NewDelhi — Blog — Jo Teasdale FRPS

Our final day of our travels took us back to Delhi. We had unfinished business - the Lodi Colony district. At the beginning of our trip it had been closed off so this was the perfect way to spend our last day. The temperature has hit mid 20s and the sun was shining.

Lodi Colony Delhi — Always good to have a map to find your way.

With the help of various groups, including the residents of Lodhi Colony, Asian Paints and St+Art India the town mural concept was inspired by the sights, sounds and smells of the Lodhi Colony, a residential area which has now become an open art gallery for all, with its enormous murals painted by both Indian and international artists.

The otherwise dull, plain walls of buildings in the colony have been beautifully transformed into a creative ensemble as part of the annual Lodhi Street Art Festival.

Each triple-storey government-owned building features a central arched doorway and four windows where the archway offers a glimpse inside to a courtyard.

In some buildings, the archways frame the trees spilling out into the street.

I loved the way both the new and old trees of Lodhi dynamically became part of each art piece.

Lodhi Art District is home to over 54 murals that take on various themes, from social issues to environmental issues, marginalised and vulnerable communities like LGBTQ to Indian Culture and values. Many of them have been inspired by the residents and visitors of the Lodhi Colony.

Here art isn’t limited to a museum or art gallery or to the elite. It reflects an age of a generation of artists that hold the power to delivering their messages through street art.

Carnatic Cafe provided us with our final meal - the best Dosas and Sambar ever. The perfect ending as we savoured our last sights of New Delhi.

Well that’s it. Our bags are packed and it’s time to head back home to England.

Our final unexpected treat was from our plane window as we began to head home - crossing the mountain range over K2 to Kazakstan.

Its been an interesting trip to say the least, full of unexpected twists and turns and very different to our last visit to India.

Our next adventure begins in a couple of months… I hope you will join me.

A tale of two cities. A whirlwind couple of days back in Delhi, this time to the Defence Colony in New Delhi. Our final stopover before Singapore. A tranquil, modern Indian suburb, quite a difference from our previous destinations. Once everyone had woken up, we hit the deafening hustle and bustle for one last time.

Delhi’s bypass is noisy, heavily polluted and home to a number of families. Home is just a tarpaulin and a campfire situated underneath the bypass. We have witnessed the poverty in India, but it wasn’t in your face. However, this bypass is desperate and dystopic. To try and make money, families attempt to sell flowers and cheap toys to the drivers, as they wait at the lights. Men, women and children go knocking on the car windows, starring at you through the glass. It breaks your heart.

Our taxi driver took a big bunch of flowers home to his wife that afternoon.

Having passed through Delhi Airport without any issues this time we felt a huge weight lift. Arriving in Singapore Airport you quickly realise that you ‘waft’ and ‘glide’ through. There is no stress in this airport. In fact there appears to be no stress anywhere.

The cars in Singapore are on the correct side of the road, travelling at a slow steady speed. it’s unnervingly quiet, no horns are beeping, no revving of engines. Its very, very calm. Not a cow, buffalo or goat to be seen.

The roads are smooth and everywhere is planted, pruned and manicured. Ugliness is hidden away or disguised. Colours are considered and harmonious. There is no chaos. Singapore looks like an advert for Utopia. There is a population of about three million people living on this tiny island. High occupancy flats and offices and yet it is so quiet and uncluttered. However, there’s no wildlife around us anymore, just an occasional dog on a lead.

Our AirBnB didn’t quite workout, infact it was disastrous, so we vacated and took a punt on a hotel downtown. As we squeezed into our super-deluxe, top of the range ‘value’ room, it dawned on us that our palatial, generous rooms in India were now a thing of the past. We would be downsizing from now on.

We also realised that food was going to become challenging, especially if your vegetarian like me. However, we preferred the challenge of the Chinese hawkers markets to the sterile city restaurants. It’s really clean here, no litter, no shoving or pushing, everyone is so polite and helpful. It’s very easy. The trains are driverless as are some cars. There is WiFi everywhere and its super fast. Everyone is on their phone, all the time.

Our first menu in Singapore was quite challenging.

Singapore is not a particularly attractive city in the daylight, its very sanitised, clinical and a bit dull, but when the night draws in it’s transformed into the city of tiny lights, millions of twinkling lights. Its stunning and magical.

And since we’re in town we brought rain. Not just any old rain, 24 hours torrential rain. John’s nickname in India was Johnny Monsoon. He’s beginning to believe it.

Your Lean, Clean Flying Machine is Ready - Indigo Airlines Tagline. Delhi Airport.

‘Drivers are requested not to urinate on the roads and walls in the colony’ - Order by DOWA

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