The Tauck Trip Commences!

After a quick lunch (I discovered that room service is the only way to get just a bowl of soup here!) I met up with the group and was pleased to learn that instead of the anticipated 25, there are only 17 of us.

Two couples are from Australia (Jeff & Pam, Dave & Dee) . Unlike my past OAT trips, I am the only solo traveler. I guess Tauck’s hefty single supplement encourages solo travelers to look elsewhere. There are two female friends traveling together ( Gloria and Sue from Naples, FL) and a mother/ daughter duo (Suzy and Whitney from Vail, CO).

Gloria, Sue and I enjoyed a fantastic welcome dinner at the hotel’s Indian restaurant. We shared the table with Jim & Sherrie and Tom & Alison, 2 couples from the greater Washington DC area, who travel together.

The remaining couples are Joann & Don from Racine, WI and Pat & Bill from Brookline, MA.

Yesterday afternoon, we toured the place where Gandhi was assassinated. By then, the morning’s Bollywood session and lack of sleep had caught up with me. I was exhausted, so instead of touring the site, I watched the monkeys, including this fine fellow.

Luckily, I got my second wind in time for the evening’s cocktail hour, and the aforementioned dinner, during which the wine flowed freely. So freely, that when I awoke at 11PM, I thought it was morning. It took me a while to realize the room was bright, not from the sun, but because I fell asleep ( passed out?) with the lights on. Fortunately, I was able to go right back to sleep. This time, with the lights out.

Our day was spent touring the cities that comprised old and new Delhi. Our guide explained about the 10 cities of Delhi, but it was confusing and frankly not all that interesting to me, so I didn’t pay attention. I was too busy being wowed by all the lush greenery, the gardens and the fabulous murals lining the roadway. It was NOT what I expected!

Our first stop was the UNESCO World Heritage site, Humayun’s Tomb. It dates back to the late 1500’s. The photo heading this post is of the tomb.

Here’s another view of this spectacular sandstone and marble building. Our guide told us it inspired the Taj Mahal.

The tomb contains 100 bodies, and since it was Muslim, the bodies were buried, not cremated.

Our next site visit was to the 18-story stone Qutub Minar Victory Tower. This minaret was built more than eight centuries ago, and is located in one of the earliest surviving mosque complexes in India.

By then, we had all worked up quite an appetite, so we were delighted by the feast at the Olive Restaurant. We all had slices of the wonderful thin crust pizza and tomato soup, but then we were able to choose our own entrees. I selected the roasted butternut squash, with Kalamata olives. It was so great, eating it was almost a religious experience! Everyone else was equally enthusiastic about their choices. By the time we had finished dessert, we were so full, ( and it was so late in the day) dinner seemed excessive. Sorry, no food photos. My phone’s battery was almost as exhausted as I was yesterday!

Tomorrow we fly to Varanasi, so had to separate our belongings, taking enough for an overnight, with the rest of our luggage being driven to Agra.