Parks and Mausoleums in Delhi (Day 37 of the world trip)

October 11, 2019

Today started really late for our standards. We didn't get up until 8:30 am :O At this 'late hour', we even met people on the terrace ;-) Vera and a Vietnamese girl, who is doing an internship in the same company as Vera, were sitting there and had toast with jam - the breakfast offered by the hostel. We joined them and cheekily ate our chocolate spread (which was really delicious!) and banana. I let Jonas have the jam, because now that there's chocolate, who needs jam, right? :p

While and after breakfast, we wrote the blog and then we were off. Today is the last day we could use the metro and we wanted to make the most of it ^^

First, we went back to Lodhi Garden, which was closed yesterday when we arrived there at sunset... Proudly, we found the right exit on the second attempt ;-) Namely the one where you don't have to cross the multi-lane, busy road. Ha! Almost like pros :D

When we arrived at the gate - this time it was still open - we proudly took a photo. Done! A nice bonus was that admission to the garden is free :) So we were a bit surprised to see a sign for the Booking Office. Oh well. Maybe our information about the free admission was outdated? Indians pay 25 rupees (less than 50 cents) and foreigners pay 300 rupees (around 4 euros). At the latest when we bought the ticket and saw the name "Safdarjung's Tomb" printed on it, we realized that we weren't at Lodhi Garden at all :D :D :D

It's on the other side of the street. Quite confusing with all these green areas in this area :p

Well. We accidentally bought a ticket for this monument and if we thought the first glimpse of the walls was cool, we were amazed when we passed through the gate. Wow! In front of us was a huge park with a really beautiful and impressive mausoleum in the middle. In every direction there is a long, elongated water basin with even fountains. There are many trees with spiky, soft balls as fruits (botany... tzz...) and lots of chipmunks <3

After visiting the mausoleum itself, we sat down on a bench for a well-deserved cookie break and also fed a few of these quite tame animals, which was really cute ^^

Afterwards, we went to the actual Lodhi Garden, a really beautiful garden/park, admission to which is really free ;-) We strolled around a bit and looked at the small mausoleums there. It's quite impressive how much effort was made back then for the burial of the rulers! In addition to these historical buildings, there is also a lake/pond where some boys even wanted to swim, and many meadows where people relaxed. We even watched a hobby cricket game :) Oh, and a few girls who apparently study art were sitting on the grass and painting the mausoleums with impressive meticulousness. I will never understand how one can paint like that ;-)

A little highlight were also all the school boys who had great interest in Jonas. He posed for a selfie and immediately the boys called their friends so that they could also get a photo with Jonas. Well. Like a celebrity :D

After the second cookie break, we went back to the metro and to our next planned stop, Hauz Khas. This is a district that is mainly known for Hauz Khas Village. The village is built into old historical buildings, which you could also visit (for a fee). In addition, the village is known for having many hip cafes and bars. Together with the tattoo studios, it has a certain alternative flair :)

There is also a park with a lake in the middle. The lake was probably clean and beautiful at some point, but now it's just a green, stinky mass, in which, for example, a pedal boat is stuck... Really a shame, but clean water here in Delhi is a difficult topic and it seems strange to "waste" it on a lake. Interestingly, the Indians who were there still took selfies in front of the muck. I wonder what they would say if they saw a big, clean lake? ;-)

Overall, Hauz Khas was a nice place but not a highlight for me. Lodhi Garden was just as beautiful but okay. We didn't visit the paid part of Hauz Khas, so maybe there is still a highlight that we missed :)

From the village, we wanted to go back to the metro station and to take a shortcut, we went through the Rose Garden, which had a very shady atmosphere... Luckily, it was still light, otherwise I wouldn't have gone through there... In the middle, there is a stream that also smells terrible and of course there are people here again who have somehow built themselves a shelter...

Our last stop was Decathlon. For that, we took the metro to the end of the Yellow Line and the stretch between us and this end station, which is further south, was partly very green but above all polluted. There you can find all the high-rise buildings, which all look pretty good. Many have air conditioning units for each apartment on the outside, which of course doesn't contribute to better air...

There were also many malls again. The South definitely seems to have its affluent areas!!

In the end station "Huda City Center" itself, there are a few shops and a food court. One of these shops is Decathlon, where Jonas could get his Therabands and I could buy a bowl so that I can eat oatmeal for breakfast soon <3 Since it was already 6 pm and we were tired and hungry, we went to the food court and ordered two menus there for almost 500 rupees (burger, fries, cola). A contrast to yesterday, where I only got a sub for the same price :D

After some back and forth (should we order more? A burger to go? An ice cream?), we decided to go back to the hostel (to eat the cookies there :p). Since we were at the end station of the Yellow Line, we were looking forward to a seat for the 8 stations to our stop, but ha! No chance! When we entered the station, there were sooo many people there :O :O It was rush hour again :/ When we arrived at the platform, the people positioned themselves to then rush into the carriages like in pictures from sales in the US, as soon as the doors opened, with the aim of getting one of the limited seats. Crazy^^ Jonas and I watched the spectacle rather neutrally and, as always, rode without a seat, which was also okay ;-)

When we arrived in Chattarpur, we took some "change" for the bus from the backpack (which we always close with the carabiner and the climbing grip we got at the farewell party ;-) ) and then we were off into the hustle and bustle. At our "bus stop," as you could somewhat euphemistically call it (it's just a certain section on the street where the rickshaws don't push so much^^), there was a bus without a number or any sign of where it was going. A man shouted something in Hindi and waved frantically and well. We felt experienced enough in taking the bus here in India that we went there, named our final stop, and when the man nodded, we got on. It's as simple as that here!

Oh yeah. A fun fact about our bus rides: You get on the bus here and only during the ride do you buy your ticket. The first ride cost 5 rupees per person, the return trip 15 rupees per person. Yesterday we paid 15 per person again on the way there and today on the way there 10 per person. On the way back, the other passengers paid with small change (probably 5 rupees?). We gave 20 and didn't get any change :D

So the system regarding the prices is completely opaque. We're also not quite sure who gets this money, but you have to experience it once ;-)

Tomorrow is our last full day in Delhi, which we will probably spend chilling and bouldering. On Sunday at 11 am, our flight to the south of India will depart, which we are really looking forward to :)