Our abode a was nice, clean b&b and truly home away from home. We stayed at the Serene in Hauz Khaz a “posh” part of Delhi. Serene is a cute little bed and breakfast run by a well-travelled Indian man named Dhruv . He was away the night we arrived, but the caretakers made us feel welcome and comfortable. Serene as you will see on their website, consists a living room , dining area and a patio all of which we had complete access to and use of . Each room had its own bathroom which is a huge plus for me since my bladder discriminates. Every morning, we were greeted with a set table of toast/ paratha, tea, the most delicious apricot jam, fresh butter and fruits. After long days of combing the busy streets-noisy of Delhi, it was ever so nice to go a Serene environment.
Location: Haus khaz
Rate: $40/night
Wifi Free
Service: Excellent
SIGHTSEEING
Lodi Gardens
The very first sight we went to was the Lodi Gardens; a park which according to locales is the perfect place for early morning jogs. When we arrived there, the gardens did not in any way seem like the sort place I wanted to go for jog; the atmosphere was more appropriate for writing love letters, poems or reading a good ‘ol supply romance novel.
Humayan's Tomb
The entire city of Delhi is littered with tomb’s, loads of dead people buried in magnificence. However, Humanyan’s tomb stands above many of the others because it was first “garden tomb” built on the Indian subcontinent and the first structure in which red sandstone was used at this scale. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993. We did'nt get to spend as much time here because we had to rush off to one of the wedding festivities. But the little we saw of the architecture was just breathtaking, every column and block of cement was carved with such intricate details and precision that was simply mind blowing. See for yourself - the picture below is a wall.
The Lotus temple is a must-see for anyone who visits Delhi. The sheer beauty of place will truly knock the breath out of you. The temple is built in the shape of a lotus flower with 27 marble clads arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides. The space seats 2500 people and the surface of the temple is made of white marble shipped from the mountains in Greece. There are also 9 pools surrounding the temple built to keep it cool. According to Wikipedia (I know lol) it is one of the most visited buildings in the world – over 50 million visitors surpassing both Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal. The other thing that intrigued me outside of the sheer beauty is the teaching of the religion. Their sole purpose is to unite all races, and people of the world in one universal cause and one faith.
ISKCON - Hare Krishna
Our visit to the ISKCON temple was very random and by chance. While at the Lotus temple, we the tip of this really cool building and decided to check it out, and it turned out to be the Hare Krishna temple. Since we were short on time and didn't really plan to come here, our visit was more of a drive through.
Delhi Fort
Our visit to the fort was chaotic and exciting, I mean everyday held a different adventure, but this day in particular was particularly eventful. It was the one time we took the metro, the train ride itself was great, you read more about the the train in another post. It was getting from the train to the fort and back that was a mixture of trauma and adventure. Since we took the train, we had to come out into Chandi Chowk, a market in the Old Delhi that is very very overwhelming. The sheer amount of people in the streets is unreal, I'm a Lagos girl and I know about loads of people in the streets, but this, is on a whole 'nother level. We eventually made it to the fort after what seemed like forever and was greeted to the beautiful sight of yet another magnificent work of art. Like all the other sites, the Fort is Red, Huge and Domineering, it is also a UNESCO Heritage site. You can read more about its history by clicking on the here.
RESTAURANTS
Prior to our trip we had listed a few restaurants we wanted to try out during our visit. We got a few recommendations from friends and the wonderful internet.Mamagota - Pan Asian restaurant at Khan Market
Yeti
Yeti a Himalayan restaurant in Hauz Khas; we ended up here after a long and unbearably hot day of shopping. We were so hungry,we pulled an american on them by ordering 4 different dishes and a platter which all resulted in curious glances from people at the restaurant . The food was so good and worth every single incredulous glare we got :)
After the lunch engorgement, we went exploring the ancient mosque and tombs of Hauz Khas that seemed to now be a popular hangout spot where young lovebirds whisper sweet nothings to each other.
ZO
ZO is an Italian restaurant also in Hauz Khas, we ended up at here after finding out the other restaurant we were in search of was shut down. I loved the ambiance of this place, the lobby is very gentleman-gothic like a place where Mr. Grayson from Dracula would have a business meeting. Further in, is more medieval, I half expected the drinks to be served in metal goblets and eat a hunk of meat off a dagger. After a week of wolfing down delicious curries and all manner of biriyani variations, I opted for a pizza and like everything else I had eaten in Delhi, it was fabulous.
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| Alley from ZO |
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