I just got back from a whirlwind of a India trip! Four days in Delhi and Agra!! I took a few days off work in Singapore to participate in the pre-orientation program for new Indian students coming to MIT. I was supposed to go and talk to them about life in the US, in MIT and in graduate school in general.
The days involved informal presentations, bonding activities and sightseeing in Delhi. It was a pretty pleasant experience except for the insane Delhi heat! The heat wave in northern India this summer is absolutely traumatic. I feel bad complaining about it because while I did enjoy the comforts of sporadic air conditioning, water and electricity, there were hundreds of thousands without any of these amenities...While Delhi boasts of some of the greatest malls [people go to malls for 'hanging out' here!] in the country, it is teeming with poverty...the rich-poor divide in India never fails to amaze me.
In the few days in Delhi I managed to visit the Qutb Minar, the Lotus Temple, Humayun's Tomb, Dilli Hat and a games arcade [to stay away from the sun :)]. Delhi should be know as the land of tombs- I
could spot them everywhere!! On my last day there, we visited Agra and saw the Taj Mahal. It was breathtaking...hot...but breathtaking!! The magnificence of the architecture, the detail in the inlay work, the miniature carvings...and the overwhelming feeling of just standing in front of one of the modern seven wonders of the world made my day! Unfortunately, I had to catch a flight back, so I could not stop by Fatehpur Sikri or the Red Fort. Some other day...and that some day will be in the winter...maybe on a full moon night...and then I can see the Taj in all its glory.
I love how descriptive you are...its a really nice depiction of Delhi; I remember it the same way from my visit there years ago. Glad you had fun despite the heat!
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