Weekend 2 in Delhi Pt 2

On Sunday I continued to explore Delhi. Vinod picked me up @ 11:30 and we headed for the Mughal Gardens, which adjoins the presidential estate in central Delhi and open only a few weekends a year. We drove around a bit, through the former hunting preserve that adjoins the gardens, trying to find the entrance. Eventually we found it by following the crowd. There were a huge number of people in line to get in, and i was going to have to check my phone and camera. The security line seemed to be moving pretty slow, so i bagged it and called in Vinod for the speedy getaway. We headed for Jantar Mantar, and set of large scale astronomical instruments used for things like time and date calculations and tracking the sun and moon. Unprompted, a guide chatted me up at the beginning and walked me through how each of the instruments worked. Of course he wanted a ridiculous tip at the end. But a cool place. One of the instruments looked like the MCP from Tron. My mom would be happy about all the math, some of which the guide did for me. Great pictures too. Hard to choose ones to post. Check out the carved in numbers for measuring the shadows.



Where to go next was kind of tough. I really had planned on those 2 places being most of my day. The one area I had hoped to visit, but hadn't even driven through, was Old Delhi (not really THAT old, dates to the 17th century). So that's where we headed. I had Vinod drop me off in front of the MASSIVE Red Fort. Also massive were the entry lines. Apparently Sunday is not the day to do anything. I wasn't too worried, I had heard mixed reviews on the interior of the fort and with Agra next weekend I'll get enough of that sort of thing. So then i head for the crowds of the adjoining market areas of Chani Chowk. I wander the streets and alleys where people are selling amazing smelling (sadly no eating after that morning) fried food, plastic toys, cheap clothes, chickens, fish (cleaned on the spot), shoes, spices, nutz, CDs playing from ratty speakers, carpets, electronics and whatever else. I looked at shirts but didn't buy any (most here just a dollar or 2). One i seriously considered, which was wrapped in plastic and tagged as if new had ink and coffee stains and well as a small hole. So i just decided not to waste much time with it. Took a few minutes to watch kids playing cricket in what looked like a giant drained fountain. I'm still working on the rules even after having it explained to me a few times.
Going through the markets was a little stressful. Wallet was around my neck but I felt like i had to keep my camera and cell phone in check. I loosened up a little by the end, but so much of the time it was just incredibly packed. But i was glad to get to do a little bit of the not completely for tourists side of town (even though doing what i did is TOTALLY recommended by a lot of guide books, but whatever- i really only saw a handful of tourists as i walked through the markets). I followed the markets right to the steps of Jama Masid, the largest Mosque in Delhi.



I climbed its stairs, removed my shoes and entered one of the gates into the fortified courtyard. Spend a few minutes poking around, watching the birds, taking pictures of the onion shaped domes. Then i pay r50 to climb one of the towers for a aerial view of the mosque and the city. You leave your shoes (already removed, but i was carrying) at the base of the tower, which i didn't understand at first. But the spiral stairs up the tower are extremely tight (it's belly against the wall to pass people coming down) and the observation area at the top is really not designed for 15 people. the danger of tripping and falling back down the steep spiral stairs seemed very very real. But the view from the top was cool. Delhi is pretty flat, so i couldn't do much in the way of making out landmarks save for the nearby Red Fort, but it was still a good view. By this time it is 3:45 and i am supposed to meet Vinod back at Red Fort at 4. Sunday is his night off, so he said we should be back at the guest house by 5. I take a different route back and get a little nervous that i am lost, but it turns out ok. I call vinod at 4 and we hit the road.