New Delhi

by Sophie · 13th February 2014

We stayed in Delhi three times over the course of our trip. We did A LOT!

It started with a clothes trade show with cat walk parade. We met some of Leaflace’s closest work associates and had a look at upcoming trends. We also attended the show party, but felt a little too shy to join the energetic dance floor!

The city is a treasure chest, full of old and impressive monuments, palaces, tombs and temples. It’s legacy is giving impetus for amazing modern buildings to be constructed too.
The most impressive of the ‘new builds’ was Swaminarayan Akshardhan temple, a Hindu temple of grand proportions. The main temple had a mind boggling amount of stone craftmanship. It also had museums, theatres, educational rides, gardens, monuments and a massive food court. It was so intricate you didn’t know where to look at times! If they allowed photos this temple could soon be world famous.

Sophie’s favourite visit was to the Red Fort. It was raining that day, so we will have to return again on a sunny day. The structures were stunning, with lots of clever attention to detail. The gardens were large and calming. We walked around listening to the audio guide, which immersed us into the time when the Palace was lived in.

Anwar, our trusty driver and experience officer in Delhi took us to lots of other great sites too, which were also so memorable and impressive: Qu’tb Minar, Hanuyan’s Tomb, Lotus Temple and, of course, India Gate. When we first arrived we also saw red arrows practising over the government buildings in preparation for national day!

We ate very well in Delhi. ‘Bokhara’ was the pick of the bunch, they cook their dhal makani over 24hours, It was a taste sensation! Anwar also took us to a sweet shop where we filled up on barfi sweets and a last dose of the amazing gulab jamun. Mr Gupta, a friend of Ben’s. He took us to ‘The Club’, a place for locals where they can undertake some gentle recreation such as cards but more importantly EAT! The food was first class, especially the paneer tikka. Curry and savoury dishes such as Dosa will not just be an Indian memory, we will definitely be making these at home as well.