Day 21: Touring Delhi

Much like Greeks don't visit the Parthenon, Indians from Delhi don't visit the sights in Delhi. This is how I found myself with my host Supriya, her mother, her brother, her two cousins, and her mother's friend on a bus touring Delhi. In the morning, I thought this would be funny. I imagined a bus full of foreigners and then me with people from Delhi. When we got on the bus, I was shocked to see that I was the only non-Indian there. Here's what we saw during our tour:

• Jantar Mantar: This is an astronomical observatory built in 1724. All of the instruments are as big as buildings and are pretty neat to look at. A good first stop.


• Lakshmi Narayan Temple: Pictured above, this temple is one of my favorite sights so far on the trip. It is beautiful and must be repainted constantly. I loved this place.


• Qutub Minar: This was supposed to be an excellent example of Afghan architecture. If that's correct then my take away is that I'm not a fan of Afghan architecture.


• Bahai's House of Worship aka the Lotus Temple: Because this temple is shaped like a lotus, I wanted to love it. I liked it enough but it couldn't compare to Lakshmi Narayan in beauty.


• Red Fort: This was so interesting that I can hardly remember it. I do remember that it was attacked by terrorists a few years back and there are armed guards out front. It was built by the same guy who did the Taj Mahal.


• Humayun's Tomb: The tomb was a great way to end the day. It is supposed to be a protoype of the Taj Mahal. I didn't have time to walk inside but thought it was very pretty from the outside. We also got to see a wild peacock here. Peacocks are the national bird of India.