泳不放弃

我在池中游不断，浪花四起猛拍岸。
思君令人泪断肠，欲止泪流泪愈淌。
竭尽所能平思绪，唯独继续游下去。
不知不觉心伤复，泪已化作池中物。

Delhi, Red Fort, Qutub complex and squirrels

There are many places to visit in Delhi but we chose to visit only a few, which are the Red Fort and Qutub complex. Nothing very interesting to me in Red Fort, just a few buildings built during around the same period as the Taj Mahal. However, the Lahore Gate is quite impressive. While on the other hand, the Qutub complex seems basically like an ancient Roman ruins with some islamic features added. 

The entrance to the Red Fort.

Lahore Gate.

The square infront of  Lahore Gate.

Delhi metro and indian workers.

Qutub Minar.

Qutub complex is a great place for photography.

Like i said, Roman ruins alike.

Impressive tree.

Squirrels in Qutub complex are not afraid of people at all. 

Posing for photo, there are so many places in Qutub complex for great photos.

The famous Iron pillar on the lower left of this photo.
Obviously not famous enough cause i didn't even notice the pillar during the visit.
I knew only after i read about it on wiki.

It supposed to be a minaret but remains incomplete.
And now it looks like a pudding with a lot of chocalate chips on it.

Paharganj.

Paharganj at night.

Well for me, the most unforgettable moment in Delhi is not visiting these famous tourist sites, it happened when we arrived at New Delhi train station from Amritsar. It was already 11pm at the moment. Our booked hostel is in Paharganj, just opposite the train station. From the direction given on their website, they said it was just walking distance from the station. So we decided to walk. 

At first we headed to the wrong way into a dark alley. No street lights and it was already quite late, so it was scary. We then quickly headed back to the station and took a tuk-tuk. Paharganj is pretty well-known as backpackers' ghetto, so there are many hostels there. Finding a particular hostel is no way an easy job. Our tuk-tuk driver also didn't know the direction and asked here and there. In the end we found the advertising board of the hostel. It indicated the hostel is inside an even darker narrow alley! WTH!!! The driver refused to take us further, so we had to take the risk and walked in. Luckily along the way, there were other tiny shops still opened, providing some precious light to guide our way. The following video shows how deep inside the alley our hostel is. The video started at the entrance of the alley. At that time, it was around 8 pm, so many shops are still opened. 

Jodhpur and Mehrangarh Fort, Batman and Darjeeling Limited

First of all, i am a big fan of Batman, especially, Christopher Nolan's Batman. But at first, i didn't go to Jodhpur just because the Dark Knight Rises has a scene taken there. I watched the DKR only after i had planned my India trip. After the DKR, i was super excited, that i was going to go there!

Back to Jodhpur. Since Jodhpur is basically the gateway into the Thar, the city is dry and dusty. Jodhpur is pretty well-known of its Mehrangarh Fort. It is the largest fort in Rajasthan and it dominates the city. It can almost be seen from everywhere in the city. In DKR, it is also the palace of the princess who Ra's al Ghul was in love with. The scene when Bruce Wayne climbed up the prison in the deep hole, the building at the background is the Mehrangarh Fort.

Jodhpur is sometimes called the Blue City because many houses in the old city are painted blue.

Mehrangarh Fort viewed from the guesthouse i stayed.

The main entrance to the biggest market in Jodhpur.

Clock tower, where the local market is. According to the owner of guesthouse,
he explained, there is a law now forbiding people to put up stalls too near to the tower,
to make way for the cars and tuk-tuks.

All these are edible, most eaten after the meal to refresh your mouth.

Bamboooooooossssssssss...

Mehrangarh Fort at night. Around 10pm, the light will be turned off.

Jaswant Thada.

Entering the fort...

Blue city viewed from the fort.

The fort is very well preserved. And the audio guide is also excellent,
available in many languages, the history of the fort is well explained.

The Blue City from another angle.

The second entrance to the fort. But nobody using that gate.
At first i wanted to go to the old city through this gate.
I reached the gate and saw many unfriendly indians taking nap just outside this gate.
Plus the guard of the gate told us pretty straight forward that this was the wrong way for us.
The situation was getting scary, i didn't dare to ask him why we couldn't get through the gate also,
and we paced quickly back to the original entrance.

We were standing beside a giant abandoned well (i guess). It is very deep, and scary, especially at night.

Recently i watched a movie called Darjeeling Limited. While watching, i immediately noticed that it was shot in Jodhpur. It is a vey nice movie, it is so relatable to me. I feel somehow connected to the movie. Not just because of the fact that i have been to India, but also the deeper meaning of the movie. I like the scenes when the suitcases are left at the end of the movie, and when they tore their return airtcikets and decided to go searching for their mom. Here is the movie trailer.

Udaipur, city of lakes

Udaipur is probably the second best city i visited in India besides Amritsar. But Udaipur has probably the best guesthouse ever in India, the Mewargarh Palace. My impression on the city : very humid, lakes everywhere and very clean markets. It is a little tranquil city, totally safe and nice to have a walk at night. It was my second stop during my trip to India, just after Mumbai. So you can imagine how i feel, when arriving at Udaipur from Mumbai, the total opposite of Udaipur.   

Inside one of the rooms of Mewargarh Palace.

View of Udaipur from our guesthouse.

the kitchen, the dining room and also a place to hangout.

The Lake Palace at the centre of the lake.

Weird portrays.

Maharana Pratap and his famous horse, Chetak, probably more famous than his owner.
They both fought bravely and died together.

Guess what, this is actually a cemetery for the royalties. Each dome is a tomb.

At the local market. Spices!!!!!!

I am not sure what it is. I guess it is some sort of cane sugar or something.

They all line up so well, and the floor is so clean!!!

Goats chilling at the local morning market.

For all the street food i tasted in India, this stall sells the best street food.

The Lake Palace view from the City Palace.

Inside the City Palace.

The City Palace.