Roadblocks, Raj Ghat and Dry Days

Sunday: Delhi on high alert

After a shared breakfast we hopped on our bus. It's only a temporary one, since it won't be suitable for the full three weeks. We get the real one tomorrow.

Jane told us a good story about why buses are in short supply. Late last year a bus carrying badly balanced luggage on its roof was involved in an fatal accident, and the rules changed afterwards. Roof carriers are being phased out, so operators have been taking out back seats to fit bags inside. Jane says it's typical of India: rules tighten after a serious accident, and then it becomes a blanket rule.

Anyway local events have us in a bit of a sightseeing pickle

There have been protests and demonstrations in Delhi, mainly on Thursday and Friday, calling for the Chief Election Commissioner to resign over allegations of "vote theft". The government rejects the claims. Possibly as a precaution to quell the unrest, liquor shops across the city were ordered shut for a couple of days, so we've had a couple of dry days.- 

All that meant a heavy police and army presence and huge cordons around many of the sights we'd planned to see, including India Gate, the war memorial dedicated to Indian soldiers who died in the First World War. We couldn't get close enough for photos. We did manage to stop for pictures of two of the government buildings in front of the old Viceroy's House.

Because it was Sunday, we drove through a big Sunday market in Old Delhi. We stayed on the bus!

Gandhi's memorial

Next we visited Raj Ghat, Gandhi's memorial, which was lucky to be open. You go through security to get in, and then it's a big, beautiful, peaceful garden with an eternal flame. After the chaos we'd driven through, it felt like an oasis. We spent about half an hour wandering around, and it was very peaceful and calm.

My phone was dead by then but here is a web image.

Several in our group became the tourist attraction themselves. Complete strangers wanted a photo with them. Apparently being pictured with international visitors is a bit of a status symbol, so they obliged and smiled for the cameras. 📸!

Lunch with no onions or garlic

Lunch was at a local restaurant that served no onion or garlic, which I'd never come across. It turns out some traditions, including Jain and sattvic cooking, avoid them. We ate so much that we had to take food away, and everyone sat there wondering how we'd manage dinner.

In the end we just ate snacks and leftovers and  drank kombucha the whilst Bhooi filled us in with some of India and his own family history. (Definitely a story of its own)

Today we head out to the countryside, to some of Jane's favourite spots. My phone battery went flat during the Old Delhi drive, so I'll recharge and report back with more photos tomorrow.