Delhi-Agra-Jaipur - Part II (Qutb Minar & Humayun's Tomb)

The irony of keeping update of your travel blog is the tendency to pick up every single details, and of course carrying a small note book around during the trip may help, a lot. However, it depends on your multitasking thingy - clicking the camera for good photos, observing the place, make a mental note, make a written note. Now I know that a paid travel job sometimes can be demanding yet it is exciting - seeing new things everyday and feel grateful for it.

Enough of my insignificant ramblings, lets move on.

The city tour of Delhi was one of the highlight of this course. We went by a bus booked by the institute,  all of us in jovial mood. The journey to the first site, Qutab Minar was pretty interesting with bumps on the road chosen by the bus Driver, Mr. Singh. It has triggered a long lost friend of mine,  the infamous back pain at the very beginning, however I have tried to ignore the Aunt Agony's trait knowing I was in some foreign land, cannot be too fussy.

The excursion was my first chance to have a glimpse of the real world outside TERI. I arrived in Delhi in a pitch dark night so I took many interesting photos just for a memory sake. You will never see something like this in coming 20 years. Trust me, development will change some landscape and yesteryear photos will be sought after (my theory lah, ahahahah). It was interesting that upon entering a village, the bus driver stopped for a toll fee. I was like what? OK, the idea was you are trespassing some private land, so tax is collected. Simple concept. 

I have realized the road we took brought us a good observation - how every corner allows people to conduct businesses with less binding laws or required permit. Also good for job creation and address the poverty issues. This is very practical compared to what we have in Malaysia. Creating a business need you to do a lot of thing such as registering, paying the fees, adhering regulation of setting premises and GST to add more cost for doing business. Things have been quite expensive lately. At the end, profit earned could have been brutally axed by these deduction, which leave the consumers need to pay for it (sigh).

A city tour will not be complete without a tour guide. Here comes Mr. Ally, a happy go lucky gentle man who made this excursion more memorable and fun!

Listening to the briefing.

The entrance to the complex.

visitors, local and foreigners with different entrance fees.

Qutab Minar is a must for Delhi visitors. The history makes you wonder with the technology used by the people in those days. The minaret stand tall amidst the lush greenery,where people in their own leisure can gaze and admire the beauty. It is said that no plane are allowed to fly above since the structure has quran verses on it.

Since it is a complex, definitely you can see other things, such as the masjid, the temple and the court. The assimilation of Hinduism and Islam influence was obvious to say that the area was ruled by the founder of Mamluk Dynasty who understand the need to respect other existing belief. well at least to gain acceptance from the local people. That was the spirit.

So we left Qutab Minar for the next site. If you decide to visit Qutab Minar by taking Delhi Metro, just take the Yellow Line and stop at Qutb Minar Station. From the station, it is quite impossible to walk all the way to the complex. You can take a cab, approximately a kilometer away from the stop.

One UNESCO Heritage site checked.

Some karaoke moments with participants and Mr. Ally performing some Hindi songs.Very entertaining.

Passing through the road we came across this one.The Gurdwara in Delhi looks more well maintained compared to Malaysia's eheehhehe

People and vehicles. Somewhere near to a hospital.

Chilling out, relaxing near the bridge. The cool weather really helps!

People waiting at the bus stop. I like the sari. Regal.

One of the government building being well guarded. The shade from the trees make the place even lovelier.

Local selling roses. I wish I can buy one of these but unfortunately we need to keep alert on the traffic.

The second site.

Delhi has a few UNESCO heritage sites. Humayun's Tomb for example, has been an inspiration to Taj Mahal construction, 85 years after it was completed. If you an avid Hindi movie fan, perhaps it is a familiar site you must see in those pictures. The closest scene belong to this movie ' Fanaa' starring Mr. Aamir Khan and Ms.Kajol (2006).

Poster credits - Yash Raj film

The scene of Humayun's Tomb when Aamir Khan playing tourist guide to Kajol. Unfortunately I could not locate this spot. 

It is said that those days had many people visiting not only to admire but to read Quran. It is a quiet place for recital and more peaceful feelings upon reading some verses. Too bad I could not do that. The idea of carrying mini quran everywhere and find a spot may be a good idea after this.

The tomb entrance.

The first tomb you will find upon entering the building. My friend, Pedro from Paraguay.

Kinda weird to ask the boys to pose in front of these tombs. 

While waiting for the rest of us.

One of the unique character of Humayun's Tomb are the gates built in 4 direction - North, South, East and West. All the gates look similar to me unfortunately. Sometimes you may get confused after coming out from the tomb and to find the gate you have entered in the first place. Lucky for us that Mr Ally reminded us earlier. Otherwise we would not be able to proceed for other site if any of us were somewhere else, missing in action.  

During the visit I noticed another site was under construction but not sure which preservation was made next to Humayun's Tomb. The future visitors will have more sight to see after the completion. Later we took the bus for lunch in TERI's office, The Habitat. It was a long day for us, but worth every second to know Delhi better - culturally and historically.

To be continued.

Delhi-Jaipur-Agra - Part 1 (Welcome to Delhi)

Alhamdulillah.

Life has been a blessing, in disguise which the offer came from High Commission of India to have 3 weeks course in the country would be definitely a life saver.

whatever it means. Kinda bored with the job so i opted to go for this one. pretty burnt out with the office stuff.

So, as usual to proceed entering a country with visa, you have to fill in the visa application form. Later the embassy will issue a flying return ticket, with some instruction - come back to your country immediately after the course end. No wandering. No extra day staying to go anywhere. Initially I planned to proceed for Kashmir-Jammu, but the time constraint travelling with extra penalty charge for changing the flight date may not be sensible. Yes, I was right after a few incident happened. Something back at home deterred me to do that kind of travelling.

However, I am pretty happy to say within 3 weeks studying and going for some field trip, I managed to squeeze time for Jaipur. I would not regret to spend every cent on it. Believe me.

Delhi.

What i can say about this metropolis?

It is full of people, very service oriented, labor comes cheap, you have the money, there you go. What i mean is, language barrier comes second, service given and received would come first then you pay. As simple as that.

Upon arriving, I had feeling that I may be left unattended by the so called assigned taxi driver by the institution I was about to enroll to send me to my hostel in Gwal Pahari.

I took a cab, after due consideration of not spending the whole night in the airport. Lucky before I boarded the flight, some googling thingy in Malaysia for just in case scenarios did happen.

The most important thing is, if nobody to pick you at the airport in the wee hour in Delhi and metro train service was not operating those hours, just grab a cab. Not simply any cab you find outside the airport.

Try MERU cab. It is convenient, you can go out and ask the attendant to assign a cab driver for you, but it is kinda pretty expensive, but you would not give so much thought for your safety precaution, especially for a lady travelling alone.

The first impression after you get yourselves into the cab, is how efficient the driver to find your place even it is his first time exploring the destination you want to go. He would be able to call the person you may give number to contact, lucky i managed to jot down on a piece of paper that number and it saved me a lot of inconvenience.

That was the first moment I had in Delhi. The rest can be described through my pictures. Enjoy them till you can.

My hostel, TERI Retreat Gurgaoun, Delhi.

People going for work, outside my retreat gate

The room that they gave me for the entire stay. Beautiful and comfortable

some brochures. read it.

beautiful and well kept surrounding.

smart building concept. I loike~!

view from my balcony

From Delhi with Love

India Gate

I am now here for a course for 3 weeks.

So stay tune to get my upcoming update. Till then Happy Diwali~! Its kinda freezing here :)

Old Citadel Of Ankara

Malam tadi teringin nak makan kebab sangat sangat.

Puaslah dicari kebab yang sedap dengan berjalan ke Bukit Bintang. Hampa kerana tiada yang berkenan di hati.

Pada masa ini penulis masih bercuti bersalin dan tinggal seminggu untuk masuk kerja semula. Kali ini cuti tidak ke mana hanya berehat dan merawat diri dan hati. Anyhow I dedicated this post to my demised beloved Nur Zahirah Khan as she passed away during labour in Hospital Selayang. Tujuh keturunan i takkan jejak itu hospital!  OK, stop meroyan. Back to the actual story. Yup I did not have intention to spread this sad news but previous posting has to do with travel. Travel with kids. Nak buek camno, tader rezeki. Tiada rezeki nak bawa baby berjalan Alhamdulilah, sempat travel dengan baby masa dalam kandungan. hidup perlu diteruskan ye dak?

Sambung cerita trip kerja sambil mengembara di Turki awal tahun ini, bandar seterusnya selepas Istanbul adalah Ankara.

Seperti mana semua orang tahu Ankara merupakan bandar pusat pemerintahan kerajaan Turki. Ala ala Putrajaya gittew, tapi Ankara ni ada tempat bersejarah dengan namanya Old Ankara Citadel dan Ankara Castle. Sesiapa yang ke sini juga boleh melawat Makam Attartuk. tapi penulis tidak sempat kerana mengejar penerbangan balik.

Cerita bermula apabila penulis berkampung di Ministry of Economy, Republic of Turkey selama tiga hari kerana menghadiri mesyuarat. Sudah penat berpok pek dengan orang orang Turki menjalankan rundingan ya penulis cuma koordinator, tak perlu mencelah masuk sekadar mengambil nota, dapatlah membuat tinjauan serba sedikit. sambil menyelam minum air katanya. Dipendekkan cerita, bangunan kementerian ini unik kerana kafeteria terletak di tingkat paling atas. Maknanya boleh lah menjamu mata hirup kopi panas sambil layan pemandangan kan. Suka konsep ini. Kalau bangunan kerajaan di Putrajaya macam ini, seronoklah staf kan. Putrajaya dah cantik. dapat top view lagi cantik--->sekadar cadangan eheheheh.

Maka, ke roof top cafe kementerian tersebut saya membuat tinjauan.

Pemandangan roof top ke bangunan bangunan sebelah. Lebih banyak high rise building untuk pejabat dibina menggantikan  bangunan lama di kawasan business district Ankara.

Boleh dikatakan adalah sesuatu yang bertuah sekiranya kita diberi peluang meninjau cara orang asing bekerja. Maka aku pun membuat pemerhatian terhadap gelagat mereka, dan hasilnya?

Penjawat awam yang akan beratur semasa menaiki lif. berdisplin kan? cuba kalau kita kita buat macam ni?sejuk mata memandang... kerana kami adalah delegasi jemputan, maka diberikan keutamaan sebagai penghormatan kepada tetamu katanya.

Setelah selesai mesyuarat rundingan, kami pun berpakat untuk mendapatkan beberapa barang untuk dibawa pulang ke Malaysia. Memandangkan jadual yang padat, tidaklah dapat kami meluangkan masa menziarahi beberapa tempat bersejarah. Kot mana pun untuk mengubat hati yang lara, dibawa kami melalui beberapa tempat menarik di sekitar Ankara selintas lalu. At least dapatlah menjamu mata dengan pemandangan ye tak. Arah ke tempat dituju akan nampak Old Citadel yang merupakan salah satu tempat harus dilawati kalau anda berada di sana. Pada kali ini kami tidak berpeluang melawat Ankara Castle kerana kesuntukkan masa.

Kami dibawa menaiki van menaiki bukit yang mana Old Citadel ini bertapak. Jelas kelihatan pemandangan kota Ankara lama dan bandar Ankara baru  dari Citadel ini. 

Salah satu struktur bangunan di dalam Old Citadel. Jelas dinding yang dibina menggunakan pelbagai saiz bata yang berbeza. Dikatakan ini adalah sebuah satu masjid yang berada di Old Citadel ini. Cantik kan hiasan pintunya?

Kawasan sekitar Old Citadel memang berbukit. Bagus untuk membina stamina memanjat naik dan memanjat turun. Suka tengok susunan batu di atas permukaan jalan yang bercorak. entah berapa usianya ya?

Di kawasan kaki bukit Old Citadel, terdapat beberapa kedai menjual barang cenderamata dan juga

kedai kedai antik untuk pengunjung masuk dan membeli. Al maklum kalau sudah nama pun perempuan, barang rumah lah yang akan menjadi pilihan. Masa ni baru rasa agak terkilan tak bawak duit banyak banyak sebab memang rambang mata.

Antara pinggan hiasan yang pelbagai corak dan warna untuk dibawa balik. Jika diteliti, motif bunga tulips merupakan  corak utama hiasan pinggan tersebut. Ikut sejarah memang pokok tulips berasal dari Turki tetapi dibawa balik oleh Raja Belanda kemudian dulu. 

Penulis mengambil kesempatan bergambar di sebuah kedai barangan antik

Barangan antik yang boleh dibeli dan harga murah murah. percaya tak sepasang cawan dan piring porselin itu berharga 1 lira =RM1.50... memang murah

Barangan antik juga dijual bagi peminat hiasan atau pengumpul barangan seumpama ini. Tertarik nak dapatkan kemudi kapal tu sebab mungkin berusia mencecah ratusan tahun kan? Tapi nak bawak balik haruslah difikirkan kaedah macam mana yang sesuai pula.

Selain barang barang hiasan rumah, antik dan souvenirs, terdapat gerai gerai menjual pelbagai barang makanan kering seperti dried fruits dan kekacang. Pelawat boleh mencuba dan mendapatkan harga yang berpatutan dari pekedai sekiranya membeli dalam kuantiti yang banyak. Memandangkan kami membawa pemandu van yang fasih berbahasa Turki, lagi banyak lah diskaun yang boleh diberi.

Pilihan makanan kering dan harga mengikut sukatan. teruja tengok kekemasan kedai ini

Setelah hampir dua jam kami menghabiskan masa membeli barangan yang dihajati, tetiba rasa lapar dan dahaga walau cuaca di Ankara pada masa itu sejuk kerana musim sejuk (antara 15 - 17 celcius waktu tengahari). Maka dicarinya gerai untuk minum dan makan tengahari. Paling best boss pula mahu belanja kami makan kebab. Alhamdulillah, rezeki jika pergi bekerja dengan boss, selalu adalah peluang dapat makan bersama. Kenangan best juga dengan rakan kerja.

Restoren Turki yang menawarkan kebab dan makanan lain. Simple dan authentic kedai ni kan?

Kebab kambing yang enak dan simple jugak. Memang sedap lah dagingnya walau hidangan ringkas tanpa sebarang sos perisa. Dapat pula dimakan bersama salad segar dan roti kebab yang panas panas. Awesome!

Oh ya, untuk maklumat lanjut mengenai Ankara Castle sekiranya anda ingin melawat (saya insya allah akan cuba juga suatu hari nanti) bolehlah google untuk tahu cara-cara ke sana.

Safari in Sauraha (Nepal 2012 Trip)

I am inspired to continue my entry for Nepal this time, after watching a late night Bollywood film with hub last night, Kathmandu came suddenly into the scene. How memorable it was until Hub even mentioned his desire to visit the country! sebab dia plak terlebih excited. LOL

One of our must-visit places during that 2012 trip was Chitwan National Park, located in the southern region of  Nepal, 30 km from India-Nepal border. I wished that we too had Indian visa to border cross but of course it was not doable due to the time limit.

The Road leading to Chitwan National Park. Every countries visited, the signage of passing animals must be a taken for a shot, for remembrance. LOL

My driver took us into this village area of Sauraha. As we descended from the highland to the flatland, things were getting pretty exciting when we see paddy field, cows or buffalos and some farming activities. It reminds us a lot to our kampung too, like Kedah and other northern region. The journey from Pokhara to Chitwan National Park took almost the entire day with some stop to have nature calls and lunch.

I can say Sauraha was the best thing happened during the entire trip. We met cool people who were not reluctant to be open and fun with the visitors, in many good ways. My tour guide brought us to this place for stay - Hotel Rainforest. 

http://www.hotelrainforest.com.np/aboutus.php

The friendship established between the visitors and the staff are amazing, still a facebook buddy to my guide, Mr. Arpan Guni and Mr. Buddha too, the chief among them all. Somehow it reminds me to my Outward Bound School (OBS) Experience in Lumut Perak. Very Cool!

You can google to find review of this place. 

People of Sauraha.

Well, I am not going to dwelve on the details. You can google the hotel mentioned since they come with activities for you to choose and do during the entire stay. Basically two or three days will be packed with activities, another point to come and again reminds me to that OBS experience, in more relaxed ways. What we have in Sauraha were :

1. Jungle trekking Activity

2. Visit to Chitwan National Park - elephant riding, Rhino watching, river cruising

3.  Local Tharu Dance Show (at night)

4. Sunset watching in Chitwan's River

5. BBQ (final night before departure)

6. Free n easy roaming in the town

Snake Skin found during jungle trekking activity

Chitwan National Park is a protected region of wild life so you will not see any people hunting the animals or to take any thing out of the forest except for the locals who are granted with special permission to gather herbs or wood material for their industrial usage. In the event of villagers being attacked by the wild life, there will be a special fund that pays the local some money. Dead crocodile carcasses or dead crocodile skin are not allowed to be taken out from this area too, so will see a number of them in this park without any harm.

Elephant Bathing Time. A must try!

I will leave readers with photos and no more explanation. Just to leave some surprise and room for imagination, especially for anyone who have intention to visit this place.

Some active crocodiles found during river cruise. Cool, they will not bite.

Elephants in the sanctuary visit. A bench mark to future Kuala Gandah's trip?

A rhino caught sleeping in the park. 

Couple of Chitwan, resting near Chitwan National Park.

Local girls met during our sunset watching in the river.

Kids of Chitwan.

The only thing I would like to see is the improvement of the road but of course it takes some years to develop. Who knows someday I may come and visit again this place. Insya Allah. 

River Cruising. A must do to!

This entry marks the final episode of my Nepal 2012 trip. I believe at this point of time many Malaysians has set their foot on the sacred land of Nepal due to cheap air ticket available and promotions done at MATTA fair. Perhaps people who have visited come with more stories of hiking activities which I did not manage to do it in the first place.

I would say Nepal is a must visit for those avid travellers. You will experience a total different culture, sight and people whom you may continue to have friendship with them for many many years because they are such cool people. The simplicity of life in Nepal is too another point for you.

The end......