© Richard Randall

Caribbean

Sundries

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DELHI

I have wanted to visit India for as long as I can remember. Richard was always more interested in Africa, and after travelling round Africa for more than a year we were finally visiting India. I was really looking forward to going to India, and considering how much flying disagrees with me, I was even looking forward to the flight. I guess I should have known better. The flight was fine, as far as the mechanics of it went, but I was not. By the time we finally landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, I was feeling so unwell that Richard had to practically carry me off of the plane, through customs, and into the bar. I really needed to sit still and drink some water. It was about 3am, and as we had not booked any accommodation, we thought we would wait for a while before leaving the airport, and hopefully I would begin to feel better. After getting me some cool water to drink, Richard rang the hotel where we hoped to stay, unfortunately as it was so early the phone just rang and rang. I guess the receptionist was enjoying a nap. I was not a happy bunny, I just wanted to go to bed, or die, by this time I didn’t really care which! I was moaning so much I think Richard would probably have been happy with the latter too! The bar was quite busy considering the time, not with passengers, but with local people and friends of the bar staff happily sitting eating and drinking. The staff were very good to me, and at one point I thought I was beginning to feel a little better. So we went outside to get some fresh air, but the air was far from fresh. It was unbelievably hot, there were people sleeping everywhere, sprawled all over the ground. The warm sticky air did little to revive me, so we went back to the bar. I was feeling very hot and then shivering with cold. I have had food poisoning before and this felt the same. Richard kept ringing the hotel until eventually someone answered. He booked a room for a couple of nights, and we prepared to leave the bar. Suddenly, without any warning, I threw up everywhere. I have heard of projectile vomiting but never experienced it, until now. Richard comforted me and then went to ask for a mop and some cleaning cloths. Obviously the bar staff knew I had been ill, it was pretty hard to miss. I felt so bad for the mess I had made, but at the same time I was feeling so much better. They wouldn’t let us clean it up, so once I was feeling able, we went out to get a taxi to our hotel. We had chosen to stay at the Claridges Hotel, 12 Aurangzeb Road, New Delhi, which was considered to be in the luxury category. I don’t remember much of the taxi journey, but I remember checking in and how helpful the staff were. They asked if I needed a doctor, which I didn’t, I don’t have a high opinion of doctors. We just wanted to get to our room, and we ordered some water. Claridges Hotel exists because apparently in 1950 a Dutch hotel manager convinced an Indian family to build a hotel with British decor and a British name. Claridges was born, and to this day it is visited by a loyal group of guests, many of whom stay there long term. The reception was very British with its Victorian decor, and yet there was also a feeling of India. Our room was nice, clean and fully equipped with everything you would expect. There was carpet on the floor which surprised me, I guess it was part of the British decor. After a lovely warm shower I went straight to bed, I told Richard to go out. It was silly both of us being stuck inside, and there was nothing he could do for me, sleep was the best medicine. So he reluctantly went out, I slept for a while and woke feeling much better. Richard had taken a taxi to the centre of town and enjoyed a walk round. I was eager to go out too, but still felt far too weak to venture far. So we wandered round the hotel to see what was on offer. There were what looked like some good restaurants and a nice bar. The Dhaba restaurant was modelled on the famous highway restaurants in North India. It served traditional wholesome food such as curry, and kebabs cooked in the Tandoor with tandoori breads. The Jade Garden restaurant served Far Eastern cuisine, specialising in Thai and foods from the Schezuan province of China. We ate in there one evening and the food was nice, although nowhere near as good as the local food, we love spicy foods. Pickwick’s was the place to get food 24 hours a day, the decor was Olde English, but the cuisine was more continental with some delicious dishes from other areas of India. We ordered a lot of meals from room service, unusual for us, but I was feeling rough most days and this meant I could eat in bed! The food we were served was excellent, and always very quick to arrive. Then there was the most important place, the bar! The Viceroy Bar was in a good position overlooking the hotel gardens. Food was available there too, in the form of snacks. We spent quite a lot of time in the bar chatting with the bar staff who were very friendly. We also sat out the front at the tables on the grass, but usually the heat got the better of us and it wasn’t long before we headed back inside to the comfort of the air conditioned bar. There was a swimming pool at the rear of the hotel, which was usually in use with children who were residing at the hotel. Obviously India is a warm country, and this would not have been a problem for us as we both hate being cold and love being very very warm, the warmer the better. But at the time of our trip to India it was at the height of a major heat wave. Sadly thousands of people lost their lives because of the extreme heat that year. Even we were feeling the heat, which meant that whenever possible we would go into the bars of the five star hotels for refreshment, and to enjoy the air conditioning. Claridges Hotel was in an excellent position right in the middle of an exclusive peaceful residential district near to Connaught Place, and near enough to the hustle and bustle at the heart of Delhi. Feeling a little better, later that day we took a taxi to town and walked round, taking everything in. After spending so much time travelling in African countries this felt so different. It was still busy and noisy and full of people but there seemed to be an underlying calmness to it. Walking round Delhi was a very uplifting experience, there were lots of delicious aromas from the many street vendors selling food, and our eyes were transfixed by the beautiful women wearing the most gorgeous bright colourful saris. Although most people were rushing here and there, there were lots of others who took the time to say hello, Delhi was very friendly. As we walked past the shops, many of the shop owners invited us in to look round and have a drink with them. We declined, we were happy just walking and looking for now. On days when I was feeling a little better, we were able to go out properly and enjoy the many sights Delhi had to offer. Delhi was the ‘capital of seven empires’ in Indian history, and has over 60,000 recognised monuments built over several millennia. So we were always going to be able to find something to interest us. We liked Delhi a lot, it was very cosmopolitan like London with a strong multi ethnic and multi cultural society. As it was so warm we usually took a taxi or an auto rickshaw wherever we went.

RED FORT ~ LAL QILA

We visited the Red Fort in Delhi, which is situated on the western bank of the river Yamuna. The Red Fort forms the centrepiece of Mughal Emperor Shahajahan’s medieval walled city Shah Jahanabad ~ Old Delhi. Building begun in 1639 and was completed in 1648, the name comes from the huge red sandstone walls that surround the fort. The fort is enclosed by almost 2 1/2km of battlement walls of varying height from 18.5m (60ft) at the highest watch towers to 33m, all surrounded by a 9m deep moat. It was here that on 15 August 1947 the first Prime Minister of India unfurled the Indian flag commemorating the end of the British colonial rule. Since then every year on Independence day, the Prime Minister addresses the huge crowd who gather in the Maidan ~ ground overlooking the fort. We had taken several bottles of water with us to the fort which didn’t last long. It was hot thirsty work walking round, the Red Fort is huge, apparently it is the largest of Old Delhi’s Monuments. It covers a semi - octagonal area of about 2km. The city of Shajahanabad was laid out with wide roads, and housed all of the expected trappings of the centre of Moghul government, domed marble palaces, halls of public and private audience, a mosque, lavish private apartments, and spectacular gardens. Unfortunately the Yamuna river no longer flows along the east wall, the ‘Stream of Paradise’ no longer trickles through the palaces, and the copper domes have been replaced with less bright plainer marble domes, and the precious stones and gems that once nestled into the marble walls are no more. Those precious stones were probably removed when the Persian emperor Nadir Shah attacked in 1739, or by the British soldiers during the battles of 1857, with any that remained being worn away by the constant rubbing and touching by the thousands of tourists who have visited the fort. There were few other tourists at the fort when we visited, I think most people were sensibly keeping out of the heat. At one point we felt as though we were as interesting as the fort itself. There was one large family group who followed us everywhere we walked, wanting to take our photo and to have their photo taken with us.

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