4th March - Peas & Roses

Another sunny day in Delhi. Where have five and a half weeks gone?  After an outdoor breakfast we take a walk round Lodhi Gardens. At the entrance there is a blaze of colour, inside there are hordes of joggers and power walkers. Not too many birds to watch but it is a pleasant walk, totally free of two wheelers, which gets R's vote. Back at Lutyens Bungalow we have to start making a serious effort to pack. It appears that we have the required capacity,  so we can go out for lunch with a clear conscience. 

We take the metro to Chawri Bazaar, in the heart of Old Delhi, and set out on foot to find R's favourite mehndi stall. D gets the navigation wrong, finds several places that he couldn't find last year, and eventually manages to get to the right place. It does give us the chance to see some of the alleys and bazaars that do not feature on the regular tourist trail . Hand painting complete we set out for our late lunch appointment.  This includes a walk over the road bridge that spans New Delhi railway station,  which has not featured on our itinerary this year. At the far side we find our way  to the Paharganj Main Bazaar of hippy infamy. 

Our rendezvous is the Exotic Rooftop Cafe, which is up three flights of steep stairs. We sit down to wait for J, who has been on a welding course in Tamil Nadu for the last month. He looks in good shape for a man who has spent nearly two days on a train and orders a cheese toasty as a reaction to a month of South Indian food, we go for momos. They are ready in slightly under the hour, probably the longest wait we have ever had for food anywhere. It doesn't matter as there is lots to talk about, including Burma and Bangladesh.  J is a big fan of both. Eventually we need to leave as we have our bill to settle and an in house dinner ordered. We flout the rules by crossing New Delhi station's footbridge without tickets in order to access the metro.

Lutyens Bungalow is rather quiet tonight. We have a beer on the terrace before paying our bill. A couple of ladies join us at the dinner table but the party breaks up early. We give our thanks to Shukla, our host, and say our goodbyes before heading for our room. The booming disco music from somewhere nearby, that dominated the early evening, has thankfully come to an end.