Day off - sightseeing!

I had a lazy morning - a bit of a lie in and a read of Charles Dickens.  After lunch though I headed out into the big wild city!  I waited 20 mins for a bus, gave up and took an autorickshaw to the nearest metro stop at Chattarpur:

The Metro is clean, fast and air-conditioned! But it can get crowded.

Just a short wait for the train, and then I was whisked into Old Delhi.

As soon as you get out of the station there are crowds of people, cars, autorickshaws, cycle rickshaws, and the people start to hassle you. "Can I help you Sir?" "Where do you want to go Sir?" "Cycle rickshaw Sir? Red Fort, Spice Market...?" But I pressed on through the crowds, ensuring pockets and bags were well zipped up!  Finally managed to battle the short walk to the Red Fort...

...with its impressive walls and gateway:

I grabbed myself an audioguide and wandered round in the heat and humidity.  The grounds are extensive and the buildings impressive, at least what's left of them after various raiders have ransacked them (Persians) or shot at them (British).













This is impressive - the building where Emperor Shah Jahan used to hold court.  He's the guy who built the Taj Mahal as a memorial for his wife.

And this is where the ladies used to hang out.  Pretty isn't it?

After exploring the Fort it was back to the bustle of Old Delhi to fight my way back to the Metro.

The Metro was packed and on the short journey back, 2 trains I was on got "evacuated" due to technical problems.  Indian crowded trains are different to the London Underground where people tend to stand aside and let people off first.  In India it's more like the driving: everyone just pushes in the direction they want to go!  I managed to get the bus back to the flat - for 5 rupees (6p) for about 4 km.