Weekend in Delhi with my sister

My sister had a business trip in Delhi and I decided at the last minute to visit her for a couple of days. My mother and Prasad managed the kids back in Bangalore. It was a great decision, we had so much fun. I didn't see too many of the sights as I've seen them before but I did get a glimpse of India gate and the parliament buildings. I must admit, I was quite impressed with Delhi, I could live there for a short period of time, barring the summer months, Delhi comes alive during the winter months and slumbers during the summer months. I was surprised to see so many foreigners but I guess I shouldn't be, it is the capital and we were mainly in the downtown area. Although my sister begs to differ, my Hindi lessons did pay off, I was able to understand and follow far more than I was before but I need more practice before I can reply fluently. She was amused that I was only able to speak simple sentences.

I met my sister's colleagues, it was interesting to meet people that have travelled all over the world on business and most have been posted in international countries at one time or another during their career.  They all seemed to have had  a far more interesting career than mine. The 2nd night, we met with a friend of my sister's who is a photographer and married to someone whose job is to organize cultural events for a German company, again another interesting couple. That same evening, my sister and I on a whim decided to eat at 360 at the Oberoi, it was recommended by a friend and Prasad.  Guess who we saw at the restaurant, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra! I was thrilled and wanted to go over and talk to her but my sister insisted that I don't. She was sure the secret service police would tackle me down. As I was gawking at them, her husband noticed that I was staring at them :-)  Surprisingly, she looked older than I expected, I think it was the bad haircut she had. Later as they were leaving, she stood up and she is very tall, taller than her husband and she looked younger with her outfit visible.  She doesn't look Indian but I guess many Delhites don't, so she probably fits in fine. According to the women that seated us, Priyanka frequents this restaurant quite often and her brother also joins them on occasion.  Not a single person in the restaurant seemed to have been surprised that she was there, I was the only person that was gushing.  That definitely spiced up our evening.

The rest of the trip was all about shopping. I strolled along Janpath for an hour, and a couple of hours at Dilli Haat and many hours at Rajouri Garden. Definitely Rajouri Graden was the most fun. People recommended GK M block, Haus Khas and the gift shop at Crafts Museum but we ran out of time. I really wanted to go to Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi to get the "real" Delhi experience and perhaps Sarojininagar or Karol Bagh but it'll have to wait till next time.

Everyone told us that Delhi is not safe for women however, we felt safe throughout our visit but I guess you can never be too careful. Two years ago, when we went to Agra, we bypassed Delhi completely, hopefully we'll get a chance to go one more time before we move back.