Tuesday, 3 February 2009
We did a quick pack for me and an almost 100% pack for SB and moved down to the room that Kathy and I will be sharing checking out of SB and my room. We headed up to Rama’s for our last breakfast together.
First up today was the Red Fort and a wander through the fort complex, which has deteriorated considerably since the last time SB and I were here, with less areas open or able to be walked on. We spent a few hours walking around the fort and grounds as the marble carvings were still impressive and you can only imagine how splendid this setting would be in the 1700’s. We headed back towards Chandni Chowk, stopping for Kathy to buy some handmade paper from the same shop as yesterday which SB is going to take back as hand luggage. We had lunch at Haldirams (where we had lunch yesterday).
We caught the Metro to Rajiv Chowk (Connaught Place) before getting a tuk-tuk to Jantar Mantar, the observatory which we had not visited previously (mainly because we couldn’t find the entrance last time). There is a similar observatory in Jaipur. This one, however, was interesting as you were able to climb the exhibits and get some interesting views, although there were no guides and the explanations on the signs were open to some interpretation, mainly due to the language.
As time was ticking by we caught the Metro to Rajendra Place and headed for the hotel so SB had plenty of time for a shower and a change into clean clothes, so he doesn’t stink the plane out and so he could get organised before his flight. He is taking home most of my cold weather clothes so my pack is lighter and more manageable, leaving some space for the shopping I hope to do.
SB finally left in a taxi at 6pm for the trip back to Perth leaving us to fend for ourselves for 2 weeks – he did look a bit worried, but he is glad to be going home. We ventured into Karol Bagh and had a look at the stalls with Kathy starting her shopping frenzy. Dinner was at a local South Indian restaurant and an early bed as we have the 4:30am train to Agra tomorrow.