Delhi, a few days in...

Well we've been in the city a few days now. The city is a chaotic mess of people, but somehow it all seems to work. We have not been getting as much hassel from the touts as we experienced in Marrakech, which has been pleasant. We have had several interesting and hair raising rides around in auto-rickshaws, which amazingly seem to avoid serious accident.

On Steff's birthday we saw quite a bit of the city, which is extremely varied; from New Delhi with its wide boulevards and green spaces to the chaos of Old Delhi and its cluttered streets and alleys. There are also shanty towns where the poorest of Delhites live, these areas are intimidating, busy and destitute. On the other side of Yamuna River we visited a new temple, and centre for Indian culture, Akshardham, that was truly beautiful and peaceful. The smaller temple that we visited was constructed entirely from marble with no other materials, it is beautifully ornate (click on the 'More Photos' link on the right side of this screen).

We also visited the Jama Masjid on Steff's birthday, which is India's largest mosque, built in the 15th Century. We walked up one of the minarets to get a good view of this massive city. The mosque is fairly plain, but in excellent condition. The mosque is largely an outdoor mosque and could clearly handle many thousands.

Today is our last full day in Delhi, then we are off tomorrow to see Agra and the Taj Mahal, an absolute requirement for a visit to India (as far as we are concerned anyway). Apparantly Agra is renowned for its aggresive touts so we will likely escape that place for a quieter alternative in a few days; probalbly the ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri, which was the capital of the Moghul empire during the 14th century.

Will write soon. Lots of love to everyone from here:-)