Delhi Chronicles
– Single day lone traveler
It’s been
long pending on my list to do things i.e. travel locally in Delhi and see the
amazing wonders that make up this place. Being a national capital, there are
many pros that come along. When someone speaks about Delhi (a non Delhite) it’s
usually the negative things about safety that come to mind. Nevertheless Delhi
is a great city (comes from a true Mumbaiya) to travel and eat (tummy full and
realizing it didn’t cost you much). Many thoughts came to my mind to take
guided tours or packages, eventually I ended up backpacking on my own and
trying to keep travel budget to minimum yet seeing maximum of the city in
limited time I could.
Delhi is to
be visited at leisure and not for someone (like me) who is in a hurry.
Everybody has their own story to talk about a place they visit. Remember we are
tourists and we visit a particular place for leisure or work, but the place we
visit is cultured and developed by the people who live there and it is mostly
for their comfort.
I arrived
in Delhi by train from Mumbai. I took the August Kranti train which was a
mistake finally it seems. Took me more than an hour to complete 7 kms owing to
local trains that run and ferry people in Delhi and also because GATIMAN
express was scheduled to do its first commercial run that day. Ideally if
someone from Mumbai wants to visit Delhi on budget can travel by Rajdhani
Express (the train is never delayed). Finally Delhi (Hazrat Nizamuddin) to be
precise. My brother was waiting to pick me up as this was a family get together
and we headed towards home sweet home.
Travel bug
in me wanted me to get out and explore the city. There were multiple options to
travel and sight see the city
Ø Get the car parked as my brother was
on leave
Ø Get a tour operator to guide
Ø Get a Delhi darshan bus ticket
Ø Or Get to see city on my own
I choose
the last option and picked up my bag with camera and lenses and started my day.
I started
from Faridabad which is in Haryana and south of Delhi at around 10:30 in the
morning. Best part about travelling in Delhi, if you have penned down the
places you have to visit is “Delhi Metro”. Almost all the beautiful structures
(buildings, gardens, tombs etc) are close to Metro stations.
To start
off I got myself a day’s tourist pass costing me around 150/- off which 50 will
be returned when the card is submitted back to any metro station. The pass is
valid for unlimited on’s and off’s at different metro stations managed by Delhi
metro in a single day.
Remember
this was only a single day travel plan which assumed I would spend good time at
the spots and also manage to have lunch and snacks at regular interval.
Day-1 and
only day to spend on travelling L
Started
from Bata Chowk in Haryana and headed towards my journey
Pit stop-1
This would
have ideally being the Tuglakabad fort (7kms from Tuglakabad metro station.
Many shared rickshaws can be got from the station to reach the fort). However
due to timing constraints couldn’t go to the place.
So Lotus Temple – This is a white marble made
structure by the Baha’i religion people and is spread over an acre almost. More
wiki about the Baha’I can be found here
Nearest
metro station is Kalkaji Mandir (800mtrs to 1km) and not Nehru place as many
websites will tell you. Nehru place is the next station which is closer to the
neighboring ISKON temple.
Ø Entry is free
Ø Camera cane be taken in
Ø Lenses can be taken in (including
zoom lens)
Ø Tripod can be taken inside but can’t
be used inside the premises anywhere
Headed
towards central secretariat from where the Metro train had to be changed. This
is an underground station and we can change to yellow line from here. Yes you
read it right, there are lines into which the metro is divided and each
crisscrosses one of the lines at such intersections.
Pit stop-2
From
central secretariat, my next destination was famous Qutub Minar. It takes quite some time even in the metro to
reach Qutub Minar metro station from Kalkaji Mandir.
Qutub Minar
is a metro station in itself. The monument is a km away from station and one
can easily walk alongside road to reach the monument, else take a shared
rickshaw who will charge you 10/- per head and seats approx 4 people.
Ø Entry charges of 30/- per head
Ø Camera can be taken inside
Ø Lenses can be taken inside
(including zoom lens)
Ø Tripod can’t be taken inside and
have to be kept in the cloak room for 2/- per item
Pit Stop-3
On the way
back I also did visit the Ahinsa Sthal. This is a place opposite Qutub Minar, yet not
many people frequent here. The place is peaceful and workship of lord Mahavir
is done here.
Had a quick
choley bathure on a road side eatery frequented by BMW’s and audi’s. The plate
cost me 30 bucks for unlimited choley and 4 bathuras.
Pit Stop-4
From Qutub
Minar station I left towards Saket to visit Garden of five senses. A really nicely catered to garden
in a quite Saket surroundings. The garden is open throughout the day. Not
frequented by visitors though for unknown reasons, however the garden is
frequented by young blood and adults who want some we time together.
Ø Entry charges of 30/- per head
Ø Camera can be taken inside
Ø Lenses can be taken inside (excluding
zoom lens. For zoom lens a fee of 3500/- is charged)
Ø Tripod can’t be taken inside and
have to be kept with the clerk (at your own risk)
Pit Stop-5
From garden
of five senses it was time to move to next destination. Dilli haath, but I
skipped this place as the items sold there were way too expensive atleast I
felt that way. Next stop was Jantar Mantar
Ø Entry charges of 15/- per head
Ø Camera can be taken inside
Ø Lenses can be taken inside
(including zoom lens)
Ø Tripod can’t be taken inside and
have to be kept in the cloak room for 2/- per item
Jantar
Mantar is approximately 500 to 700 mtrs away from Rajiv Chowk metro station.
Pit Stop-6
From jantar
mantar at about 500 mtrs one can reach Agrasen ki baoli This
is not so frequented place in Delhi and considered to be cursed and one of the
scariest places to visit in India. When the well had water, it’s said that the
water would entice people to dive and lose their lives in it.
Ø Entry is free
Ø Camera can be taken inside
Ø Lenses can be taken inside
(including zoom lens)
Ø Tripod can be taken
Pit Stop-7
From Agresan
ki bauli a walk of approximately 1.2km will take you through YMCA Delhi upto Gurudwara Bangal
Sahib. Gurudwara has always being a fascination to the way they are
constructed and the way they allow you to do some service towards humanity. It
was one soothing experience and you can’t fail to see the golden hue inside the
Gurudwara. Calm and serene is what I can say. And the kada Prasad is just
topping on the visit to gurudwara everywhere.
Ø Entry is free (it’s a gurudwara)
Ø Camera can be taken inside
Ø Lenses can be taken inside
(including zoom lens)
Ø Tripod can be taken inside
Ø Photography inside complex is
allowed but not in the main worship area
Ø Head has to be covered at all the
times when in the complex
Pit Stop-8
You can
choose to go back to Rajiv Chowk metro station or keep walking towards India
gate. India gate by any chance is not close to the Gurudwara. To reach India
gate nearest station is Khan Market (approx. 1.1km from India gate). I chose to
keep walking and though some famous addresses I got the chance to walk.
10 Janpath I
could see but couldn’t photograph (owing to security concern)
Ashoka road
houses many MP’s and has a huge Hyderabad house (it is humongous)
Overcrowded
to say the least when I arrived at the India Gate. Nobody seemed to be
considered to understand what the gate stood for, but everyone knew how to
click a Selfie. It’s a nice monument which gets lot of attention. From India
gate one can see the Rashtrapati Bhavan at the end of stretch of 2kms. This
building is also huge. Couldn’t see the Rashtrapati Bhavan as it was time to
call off the day.
Next time
spend day near Central Secretariat and visit these famous buildings.
Thanks to
Delhi Metro for providing relief in such heat. All Metro stations are well
maintained and clean. You don’t get suffocated even in the underground
stations. To travel freely in Delhi do get yourself a Metro Tourist card which
will cost you 250/- for three days with unlimited access to all metro stations
and multiple entry and exits. This can be got at any Metro station customer
care center.
Keep in mind photography is prohibited on Metro.
First boogie from engine side is always for Women
Cya soon Delhi for another round of backpacking experience.
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