India Day 1: Delhi

Beds in India are considerably shorter than those you would find in the western world, plus they can have a wooden footboard that is flush with the mattress which, during the night, if you venture onto it, can be rather uncomfortable. Nontheless, we did sleep rather well and felt very refreshed when we met John on the balcony of the Hotel Relax for breakfast.

Our first priority of the day was to get Indian mobile numbers (if you need our numbers just drop us an email or message on here). A rather long form, photocopies of passports and photographs later we were proud owners of two India sim cards.

In the safe hands of Baba, who has been driving John in India for many years, we set off for the Mahatma Gandhi Raj Ghat.

The Raj Ghat is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi which marks the place of his cremation. It is a modest black marble platform with an eternal flame burning at one end. The memorial is set in a beautiful park where many people take time to reflect.

Our next visit was to the Indian Baha'i Temple, the design was inspired by a lotus flower giving the temple its commonly known name, The Lotus Temple.

The Temple has 27 free-standing "petals" clad in marble, they are grouped in threes giving nine sides with doorways into the central hall which holds 2,500 people. It is said that this building is one of the most visited buildings in the world and its yearly visitors surpass the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal.

It is breathtaking.

The queue, when we arrived, was considerable. However, due to excellent organisation and respectful visitors, it moved very quickly. Once inside there was time to sit down and be enveloped by the peace and calm. It truly was a special place.

I must say, I was very surprised that India in all its bright, shiny, multicoloured, busy, gold plated glory had produced these two beautiful, simple places. India would not be India without the former, but it is nice to take time out with the latter. Even on day one...

To end our fabulous first day we met Kenneth, a colleague of John's, for dinner at Tadka, which can be found in the Nehru Bazar opposite the Hotel Relax. Dinner was a mixture of vegetarian dishes based on recommendation and pot luck, and what luck we had, I can safely say it was one of the best India meals I have ever had. However, we really need to brush up on our Indian so we know our pakora from our paratha.

Emelie