Traveling to India for the 1st time - How to spend 17 days in India (Part 2)
Hello fellow steemians,
This is the part 2 of my 1st travel experience to India. On the second day of our trip in New Delhi, we visited the Gate of India, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib (Sikh Temple) and Dilli Haat.
The India Gate
We tried not to squeeze in too much itineraries in 1 day because we know that going from one place to another places in New Delhi can take up to 2 hours due to the terrible traffic and NO!..we don’t want to spend majority of our time on the road and hear the never ending honking on the road. We don’t want to rush and want to enjoy every place that we are going to visit.
If you've missed reading and considering to check on the Part 1 of this trip, feel free to click here.
Day 3: New Delhi
We had our breakfast at the hotel on the 3rd day in New Delhi. They served Indian breakfast as well as English breakfast and the staff were so attentive. They always make sure that your cup or glass is full and always come to you to ask if they can help you to get anything else from the buffet counter.
India Gate
Our rented car arrived around 10.30am and we proceeded to the centre of New Delhi, near Rajpath to check on the India Gate. India Gate is a 42 meter high war memorial built to commemorate 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives in between 1914-1921 fighting for British Army in the First World War.
The names of the servicemen, soldiers and some officers from British who fought in France, Flanders, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa, Gallipoli and elsewhere in the Far East and the the Third Anglo-Afghan War are inscribed on the gate.
Inscription on top of India Gate
One with @dilresh infront of the India Gate
It was on Sunday when we visited the India Gate and there was an event going at the large green lawn in front of the India Gate during that time. So, the place was over crowded and we could hardly get nice photos. We were told by the driver that people likes to come to India gate for picnic too!
After taking some photos at India Gate, we tried on the many street food sold there. We were actually a bit sceptical on trying the street snacks as we were afraid of getting "Delhi-Belly" a.k.a diarrhea but finally convinced by @dilresh to try them.
First, Asha and I tried on the Panipuri. This famous street snack consists of round hollow puri, fried till crisp and filled with potato, onions, chickpeas and sour & spicy tamarind-mint water.
I actually wanted to try panipuri after watching the Hindi Movie, Dangal! In that movie, Gheeta & Babita ate the panipuri non-stop and I thought that it must be very tasty and I must try to eat panipuri when I'm in India.
The Verdict: Sorry... but I don't like it!!! Maybe because the tamarind water is too sour for my liking..
Next, we tried the Bhelpuri. This savoury snack consists of puffed rice, sev (a thin fried snack which look like vermicelli) vegetables and again, tamarind sauce.
Bhelpuri has a balance of spicy, salty and sweet flavours. Pop a whole spoon of the Bhelpuri in your mouth and you will get the ultimate taste party inside your mouth.
The Verdict: I kinda like it!! Lols... I love the combination of different textures of Bhelpuri.. you get crispy, crunchy, sweet, sour and salty all in one snack.
People selling hot Masala Chai at the entrance of India Gate
Want to visit the India Gate? Here's some information to guide you:
Address: Rajpath Marg, India Gate, New Delhi, Delhi 110001, India
Nearest Metro Station: Pragati Maidan
Entry Fee: Free
Visiting time: Morning till Night
Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
After almost one hour at the India Gate, we then proceeded to Connaught Place, where the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is located. Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is one of the most important Sikh Temple in Delhi.
The Magnificent Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
This temple was originally a mansion belongs to Raja Jai Singh and is associated with the 8th Sikh Guru, Guru Harkrishan who at the age of 5 years old became the youngest Sikh Guru. When Guru Harkrishan arrived at Delhi, He and his group became Raja Jai Singh's guests.
When Guru Harkrishan arrived in Delhi, there was smallpox and cholera epidemic and He tended to the sicks by giving aid and fresh water from the well of this mansion. Soon, Guru Harkrishan too contracted the smallpox and eventually died at the age of 8 years old.
Raja Jai Singh constructed a small tank over the well and now it is believed that the water from this tank has a healing properties. The Sikhs around the world when visiting the gurudwara will bring back the water from the tank to their homes.
Sikh devotees outside the Gurudwara
Jeeya, my niece infront of the Gurudwara
Interior of Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
Sarovar (pool) at Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
Panorama of Gurudwara Bangla Sahib
One for family photo
Important note before entering the Gurudwara (Any Gurudwara):
Before entering the temple compound and the darbar sahib (main prayer hall), everyone including the Sikhs and visitors must cover their head with scarf as a sign of respecting the Guru Granth Sahib. Don't worry if you didn't bring any headscarf as gurudwara normally have extra headscarf for visitors to borrow.
Also, dress appropriately especially ladies. It is advisable to wear long pants as chair is only provided to the elderly and other visitors are to sit on a carpeted floor. Can you imagine sitting on the floor with your short dress or skirt??
Shoes are not allowed inside the gurudwara. Therefore, remove your shoes and place them on the shoe racks provided and wash your feet before entering the Gurudwara.
Last but not least, smoking is strictly prohibited in the gurudwara compound. Leave your cigarette and tobacco in the car.
Here's a guide on how to reach Gurudwara Bangla Sahib:
Address: Bangla Sahib Rd, Near GPO (General Post Office, Hanuman Road Area, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Delhi 110001, India
Nearest Metro Station: Patel Chowk
Entry Fee: Free
Visiting Time: 24 hours / Open every day
Since we are at Connaught Place, we decided to walk around the block A-F of Connaught Place. Shops like Adidas, Bentley, Allen Solly and Pepe can be easily found here. Outside the building, you can find vendors selling handmade earrings and other accessories. I bought few pairs of earrings too!
We had our quick lunch at Nando's in Connaught Place and then proceeded to Dilli Haat after that.
Dilli Haat
Dilli Haat is open-air traditional craft bazaar and food plaza run by the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation. Apparently there are three Dilli Haat in Delhi namely Dilli Haat INA (South Delhi), Dilli Haat Pitampura and Dilli Haat Janakpuri. We visited only 1 Dilli Haat which is the Dilli Haat INA.
Dilli Haat opens every day unlike the traditional market which only open during the weekends. There were around 60 stalls inside Dilli Haat and you can find all handicrafts and delightful local food from all over India in Dilli Haat. For example, you can find rugs, carpets, cushion covers, hand-woven fabrics, pashminas, juttis (traditional indian shoes), traditional attires, jewelry, paintings, bags and wood carvings.
Punjabi Juttis and traditional shoes/sandals
You can also buy all sorts of dried fruits and nuts here. Unfortunately, we didn't go and try the food at the stalls are we were still full after having our lunch at Nando's.
traditional attires
dried fruits & nuts, Pappadum and picklesHere's a guide on how to reach Dilli Haat INA:
Address: Dilli Haat, INA
Nearest Metro Station: INA
Entrance Fee: 20 rupees (Adults), 10 rupees (Children), 100 rupees (foreigners)
Visiting time: 10:30am-9:00pm
We left Dilli Haat around 4:00pm and went back straight to Hilton Garden Inn, Saket. If I remember correctly, we reached the hotel around 5.30pm and went straight to our room and get some rest.
That night, we return to the same Dhaba restaurant. The food was so good that we don't mind eating our dinner at the same place for the 2nd consecutive night.. Lols!
We ended our night early as we need to catch an early train ride the next morning.. Want to know where our destination next? Stay tuned for my next post...
Till then...
Xoxo,
@connie1018
Hello connie1018! Thanks for sharing. Keep writing good quality content and let's grow the community together.
Hello @steemsociety.. thank you and thank you for dropping by..
Great post. Upvoted and followed you. I think I've been to the India Gate as well, more than 10 years ago. Haven't tried the metro when I was there though. Anyway looked like you had fun! :)
Hi @technerd888! Thank you for taking your time to read my post. Yeah, I didn't get the chance to try the metro too.. hehe! Yeah.. except the crazy traffic, the honking and the rubbish everywhere in India.. I actually had fun there.. I hope to go back and explore other part of India next time..
Well, it is definitely an experience. I remember the honking. Btw, I enjoyed the food too when I was there. Definitely exceeded my expectation. Did you go Agra too?
Agra was in our plan at the first place but due to the heavy smog, we decided strike it from our list of places to go. Too bad!
Wow very nice adventure, i hope i can travel outside in the philippines
Hi @steemitjean.. yes..i love traveling.. in fact, I've travelled to Phillipines for 3 times already. I hope you too can travel outside of your country in the future..
Interesting... I’m afraid to travel to India mostly because I’ll be too emotional when I see street kids because I don’t think I can handle it... are there any at your area because I see many tourists there
Hi @krist777.. yeah..it's very sad to see street kids begging for money n food. But this situation happen not only in India.. I've seen street kids begging in the phillipines and Indonesia as well.. ☹
This post has been curated by TeamMalaysia Community :-
To support the growth of TeamMalaysia Follow our upvotes by using steemauto.com and follow trail of @myach
Vote TeamMalaysia witness bitrocker2020 using this link vote for witness
Cntik2 kasutnya oooo
LOL. Completely agree with you @connie1018. You'll wake up fully energised to start the day but the traffic and honking will somehow sap the energy out of you.
In Delhi, panipuri comes only in the sour variety (tamarind water)? In Kolkata, it is called fushka and there are three varieties: spicy, sweet and sour.
In your last photo, the green-looking dish in the middle, is that palak paneer? I love to eat, so anything food related catches my attention. 😆 Indian food in India is just amazing isn't it? So authentic.
Did you try the vegetarian options in McDonald's and KFC while you're there?
Hi @redtomato! Oh wow.. how i wish i can try the sweet and sour panipuri.. i might like the taste.. hehehe...
Yes.. that's palak paneer!! One of our favourite and we cook palak paneer at home too!
Couldn't agree more.. Indian food especially North Indian food is amazing!!! Luckily i didn't put on weight during my trip to India as we walk a lot during this trip!
Eeerrrmmm @dilresh is not a fan of anything vegetarian.. we entered 1 McD in Amritsar, which serves all vegetarian, and he quickly went out!! No 2nd thought.. Lols!!! So, no.. we didn't try.. did you try them?
I like both vege and non-vege preparations, I am a big fan of paneer too.
No, I didn't manage to try the vege items at McD and KFC when I went to India. Next round maybe, when I revisit.