Day 12

And so the last day of our 'grand tour' saw us sightseeing in Delhi.

We went first to the largest mosque in India - which apparently houses 20,000 worshippers at a time. It was surprisingly plain, apart from its huge size and two ridiculously high minarets, one of which Scott and the girls climbed, but which left me feeling dizzy even with my feet on the ground!

From there we went on to the gardens created on the site that Mahatma Ghandi (amongst others) was cremated. There is a large marble 'slab' (for want of a better word) and an eternal flame, to which visitors from around the world come, to honour MG's memory. It is set in gardens tended by very careful gardeners; one of whom old me he had been working there for the government parks department for the past 30 years and it was the best job in the world.

And on to India gate - based on and rather similar to the Arc de Triomphe it has the names of all the soldiers, Indian & British who died in several battles of the world wars and Afghanistan wars. It was somewhat ruined for us by the fact that it was probably the hottest day we have had here and the hawkers around the gate were for sure the most aggressive and persistent we have encountered anywhere. Still, once again, we proved quite as exciting at the attraction itself and are now featured in yet more Indian families' holiday snaps. One of the more surreal moments for Ellie was when she was asked to be in a photo and had a baby thrust into her arms for the shot!

Last on our itinerary was the outside of the president's palace (all 360 rooms of it are closed to the public except for a brief period in the summer when the gardens are opened to the public) and the government buildings. It has an approach very like The Mall and the whole area felt much like being in London around Buckingham Palace, except the topiary and much of the decoration was elephant themed - not all that evident in London.

After a well-earned restful afternoon back at the hotel, we had a last evening with Narindrar; a walk through the markets and a meal in a restaurant. In some ways it will be daunting without him, but in others, it will be quite nice to work out our own schedule and timings and have a few days peace before flying home.