Tony’s sister Liz arrived March 30 and hit the ground running! No time for jetlag…
Although Old Delhi is a must-see attraction, it can be pretty intimidating. A bicycle rickshaw tour is marginally safer and less scary, so that’s how we kicked off Liz’s India tour. Theresa, Tony, Liz and I climbed aboard two rickshaws, disembarking to visit the spice market, Jain Temple and sari market, essentially following in the same footsteps as our first Delhi rickshaw tour.
Ratan gets ready to chauffeur Tony and Liz.
Off we go, straight into traffic.
A view from the top of the spice market. I’m not sure what those yellow things are drying in the sun.
Stringing streetside flower garlands.
Theresa and me. Dang, I forgot our driver’s name!
Barely squeaking by a watermelon salesman.
Driving through the wedding market.
Tony takes the wheel (handlebars?).
Following lunch at McDonald’s (Theresa got the McVeggie, a paneer patty), we walked to the Red Fort.
A colorful crowd heads in to the fort.
Emperor Shah Jahan (the same guy who built the Taj Mahal) constructed this fort starting in 1638 after he moved his capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad, in what is now Delhi. (Remember when Theresa and I visited the FIRST city in Delhi? This was the SEVENTH!) It served as the Mughal Empire capital until a failed uprising against the British in 1857. At one point, up to 3,000 people lived in the fort complex.
Love those Mughal-style archways! This was the Diwan-i-Aam, a pavilion for public audiences with the emperor.
The Diwan-i-Khas was used for private audiences with the emperor.
Yes, yes, we know … we’re fabulous. But how many photos of sweaty foreigners do you really need?