at the ticketing booth of the train station and got stopped by some random locals who asked us if we wanted train tickets. The three Singaporean guys who we were supposed to meet for the first time in the evening had already secured the train tickets from Delhi to Agra and so I declined the local's offer of selling the ticket to us. "We already have tickets. Thanks." He then asked, "Is it going from New Delhi train station or Old Delhi? Because now New Delhi have fire. The train tracks are burned down. The train cannot go from New Delhi but only from Old Delhi. My ticket from Old Delhi." I looked at Swee Geok and we both looked each other. Without speaking, we knew what was passing through each other's minds. That must have been a lie. We had heard enough of lies from books and the internet to believe what the locals were saying. "No thanks. I think we have got tickets already. Thanks. Really." I said, brushing them off and trying to find an escape route amongst the many human barriers.

WOW! New Delhi's is no doubt the capital of India, bustling with life and is constantly so vibrant. After being lost for a few more minutes and being followed by another two more India men who wanted to 'bring' us to the metro station, we finally met this very kind Indian man who told us that he was going to the metro and for us to follow him. For some reason, I let my guard down and decided to follow him despite having zero trust in the other two men who were following us. I suppose it was because he was decently dressed, did not seem pushy and seemed to sincerely want to save us from our predicarment of being harrassed by two strangers.

We finally made it to New Delhi's metro station and with the help of two kind Indian women, bought our subway 'ticket', which was actually a coin. The two Indian women were so kind that they ended up paying for our ticket and refused our offer of returning the money to them!

The Delhi metro map

The metro station was filled with security and checks had to be made before you enter the station. Just like in airports, we had to put our bags to scan and there were police officers station at the scan check stations. It was pretty scary seeing such tight security even in metro stations, because it'd make you wonder if such measures were put up because of how unsafe the metro is with all the terrorist activities. Ahh, how I have always taken for granted how safe it is taking the MRT (subway) in Singapore.

There was 2-3 strictly female cabins on one metro train and we decided to take that after hearing horror stories of how jam packed the other cabins can be and how men just rush in and touch you on the pretext that the cabin is too crowded. How thankful was I for the strictly female cabin because I was wondering how I'd try to protect myself from the sexual harrassment acts.

Upon getting into the train, I finally witnessed how kind the locals can get, unlike what we experience back in Singapore. As we were carrying big backpacks, a local actually got up to offer us her seat thinking that our backpack might be too heavy. How kind! I was really touched by her offer. Because we were looking through the lonely planet book, locals started talking to us and offering us directions and suggestions on how we could get to the place that we wanted to.

We alighted at Patel Chowk metro station, which was where the metro museum was housed and unknowingly set eyes at our first sightseeing venue in New Delhi. The station was otherwise pretty basic and empty. There was construction going on at the surroundings of the station. You can really see how New Delhi has so much land for growth and improvement. Tuk-tuks (Autos) were waiting outside and once again, locals surrounded us and we had to bargain for the best deal to get to the shopping complex that we wanted to. I like how the locals can all speak a splatter of English because they need to do business. That's life, having to learn for survival but it's such a beauty of life, seeing how adaptable human beings are to circumstances.

 

This is how close the cars drive to one another and how skilful each driver is because they can easily cut through spaces and gaps when they see one, after much honking

 

People and cars have equal usage of the road

 

We finally reached the West gate mall and I felt a sense of relief having finally returned to civilisation. Shimla had no malls like this and it was indeed back to city life for the city girl! The Christmas spirit was felt and there were decorations everywhere. Starving and feeling rich, we headed to T.G.I.F for lunch and ordered the Christmas feast and a beef steak, of which they used a buffalo which turned out to be really tough.

Lunch at T.G.I.F

 

Christmas at West Gate Mall

There was a Christmas celebration right outside of West Gate Mall and people on slits were walking around. It was a fairy theme and there were lucky draws to be won and games to be played. I felt like I had gone back in time to my childhood days and felt so happy to be there. Guess who I met? I bumped into a malnutritioned Santa Claus and he even gave me a handful of chocolates! Yayy! My first Christmas present!

After having so much fun, we made our way to New Delhi metro station to meet the three Singaporean guys - Ryan, Clarence and Jerome to catch the train from New Delhi to Agra. While waiting for the guys, Swee Geok and I witnessed a fight whereby an Indian man was kicked and punched by the policemen till he fell on the floor. Subsequently, that guy was dragged out of the station by the policemen. It was such a sad sight as we saw him being dragged away, leaving behind his slipper. Apparently, he had tried to cheat on the fare and attempt to enter the metro gates without a ticket. With such tight security in the metro stations, the gates almost cannot be penetrated. I suppose when you are desperate and have no money, the hope of escaping the eyes of the law will exist. Sigh.

We finally met up with the guys and made our way to the train to Agra!

Shimla to Kalka to Delhi

The toy train from Shimla brought us to Kalka, a place where Swee Geok and I knew nothing about at about 10PM. I knew that we'd have to stop at Kalka for a couple of hours before taking the train from Kalka to Delhi early in the morning at about 5AM, but I did not know where we were and what we were to do in the wee hours of the night spent in Kalka train station.

Kalka train station was basic - it had a few chairs which were empty and some rooms with lights switched on. Other than that, the place was dark. we were the only foreigners over there. We got a few stares from some people as we paced up and down in the dark, trying to figure out where we should head to. In the end, we decided to head into one of the rooms which was lit up because it felt safer. There were a couple of rooms and we went into the third-class room which was free instead of the first-class room whereby we will have to pay based on the number of hours that we stayed in there.

Many people were already resting in the room and we settled for a corner seat, in hope that nobody will notice us because we were at the corner. Of course, everyone who entered that room ever now and then stared at us at least once. There were whispers, murmurs and obvious pointing at us. Nobody really smiled but I did not dare to smile as well. I was afraid. The people who entered the room were noticeably the darker Indians (presumely the Southern Indians) and dressed simply and plainly.

People who came seemed really well-prepared to spend the night at the train station. They had pillows and large blankets which they laid on the floor and to cover themselves. The parents will rock the children to sleep before falling asleep themselves. The power of love from parents. As time passed, the number of people in the room grew and space became limited. Swee Geok and I were still stuck to the same corner chair, hugging out big backpacks.

When dawn arrived, I was glad to get out of that cramped place and to enter into the train to catch a wink. I had booked the first-class seats for ourselves and the train was really clean and luxurious. The people who boarded our cabin were all doned in seemingly expensive tailor-made suits. Their children were well-dressed and had thick coats to protect them from the cold. Everyone dressed elaborately and none of those who were in the same room as us at the train station followed us into that cabin.

After a few hours of sleep, I was woken up the sound of utensils clanking on the plates. Breakfast was ready to be served. Newspapers were given out to everyone so that they can read and eat at the same time and I was glad to see that we were given an English version of the newspapers!

Breakfast meal 1

Second meal on the menu for breakfast

Reading the newspaper

After breakfast, I stared out of the window. Where exactly was I passing through? My train drove past very gloomy places. I wondered if it was the fog or the smog that made the places look so depressing. Cows and wildboars strolled in landfills. In fact, the whole town seemed like a landfill. Rubbish was strewn everywhere. The kids were running around naked in the cold outside. A little toddler was squatting down on the floor, in the open, washing his eyes over a small basin of what looked like recycled water. As my train stopped for awhile, curious onlookers outside came close to the train and counted the number of wheels the train had. How many of us even care about that? There were obviously no proper sanitation and no proper care for the children. I wondered how dangerous it was if the kids had just ran in front of the train, not knowing that a train was coming.

I looked at the kids in the same cabin as me and I thought of how lucky they were compared to the kids outside. How is it that everyone ifrom the same country can have such a wide rich-poor gap? How is it that some are so rich that they can be travelling in a first class cabon while others are living a life of poverty and not even able to fulfil their basic needs in life? Life is indeed unfair.

Maybe this girl felt the same way as me

As our train grew closer to New Delhi train station, I realised what I had passed through. Those were slums that were set up on the outskirts of Delhi illegally so that they can stay near Delhi and find work over there without having to pay too much. So that was what it was like in a developing country, a sight that I will never be able to see in a small and developed Singapore.

Good bye Shimla!

Swee Geok and I had one of the scariest nights ever in our lives! It was about 9pm and we were getting tired and all ready to rest for the night in the cold winter. Switching off the lights and television, we closed our eyes to sleep. Then suddenly, the television switched on on its own. Surprised, but we thought of it as nothing and switched the television off. Then the television switched back on again and it was then that we became petrified.

"What should we do?" Swee Geok asked softly.

"If it wants to watch the television then just leave it on." I calmly replied, surprised at my own answer. I prayed hard to God and fell asleep quickly because I was so tired.

In the middle of the night, the loud sound of the television jolted us awake and when we tried switching it off again, it switched back on once more. I couldn't be bothered anymore and fell into deep sleep, only waking up when the sun came out.

All ready to leave the dreadful hotel room

 

When we were out of the hotel room, Swee Geok told me that she was so annoyed because she kept waking up to the sound from the television and whenever she tried switching it off, it turned back on before she finally got so pissed off that she said, "Can you stop disturbing me and let me sleep?" Then she switched it back off and it never turned on. What was it that happened that night? I never could understand and I never want to find out. I was just glad that nothing bad happened that night.

A beautiful morning - view from our room before we left

It was a beautiful morning and based on the recommendations from Lonely Planet, we decided to visit this cafe called Embassy Restaurant. It's a quaint restaurant made of wooden planks that was at the top of the hill and hence overlooked the whole of Shimla. It gave me the vibes of a treehouse and being in there gave me a feeling of how it would have been had I been able to grow up in a treehouse when I was younger. I liked the place immediately once I entered and the owner of the restaurant is so knowledgeable, chatty and kind.

The interior of Embassy Restaurant

We chose the booth seat and had a good view of the outside. We were the only ones in the restaurant and it was quiet and comfortable. It was one of those days that you could just sit back and relax and allow time to pass.

Food from Embassy Restaurant

 

 

You know how I don't exactly like Tomato soup because of the overwhelming sour taste but this was one of the better Tomato soups I have tried. The soup was piping hot, which was comforting, and had a little sour (not overwhelmingly sour) and peppery taste which I like. I like how the soup is put in a cup, which allows you to sip without having to use a spoon. It's more like a drink than a soup.

 

While waiting for our food, the kind uncle in the restaurant offered us his homemade chocolates with almonds which isn't on the menu, but specially for us. They were one of the best chocolates that I have ever eaten. I am never a fan of chocolates and I will usually pass when offered one but I am quite a fan of nuts and so I wouldn't mind trying the combination of chocolate and nuts because the chocolate flavour enhances the otherwise pretty bland flavour of nuts. I wanted to ask him if I could buy some of the chocolates from him but since he said that they weren't on the menu, I felt bad and greedy to ask for more because he gave them to us for free.

My main course wasn't on the menu either, but one of the specials that the owner had prepared for the day. I forgot what it was but the bun was delicious!

I finished off my meal with a banana walnut cake. Since I am a fan of both banana and walnut, this cake really suit my tastebuds. The cake was soft, moist and fluffy and had just the right amount of banana essence and walnuts - crunchy walnuts every other bite of soft and fluffy banana cake. Mmmm.

We met this Indian family at Embassy Restaurant which had visited Singapore before. We hit it off with the family rather easily and took a photo with them before we left the restaurant.

After breakfast, Swee Geok and I proceeded to explore the rest of Shimla based on the sights in the Lonely Planet. Again, I shall let the pictures do the talking.

A view from Embassy Restaurant

A pretty house that looked like a castle

 

The mayor's house

 

Their cute postboxes of different shapes and sizes

 

Himachal Emporium

 

What comes into your mind when you first hear the word Emporium? It means that it's a shopping mall that will allow you to buy anything and everything from clothes to shoes etc etc. When we first saw this place on the lonely planet, we were delighted to know of a shopping place in Shimla and were dying to find this place. However, after so much trouble finding this place, we were so disappointed but amused to 1. find it closed and 2. sold nothing much. Nevertheless, it's a pretty building which is rather old and gives off the retro vibes.

 

View from ground level

 

To get from place to place, we needed to often climb up steep slopes like those in the background of the above picture. Thankfully there were fences for us to hold, otherwise I might have toppled down the hill as I made my way up. Sometimes just be careful because the fences have weathered a lot of wear and tear and haven't gone through much repair so I actaully felt scared when I held on to the fences. There's always this sense of satisfaction when I see something beautiful or have reached my destination after climbing up really steep slopes.

 

Signboard of the state bank of India - Shimla

 

We saw this sign and I was about to snap a photo of the building but was stopped by someone and had to settle to take a photo of the signboard instead.

 

Beautiful view from a lookout point

 

It was such a breath-taking view of the whole of Shimla from the lookout point. I was in awe as I just stood there looking. I love mountains and hills and it was my first time being on top of a mountain, seeing everything down below. It gave me a feeling of power, as if I owned everything down below. I wanted to capture that feeling and moment forever. 

 

Railway Board Building

 

Gorton Castle

 

I really liked Gorton Castle. I liked the brick walls on the outside and the colours of the place that I took so many photos over there. I found Gorton Castle really pretty but maybe that's becuase I have never been to Europe before. Swee Geok said that there are a lot of better looking castles over there. Ahh. I really long for royalty life. HAHAHA!

 



Buying water off the authentic 'Mama' shop

 

A whole day was coming to an end and we had to catch the Shimla - Kalka toy train, which is a UNESCO Heritage site. at 5:30PM. I was really excited to be able to see what this toy train was all about. Always a kid at heart, the word toy made me smile a lot because it made the train sound so cute. We made our way to the Northern Railway in Shimla thanks to the directions given by the locals and guess what we saw?! 

 

The exterior of the toy train

 

The exterior of the toy train was so pretty and painted with my favourite colour - red. The design though simple, made me feel happy. The toy train is supposed to be a UNESCO Heritage Site because it passes through very scenic views but we were taking it in the evening after sunset and so we weren't able to see much in the dark. What a pity. I will be back to take it again someday!

 

Saying goodbye to Shimla

We were lucky becaues I managed to book the first class seats thanks to Srmuthi! Her dad helped us book the train tickets using his credit card. Apparently when we went at that time, train tickets can only be booked by a local Indian credit card or at a local tour agency. The first class service was of course, first class. We had a tea break and dinner served to us through the night.

Up the hill to the hill station, Shimla

Swee Geok and I slept like babies through the overnight bus journey from New Delhi to Shimla. Our initial plan was for one of us to keep awake so that we'd be able to watch each others' belongings and to protect each other from anything. However, the lack of sleep for almost 48 hours was too much for us to bear and we couldn't stop our heavy eyelids from closing. Even the loud horns by our bus driver through the night did not wake us up at all.

Thankfully we were so sleepy and could sleep through the journey because when we woke up, we'd realise that the grandpa behind us was puking so badly as the bus was going up the mountain road. Once we heard him puke, we convinced ourselves to head to bed immediately. It worked and we survived that journey. The bus was otherwise pretty safe (on the road and inside the bus itself) and luxurious because we had gotten the more expensive ticket and hence was more of a quality. Afterall, what you pay for is what you get.

Shimla wasn't where we had wanted to go initially. We had planned Kashmir into our itinerary but just at the time that we were about to leave for India, we had read on the news that there were bombings in that area because of the territorial rights between Pakistan and India. It was then that I read on a travel guidebook about Shimla and saw how beautiful the pictures were! I wanted to go there! Shimla is a hill station in Northern India, once colonized by the British so many buildings in that area were architecturally designed with a touch of the British architecture. They really looked so pretty on pictures and I really wanted to see them for myself!

Once we stepped foot on land of Shimla, dozens of Indian men were hoarding around the bus, asking if we wanted to take their taxis/if we already had accomodation. Having read stories about how many locals will often make up a story about the place that you had prebooked, eg. the hotel that you have booked has been burned down, because they want you to follow them to their hotel so that they can earn from you, we decided to ignore them.

However because we were evidently tourists, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't shake away the people who followed us. So we kept walking away from them and faster and faster because we were afraid. The people following us continued to give us false information about our hotel, saying how far it was and that it was already fully booked. As we did not know where the hotel was located and not knowing where to go, we stopped someone and took out the map and address to navigate. They still continued to crowd around us, intensifying our fears. When it was obvious that we were very persistent on staying at the hotel that we had prebooked, they then gave us false directions and made us walk backwards, further away from our destination.

Finally, when they decided that we were never going to follow them, they left us. Not knowing where we were and how to make it to our hotel, we asked the drivers who had followed us initially if we could then take their 'taxi' to bring us to our hotel. Surprisingly, they turned us down and simply pointed to a random direction for us to walk because our hotel 'is very near', or so they claimed! I knew immediately that they were obviously only interested in earning the commission that they could get from the hotel when they bring in tourists and that they were uninterested in earning the transportation money.

It was difficult finding our hotel but after asking many people (some of whom gave us wrong directions), we finally managed to take the public bus and with much walking, made it to our hotel, which was on top of a hill! We were exhausted from walking up the hill with our heavy backpack, but relieved to have finally made it to our nest! Guess what? The person at the reception then said that the hotel was fully booked and that we were to be transferred to another hotel. Thankfully someone drove us to the next hotel!

The hotel that we stayed in was horrible. It was winter and there was no heater and no hot water. We had to shower in winter with icy cold water! Having always had difficulties showering with cold water, the need to shower in winter with cold water was painful for me. My feet no longer had any sort of feeling after having walked through so much in the cold before reaching our hotel and I was really freezing! I had not packed enough clothings and the right footwear for a 10 degrees celsius place. After bath, I could no longer feel anything at all. My whole body was shaking and I only felt pain everywhere.

The only saving grace of that hotel was probably the hilltop view that we could get because we got the best room! Our room did not have many walls and was instead plastered with floor to ceiling windows so we had a great view of what was outside!

The beautiful view from our room

 

Having showered and feeling all clean, despite freezing, Swee Geok and I were both all ready to explore Shimla! I will allow the pictures to speak a thousand words about what we saw in Shimla!

Clean and fresh, all ready to set off!

 

The stacks and stacks of houses on the hill

I find it impressive how the people from the past managed to transport all the required materials up the hill, given the fact that the roads and infrastructure as well as machinery were limited back then. On top of that, I like how neat the houses are stacked. They look like books on a bookshelf - rows and rows of houses. It was even a more beautiful sight at night when the lights of the houses brighten up the whole hill, like stars in the sky.

Yayy to only human traffic!

 

Look at what a dork I am - wearing socks with my sandals on. I did not bring shoes despite the fact that it was winter and I hadn't been around to buy a pair of shoes as yet. So I had to innovate and socks with sandals seemed to help warm my feet up! Who cares about looking silly? I am overseas anyway!

It was recommended on the lonely planet to take the lift up to see the whole view of Shimla but it was a disappointed. All that we saw was this

Maggi set up a tent and was giving out free maggi soup for tasting and of course, I couldn't miss out on that! The hot soup was so comfortable for my cold hands and stomach. Even though I really don't like tomato soup, I couldn't help but appreciate it as I slowly savoured every sip. The population in India is really big and it's possible to squeeze in through the crowd. As you can see, there's simply no gap between people and you cannot even see the table where they serve the soup! Of course, Liyi the great always has her ways to get food! Oh yeah! I finally bought a pair of shoes for my feet!

 

As we continued walking, we chanced upon a christmas celebration by the YMCA and sat at the amphitheatre to watch the performance by the local children.

 

 

 

The old post office in Shimla which is still in use

 

 

Our first meal - Dinner



Finally in New Delhi!

24 hours later camping in LCCT, Swee Geok and I were finally on our way to board the plane to New Delhi. We were so excited yet exhausted from a lack of sleep. Not forgetting that it also meant that we did not shower for the past 24 hours.

Happy yet exhausted and dirty

 



Onboard the plane, we tried to catch as much sleep as possible, since we felt more comfortable than lying on the floor of the airport. When I finally opened my eyes, I woke up to something so beautiful outside the window.

The sun setting from above the clouds

 

Fast forward time and we made finally made it to New Delhi's international airport after an initial flight delay at KL. The next task we had to accomplish was to ensure that we'd be able to make it to the interstate bus terminal to catch the pre-booked 10pm overnight bus to Shimla. 

 

Upon going out of New Delhi's airport, we were freezing! As we spoke, we could see the condensation clouds forming from our mouths. We were finally in Incredible India! It was an unbelievable feeling because visiting a country so culturally and climatically different from Singapore wasn't what I had intended. Yet I was finally in India after having suffered a sleepless night at the airport in KL, having missed my flight. It was exhilirating and exciting!

 

The taxi from the airport to the bus terminal drove crazily. Despite the fact that there were lines painted on the road to divide the road into lanes, nobody once followed them. Horns were blared every now and then. The roads were dimly lit and I was slightly afraid and unsure if the taxi will ever bring us to our destination. I have heard enough stories before leaving Singapore.

 

The interstate bus terminal was a wreck. It was a very simple parking area behind an abandoned building. When the taxi driver stopped at the road right outside the abandoned building, a thousand fears ran through my mind! I have such an imaginative mind that I started wondering if he'd probably just throw us there/maybe there were his friends in that building waiting to do something bad to us. Not being able to speak much English, he kept pointing towards the direction of the building. Not knowing what to do, we smiled at the driver and bade farewell before walking cautiously into the building.

 

The building was dark and there were wooden planks strewn all over the floor. There were spaces which probably used to be doors/windows. Some window frames were left behind without the window panes. It was as if someone tried to destroy the building but decided that it was too much trouble to do so and left it as it was.

Afraid and unsure where to go to, Swee Geok and I stopped our tracks halfway when suddenly an Indian guy, seemingly aware where we wanted to go, pointed downstairs. We took a flight of stairs down and what greeted us was a bustling crowd.

There were shop vendors selling some dough and I suppose Lassi. Everyone took around the shop vendor, taking turns to buy the dough and to dip them into the pots of gravy which were communal for everyone to share. The carpark was packed with buses and human beings. Everyone stared a lot at us because we were the only Chinese around.