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Editor's note: This excerpt first appeared in photographer and author Harold Davis' recent Focal Press book, Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Photography with Harold Davis.
The closer you...
It is big. It is moderately ruined. There are some ponds and water channels
that would be beautiful if they had any water in them, which they don't. This was
started by Shah Jahan in 1639, shifting power from Agra, and was the center of
Mughal power until 1857.
As long as you're visiting the Red Fort, check out the lively action on
Chandni Chowk, the big main street running into the Red Fort.
If there aren't any political demonstrations going on there, stop by Jami
Masjid, the largest mosque in India. A 20-minute climb up the minaret will yield
a good overview photograph of Old Delhi.
Mehrauli Archaeological Park (Qutb Minar)
The Qutb complex was built in 1193 by Qutbuddin Aibak and includes an
impressive tower, a 4th-century iron pillar, a college, and a tomb.
Lotus Temple
Built by the Bahai sect, the "Lotus Temple" was built from 1980 to 1986 from a
design by Fariburz Sahba. It seats 1300. Nobody is allowed to talk while inside,
which makes this just about the quietest spot on the Indian subcontinent.
Hotels
The best hotel in Delhi is the Maurya Sheraton, close to the airport and
southwest of downtown. The "ITC One" rooms are positively sybaritic and, of
course, include an RJ45 cable to plug into your laptop's network card (DHCP all
the way). You can also surf the Web from the TV. Internet service is free and
throughput to the US is about 48 Kbits per second. Two of the restaurants are
considered among Delhi's best. This is where Bill Clinton stayed during his
presidential tour of India. He is remembered by the staff here for eating
prodigiously. The Welcomgroup's magazine says that Clinton "decided to sample
almost all the different items on the menu [at Bukhara, the kabob restaurant]".
After the meal he congratulated the chefs and said "I wish I had two stomachs."
About $250 per night for the best rooms.
For a higher speed connection to downtown sights, government offices, and the
US Internet, try Le Meridien on Windsor Place, Janpath. This is smack in the
middle of town and throughput to the US from the in-room Internet connection ($15
per 24 hours; RJ45-terminated CAT 5 wire in the room) was 160 Kbits per second.
Sadly the swimming pool is small, the room is filled with the noise of
loudspeakers calling for patrons' drivers, and the atrium plunges you into a
perpetual twilight. A bit cheaper than the Sheraton but the dark atrium and
darkish room lighting made me depressed. "Like a Soviet hotel," is how a local
businessman referred to Le Meridien's decor.
