Read previous parts of the journey here - Part I , Part II

After my caffeine recharge and much need mobile phone recharge, I left Connaught Place. I decided to walk a bit more and catch a bus to go see India Gate.

I spoke to a few passengers waiting at the bustop and figured how to get to India Gate. The conductor in the bus I travelled was kind enough to yell out the name of the stop (on my request of course :P ), so it was quite easy to get to India Gate.

As I walked across a huge 6 lane crossing I noticed that the whole area was deserted, with the exception of a few army personnel in makeshift bunkers. So I decided to approach them for better directions.

Twist! Now get this, I totally forgot it was just a week to Indian Republic Day. So all the area around India Gate has been shut down from civilian entry! :(

I wanted to explore more but I had very less time at hand. So I just went back to the railway station to catch my return train.

I must tell you the work for which I had come New Delhi in the first place was only half done and it kept worrying me. So after a couple of chats with friends and parents, I started clicking pictures again.

 

It had begun to rain and started to feel much colder. So I passed time by finding a corner on the platform and clicking from that single perspective. It was fun to watch the world go by for about 30 mins as I tried to find and click meaningful pictures.

 

My return journey was a total contrast to the onward one. I had a bunch of senior people sitting alongside. It was such a drag the entire evening and through the night. I edited most of the pictures in this series as I lay on my lovely lower berth seat (haha… I never get lower berth!).

Later the following afternoon a few surprising things started happening. I came to learn that among the seniors sitting beside me were a few businessmen, an investment banker, a software developer looking to make a career jump, a person working in defence industry who couldn’t utter a word about it and finally Mr. M.L. Sharma. He is a government employee travelling to Bengaluru to participate in BSNL annual cultural meet.

As he said that, he pulled out his lovely Harmonium. He was a hobbyist and started learning the instrument very recently. Nevertheless, he played some good music and entertained us. He was very happy when I asked permission to record him (I will post a video soon).

As the dusk approached we arrived at Secunderabad. Although impromptu, the journey never felt that way. I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a pity that I couldn’t explore more.

Next time... New Delhi... next time!!!

Here are few pictures as I left the station. I hope you guys liked this series.

Last but not the least, here is a picture of one of the meals I had on the train. Costa coffee apart, these are the meals that I survived on for 2 days on the train. :P

Keep an eye on my blog for more posts :)

 

Read Part I of the journey here!

As I walked the road aimlessly, I browsed my phone for the closest metro station. I then hired an auto rickshaw to it.

This is not my first time using a metro, but it was the first time using an underground one. I hopped off the auto at a small enclosure that had like a hole in the ground. :P

In all my travels I often come across lots and lots of street dogs. I photograph them and keep them for memory sake. This particular one was curled up to beat the chill. 

Actually the hole in the ground was a nice staircase that lead really deep into the ground and into the station. I was still bothered by the chill so I had a quick change in wardrobe and went to catch a train into the city.

Above is a picture of a train arriving and following is the one I travelled in…

It was a busy affair, many of the commuters are locals. It must be a daily routine for them. They went about as usual. As for me, I always enjoy the anonymity. Although I was a bit blue that I was travelling alone, it was okay because I had so much to absorb and take in all the new atmosphere.

As I left Rajiv Chowk metro station, which is by far the most crowded place I have seen in New Delhi, to arrive outside Palika Bazaar. I went around the bazaar for a while, but it was quite claustrophobic. 

 

I moved out into the open and started to explore Connaught Place. There were a lot of branded stores contrasted by street vendors. A few things that caught my eye were a Life of Pi book on sale and a super poster with a quote by Barney.

 

The contrast and diversity was visible in the crowd too. I came across a few Germans, an English couple (maybe Australian), a Chinese tour group and lot of people from all over India. Funny enough, I couldn’t really distinguish between Indians because everyone were covered in thick warm clothing from head to toe!

I also saw a couple of more street dogs. These ones had sweaters on!

And then there was a poor hungry one too.

 

There was a lot of street food too but I did not have any of it because just after walking for a short while I stumbled upon Costa Coffee (You should know that Costa Coffee was kind of my top diet during the final 6 months of university, so a lot of nostalgia there!).

I paused here, to take a nice long 2 hr break. I had coffee & some snacks, finished quarter of a novel I was carrying and most importantly charged my phone!

Later I decided to leave and catch the train back to Hyderabad. But not until I had explored a little bit more of New Delhi!

To be continued in Part III…

About the same time last week, I had just returned from the longest land journey I ever did.

I travelled 3300 kms in just 2 days!

It was impromptu and very necessary trip. I could give you all the details, but what’s the fun in that. Keep an eye on my blog and FB page, all of you are in for a treat over the next few weeks!

So, yes, 3300 kms... Secunderabad - New Delhi - Secunderabad!

That's Meee!!

I’ve never travelled any further north than Mumbai. This was my first time in northern India. Bear my excitement now, it was extremely cold but I was partly enjoying myself!

I found it fascinating to watch a family covered in shawls and thick warm clothes huddled up and waiting for a train at noon.

I was never so amazed to breathe out and watch my breath turn into lovely mist at 1 in the afternoon!

I was wearing good warm clothes so I was hanging out for a bit. I couldn’t wait to share all this with my friends. So I was clicking pictures continuously and sharing them. A few good friends facing the US blizzard did tease me a bit. But I was so excited, I continued clicking.

OK wait! I have to tell you that I was using my phone (Nexus 5) to do all the photography. Since the trip was on short notice I decided to challenge myself for a day without 7D. XD

I ran up and down the platform at Hazrat Nizamuddin clicking many many pictures. It was not too late before the chill of the day got to my spine and I quickly had to make my way indoors. I took up a room at the railway station to freshen up and then left to attend to my work.

The auto ride was painful! No, the roads were fine, the driver was cool , but the windchill was literally freezing me up!

I got to my destination rather quickly, so I walked around clicking more pictures and about 2 hrs later I wrapped up my work. I now had a few hours to kill, so I headed into the city with no direction whatsoever.

To be continued in Part II...