Delhi Gulmarg Srinagar (Part 1)



Most of my previous blogs have been about abstract entities and ideals and imaginations that reside in my head, but this one comes from the heart.  A confession before I say anything else: I really have not travelled a lot, but this journey I undertook was an experience that is beyond the bounds of expression in words.

This trip began from Pune, headed to Delhi, soared till the heaven called Gulmarg and through the beautiful city of Srinagar commenced back at home in Pune.

After meeting deadlines after deadlines and drops after drops of product release cycles at office, I wanted a relaxed holiday. But what I got was far more. It was an experience filled with awesome new friends, solace with nature, snowfalls, blizzards, snowy mountains, a few sparkling starry nights, ‘epic fails’ and roars of unrestrained laughter. What I am back with are memories, treasured and fun-filled, which bring flashes of smiles on my face when I sit at the office, travel with the PMT bus, ride my bike, run on the treadmill, or just when I lay supine on my bed waiting to sleep.

Delhi had always been a city I wanted to visit. Widely seen on the television, heard about from friends and always the most used word in GK books from school, Delhi has now been marked checked on my list!

Although the time was limited, I got to get a feel of the city by my visit to India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Qutub Minar, Akshardham, Connaught Place, Palika Bazaar, Chandni Chowk, Pahar gunj, Gurgaon and lots of travel through the metro trains.

My first day at Delhi was spent with Aabha and I stayed at the extremely comfortable arrangement at her sister’s place in Gurgaon. Thanks Anujiji! 

After reaching Delhi at around 9 and freshening up, we headed for Akshardham. Anujiji dropped us till the Huda City Center metro station, and we were off for the day. This was my first experience with Delhi metro. I had travelled previously by metro at Shanghai, but frankly, I really was ignorant of the fact that Delhi metro was as comparable to the one I saw in China. We took the yellow line and got down at Rajiv Chowk and changed to the blue line to head for Akshardham. The temple is visible from the metro station. At the first sight you realize, its huge! After getting down from the station, we took a two-seater manual rickshaw towards the temple gate. They charge you Rs. 5 -10 per person. The experience is new!


As you enter the temple, you definitely get excited looking at the marvelous carvings all around you and the majestic size of this monument. They say it was built only in five years, but what a piece of intricate and delicate work! Carved in marble and red-stone are idols of gods and stories from Mahabharata. You’ll never know how fast the clock rides whilst you are lost in the beauty and calm at this wonderful place.

[Image Credit: Wikipedia]


I would refrain from pointing out all the history about this monument in the post, but would definitely insist that this is a must visit place if you are to land in Delhi.

Next we headed for the Qutub Minar, a very renowned monument in India. A major attraction at the Qutub Minar is the rust free 1600 year old Iron pillar that still stands young in its premises. Here are some pics clicked at the Qutub minar.





While we were to leave for the day the mild showers made the day even more pleasant. But roaming in the huge Akshardham Temple and Qutub Minar was enough to get us tired for the day.

Next morning I left for Pahar-Gunj. This place has been branded by many as the backpacker's paradise. Backpackers can easily find cheap places for their stay. I'll admit that the area is tacky, but c'mon I just need a bed to sleep, not a place to spend the day when there is so much beauty. Thanks to my friend Rupali who gave me the address for Maharashtra Bhavan. I bet thats the most reasonably priced place you'll find in Pahar-Gung. They charge Rs. 200 for a night in the hall dinner inclusive! The facility is run by Marathi-speaking people (no restrictions for people from other states) and is pretty decent for the price. They also have rooms which are available for Rs. 300 - Rs. 350 per night. Here are a pictures of from Maharashtra Bhavan.

For reaching this place you need to get down at the Ramkrishna Ashram Marg metro station and it will take not more than 10 minutes for you to reach Maharashtra Bhavan.


Hall@Mah Bhavan: Pick any place you want to sleep!

From here I headed to Chandni Chowk (CC) by bus number 753 (if I correctly remember it). A place where you'll find lots of food stalls, shops, street vendors, chaos and clamour! Very nearby are the RedFort, Jama Masjid and Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib. I visited these places twice; once alone and once again with rest of the gang. Our gulmarg-heading gang ie. Himanshu (aka He-Man), Nivedita (aka Atre bai), Ketaki (aka Sathe tai), Laxmi (aka Chopde) and Amit (aka Amit papa) reached Delhi the next day. We stayed at Himanshu's friends place for the next day. Thank you Himanshu's friend! :P



In my first visit to the Red Fort, the mistake that I made was not taking the audio tour guide available near the ticketing counter. So my first visit was mostly wasted looking at very old and very beautiful constructions without actually understanding the history of these constructions. This mistake was rectified in my second trip there. I strongly suggest you take the audio tour guide machine on rent before you enter the fort. They charge you around Rs. 60 per equipment for Hindi and Rs. 100 for English. Take it.

Paratha Gali at CC is a must visit place if you are a foodie and don't mind dirty, filthy ambience. No exaggeration. I repeat; Dirty and Filty! But the paranthas that we had there were amazing. They actually fry those paranthas. We had the regular aloo, matar, paneer, and the weird and worth trying: nimbu paratha. Ketaki's reactions on eating the nimbu paratha were unforgettable!



Here are a few pics more pics from CC.







We then headed for Connaught Place (often called CP) which is yet another place which is very famous in Delhi. Lots and lots of shops. So if you are in a mood for shopping head straight here. We just ate at Wenger's Bakery there. Was nice and tasty, but just to get a sandwich you'll have to stand in a queue for 10-15 minutes. Wikipedia tells that CP is the 4th most expensive office place in the world! After you are done visiting CP, go to nearby Palika Bazaar. Its an underground market place with lots and lots of shops. Be informed that the vendors will try to lure you by calling you funny names, being overly polite, and following you through the lengths of the corridors. Fun experience!


Another attraction in Delhi, the capital is the India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Sansad Bhavan. You see them on TV all the time, so its definitely worth a visit. Also if you want to visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan from inside, you can make bookings online (I came to know about it after my visit). Here is the link http://presidentofindia.nic.in/rbvisit.html.

Getting down at the Central Secretariat metro station, its a 15 minute walk to the India Gate. Its a very patriotic feeling to watch the names of martyrs carved on the India Gate. A big salute to them!



India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan is a long walk again. You can take a rick. What I enjoyed the most was the wonderful view of the India Gate from near the Rashtrapati Bhavan. It looked even more splendid during the evening as both the structures lit up.




Next day we headed for Gulmarg via Srinagar where the real fun began. Visit to Delhi was indeed a nice experience. A memorable one indeed. I'll soon write about my experience at Gulmarg in the second part of this post.

Comments

  1. Nice one dude! Looks like you had a memorable journey. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good one. Both Delhi and Gulmarg are best in its own. Whether you want a tryst with adventure or a quiet and relaxing vacation, Gulmarg is the place to be. Check out best Gulmarg tour packages for a hassle-free travel experience.

    ReplyDelete

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