New Delhi Attractions

A Memorial to a Remarkable Leader

Advantages: A great mix of the public and private woman
Disadvantages: The crowds can be overwhelming

...of whom much is expected; Indira Gandhi's place in Indian social and political history would have been ensured even without her own remarkable achievement. Indira was the first - and so far only - woman Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy. Her election in 1966 made her only the second woman to serve as president or prime minister in modern times. So much for the idea that India was a backward place - she took power 13 years before the ...
...In a BBC online poll Indira Gandhi upstaged the likes of Queen Elizabeth the First to be named as 'Woman of the Millenium". Whether you love her or hate her, praise her achievements or despise her heavy-handed treatment of social and political issues (for example her 'transistor radios for vasectomies' campaign and sending troops into the Golden Temple at Amristsar) it's hard to deny that Indira Gandhi was a phenomenon. Like millions of people around ...

koshkha 20.12.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum, New Delhi

A shoppers paradise

Advantages: So much choice, so little hassle, good quality
Disadvantages: Not so much fun if you like to haggle

So, shoot me for being shallow but one of the best things about India is the shopping and the CCIE in Delhi is a fantastic place to start and finish a holiday in Northern India. Let me explain. If you are new to India go along to the CCIE and get an idea of the quality of product and typical prices. Then armed with this sort of info, you can go off to the little shops and street hawkers and have a fair idea of the prices you want to beat and the ...
...you trip, go back and buy all the stuff you fell in love with on your first visit and couldn't find after. The store is laid out over 5-6 levels. It has a fantastic range of products - from carvings and curios, through pictures, household (look out for the block printed cotton bedspreads), clothes, leather goods, and so much more. Bank on having an afternoon here and don't book anything for afterwards - it will take you longer than you think. ...

koshkha 11.04.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Central Cottage Industries Emporium, New Delhi

Please don't ride on the roof

Advantages: New, clean, fast and cheap
Disadvantages: Not always easy to know where it is or where it goes

...and I'm talking about the new Delhi Metro or 'Mass Rail Transport System'. But before I tell you about the system itself, let's look at why it was needed. Why did Delhi need a metro? ***************************** Pollution - locals used to say that breathing in Delhi was like smoking 20 fags a day. The air was so thick with dirty diesel fumes that if, at the end of the day you blew your nose and had a little peek in your hanky, the bogies were ...
...streets and replacing them with new yellow and green ones that run exclusively on compressed natural gas or CNG. Buses were also switched to CNG and private drivers are being urged to consider this alternative fuel as well. Today the effect on air quality has been remarkable. In addition to the CNG switch, use of the metro system has taken many buses and thousands of cars off the streets and further reduced the air pollution. Congestion - Delhi ...

koshkha 08.07.2006 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: exceptional
Review of New Delhi Metro, New Delhi

A fitting memorial to India's war dead

Advantages: It's a real gathering point and well worth a visit
Disadvantages: You'll get more out of your visit if you've done a bit of reading beforehand

India Gate has the rare distinction of being one of the few attractions in Delhi that benefits from being visible from a great distance, rather than being crowded in by surrounding buildings. If you stand outside the Presidential Palace at the far end of Rajpath with the government buildings around you, you can look straight down this regal artery and see the 42m-high India Gate standing proudly in the distance, looking a little like an Asian Arc ...
...originally known as the All India War Memorial but is now widely referred to as India Gate. Lutyens was the architect and planner behind New Delhi and he brought a degree of order and structure to the streets that few Indian cities had seen before. The great boulevard of Kingsway - now known as Rajpath - ran West to East from what was then the Viceregal Palace (now the Presidential Palace or Rashtrapati Bhawan) to the India Gate. The second great ...

koshkha 05.05.2009 · Read full review
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Review of India Gate, New Delhi

His widow chose a beautiful spot for his mausoleum

Advantages: A building of major architectural interest
Disadvantages: Expensive by local standards

...now it's the turn of Humayun's tomb. It was an exceptionally hot and humid day - the monsoon was overdue and predicted to break at any moment and the skies were overcast and threatening. The temperatures were touching forty degrees and the air was saturated. After visiting the Red Fort and the mosque we had sweated our way across the city in a badly ventilated minibus. The final stop on our tour was feeling like altogether too much effort. As we ...
...which are as expensive as Humayun's Tomb and the prices have increased after recent work, funded by the Aga Khan foundation was carried out to improve the site. The site is open from sunrise to sunset. Who was Humayan? ****************** Humayan was the son of Babur and he became the second emperor of the Mughal Empire in 1530. Unfortunately like so many leaders throughout history he liked the high life and spent too much time living it up in ...

koshkha 23.10.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Humayun's Tomb, New Delhi