June 2 - June 9 1972: New Delhi, Lal Qila and Jantar Mantar

  Taken From All About My Hat The Hippy Trail 1972 ISBN ‎ 978-0993210716

(Photographs found on line and more recent than 1972 because all I had back then was one 24 exposure black and white film and could not afford another)

After Miriam had left saying she hoped to see Al again soon, and Keith had not appeared, this was the first time that Al was travelling alone.

He spent about a week in Delhi, checking for mail or money every day, to no avail, but during that week he was out and about every day, visiting New and Old Delhi sights such as the Red Fort and the Astronomy Gardens off Connaught Circus.

He learned that the Red Fort, or 'Lal Qila' had been built in about 1648 as a palace by Shahjahanabad, a Moghul emperor, and Moghul emperors had lived there for hundreds of years. It was contained within tall red sandstone walls. The main gate was called the Lahori Gate as it faced the direction of Lahore. Each side of the large gate was a tower. Inside were rows of buildings and a water channel known as the 'Stream of Paradise'. The Fort was large enough to spend an hour or so wandering around, sitting in the green garden under the shade of trees. It was a pleasant break from the hustle of Delhi's busy streets.

The Astronomical Gardens, Jantar Mantar

 

After a few days, Al took a train to Agra, to see the Taj Mahal, the world famous white mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife in 1632. Mumtaz Mahal, a Persian princess, had died during the birth of their fourteenth child.

Al had arrived at Agra railway station only to find it pouring with rain – the first real rain he had seen since leaving Europe. He took a bicycle rickshaw to the Government's Tourist Bungalow Accommodation and booked a room to three nights – it was very cheap and clean, but the downside was the number of small lizards that were running up the walls and upsides down across the ceiling, and the crickets that seemed to find their way into his rucksack, even his trouser pockets and what is more, inside me, at night. The first morning, Al was constantly surprised when he found them hidden away. After that he looked before he put on his trousers and before he put me on his head.