New Delhi

27.02.2010

Picture from the plane as I landed in New Delhi.

I've been in New Delhi for a day now, and it's amazing here. The people are so nice and the weather is definitely better than in Calgary. No one could have prepared me for the experience. The people in the airport were so accommodating, I coudn't figure out where to exchange my Canadian money to the Indian Rupee, and the first person I asked walked me to the money changer and made sure that I was helped by the cashier. The cashier was also very nice, she told me all about the exchange rates (1 CAD = 43.73 INR) so that I understood for when I start buying things. She also gave me tips on if I run into an emergency, or if I run out of money. She gave me the address of the Canadian Embassy in New Delhi, and I'm going to post it on here so I don't forget.

Canadian High Commission
7/8 Shantipath, Chanakyapuri
New Delhi 110 021, India

Telephone: (91-11) 2687-6500
Fax: (91-11) 2688-6736

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/india-inde/index.aspx?lang=eng

I went to the Chandni Chowk market which is also referred to as the "Moonlit Square". I still have no idea how to pronounce the real name.

I didn't anticipate that the market would be so organized, each street specializes in a certian product such as jewelry, embroidered bags, wall hangings etc. I got myself a traditional sari it's so beautiful, the fabric is so detailed and it's all done by hand. This is the fabric of the sari I bought at the market.
51AQRq6km4L._SL500_AA280_.jpg

I also got some presents for those of you back at home but thats a surprise. The market is also famous for it's mouthwatering delicacies, I went to the Bikaner Sweet Shop and tried jalebi it was so sweet and I loved it. It looked sort of like a honey cruller only smaller and it had a chewy texture mine was warm but they serve it cold as well.

Tomorrow I'm going to the Indian Bahai Temple (a.k.a. the lotus temple) and I'm so excited, it looks so beautiful in pictures I can only imagine it will be more beautiful in person.

I was reading in my Footprint India Handbook that it was imperative for the temple to have a nine-sided circular shape. The lotus flower was then used for the design and was built from 27 free-standing marble clad “petals” arranged in clusters of three from the nine sides. I was really surprised when I read that every year, the temple welcomes four million visitors and on Hindu holy days, it has drawn as many as 150,000 people. Since its creation, the numbers of visitors that came has surpassed the numbers of the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal.

Posted by teamindia 15:27