Delhi and coming home

I had a really nice day in Delhi. My driver, Manoj picked me up early in the morning and we set off. First stop was the Raj Ghat, where Gandi was assassinated. It is a beautiful, peaceful place. They have created acres and acres of serene park with many birds, ponds, walking paths and a wonderful, peaceful feeling. It was a good first stop to get my head in the right place and begin to think about leaving India.

We then went to Jantar Mantar. From Wikipedia: The Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Maharaja (Ruler) Jai Singh II at his then new capital of Jaipur between 1727 and 1734. It was absolutely fascinating. How someone could be thinking about this stuff so long ago and in such great detail is beyond me.

Next Manoj took me to a fancy restaurant so I could have lunch. I'm sure he gets a kickback for any tourist he brings there. It was good but way too expensive. I decided to just relax and enjoy it, read more of my guidebook and take a nice break. After all the total bill was only 800 rupies. (about $16 which is top end for a restaurant bill).

Next stop was Birla Mundir a very important Hindu temple but built expressly for people of all religions, and all castes. It is so beautiful and a very spiritual place. I loved my time there. I got many blessings from Ganesh, Laxshmi, Buddha and even Jesus Christ was there. It was a God party.

Then off to Humayan's Tomb. which is an incredible set of several tombs built in the 1500s by the Emperor Humayan's wife. They were built before the Taj Mahal but have the same style, so maybe the Taj copied some of the architecture. I really loved walking around the grounds but was starting to feel a little pressed for time. I still had to get back to my hotel, freshen up, do some last minute packing and get to the airport.

We made another stop at the Bazaar where I picked up some last souvenier items and got some henna designs installed on my hands to bring home with me.

I enjoyed Delhi very much and hope to spend more time there on my next trip. They are getting ready to host the Commonwealth Games and the city is very clean and modern and easy to get around. People are very nicely dressed and there are giant stores everywhere. Very different than the other cities I visited in India.

I got to the airport around 9 pm for my midnight flight. Everything went very smoothly and soon I was on the very full flight to Hong Kong. After an ok nap and some food, we were in Hong Kong 6 hours later. I had a 6.5 hour layover in Hong Kong and I found a nice little corner in the sunshine and took a good little nap with my bags under my head. Hong Kong is a great place to spend time. It's very open and spacious and clean with many stores, restaurants and laptop work counters. And free wifi.