First Day Out & About

So, yesterday was my first day out and about in India. I met my flat-mate, Tim, and we decided to hit the town and see some sights.

Our first stop was Qutb Complex in South Delhi. Twenty-seven previous Jain temples were destroyed and their materials reused to construct the minar and other monuments of the complex.

The most famous monument in the complex is the Qutub Minar, which is the tallest brick minaret in the world. It stands 72.5 meters high (237.8 ft), with 399 steps leading to the top, unfortunately the tower is closed to visitors so I couldn't climb all the way up to the top.

Another interesting monument in the complex is the Iron Pillar, which is one of the world's foremost metallurgical curiosities. It is the only piece of the Hindu temple remaining, which stood there before being destroyed by Qutb-ud-din Aybak to build the Qutub Minar.

And apparently as tradition goes, every tourist in India gets asked to take photos of children. So, here are my first...

After walking around the Qutb Complex, we made our way to the old city and visited the Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque which was finished in 1656.

On the way...

I took a KLM flight to Delhi. I hadn't flown KLM in a long time, maybe 5 or 6 years. I think I had forgotten how amazingly cool the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is. Yes, that's right - the Amsterdam Airport does have a casino, massage tables, a museum, a baby care lounge room for parents, and more.

In addition, this airport has a "Junior Jet Lounge" - this is a lounge area for children under the age of 16 traveling alone. This lounge brings back a lot of memories. I used to spend so much time there when I used to travel alone from Cairo to California. I met many interesting children on their way to even more interesting destinations...

In all honesty though, that 3 or 4 hour layover may have been the longest part of my trip. I couldn't sleep, fearing that I would fall in deep sleep and end up missing my flight. I couldn't eat, I couldn't concentrate on reading and most devastating of all I couldn't find an internet connection.

During my intense efforts to kill time, I passed by one of the airport's duty free shops and came across a book-stand. And of course, work has to follow me everywhere...