Initially, we took a tour of Delhi, and saw the monuments in old History text books come up in 3D.
The India gate standing proud brought a choke to our hearts when we read the names of the soldiers who had died fighting for the British in the 2nd world war. An army band playing in the garden pictured in perfectly with the feel. A long walk from the India gate to the Rashtrapati Bhavan got us talking about India's freedom struggle, politics, social issues and the culture of Delhiites, among other things. 
We moved on to see the Qutb Minar and the Iron pillar where the intricate Mughal architecture still stands tall, literally. Sadly, these days the structures are kept off-limits so you cant really get a 'feel' of them. Nevertheless, the feat of constructing a tall imarat in those times was definitely to a great accomplishment. However, man's quest to build taller continues to today, as we can see in the skyscrapers.
We were walking within Dilli Haat, soaking in the varied shapes and colours of handicrafts from all over India, when suddenly a traditional Sri Lankan peacock dance appeared amongst us, like from nowhere!
A ride through the classy Delhi Metro took us to the other main places, such as Chandni Chowk and Connaught place. But the most enjoyable of all was our visit to Bangla Sahib Gurdwara. An 
impressively huge structure of marble, a beautiful pool within, round-the-clock food for all who come, and Sikh volunteers queueing up to serve all who visit, from storing your shoes to washing your plates. We had delicious Roti and Sabji here, seated on a carpet with people from every strata of society; a great leveller. This institution has kept its promise that no one who comes should be refused food and no one should die out of starvation; they have proved that it is possible!
Our journey to Shimla started by an overnight train journey from Delhi to Kalka. From Kalka to Shimla it was by a heritage toy-train, which began its slow ascent to the foot-hills of the Himalayas even as it was breaking dawn.
impressively huge structure of marble, a beautiful pool within, round-the-clock food for all who come, and Sikh volunteers queueing up to serve all who visit, from storing your shoes to washing your plates. We had delicious Roti and Sabji here, seated on a carpet with people from every strata of society; a great leveller. This institution has kept its promise that no one who comes should be refused food and no one should die out of starvation; they have proved that it is possible!
Our journey to Shimla started by an overnight train journey from Delhi to Kalka. From Kalka to Shimla it was by a heritage toy-train, which began its slow ascent to the foot-hills of the Himalayas even as it was breaking dawn.
Once in Shimla, we visited the tourist destinations of the Ridge, the Mall, Scandal point, Christ Church (all in a walking circle). Sweaters and artifacts made of Pine wood were a good buy. The Hanuman temple on Jakhu hill has monkeys that take off your spectacles and return them only if you give them nuts to eat! Further on we went upto Kufri, a peak that's snow-covered in the winter. We found a temple, some Yaks brought in from Tibet along with a Yak lady from Bengal, and the most magnificent sight of the Himalayas afar.
We descended from the heavens back to Delhi, and went onward to Agra, all by train. In Agra we had only one agenda... the Taj Mahal. We did it complete justice by spending 3 hours in the Taj; walking, sitting, lying, touching the marble that maketh the wonder.
After buying a small version of the Taj (and learning the hard way that you must buy it from the Government handicraft store) , we returned to Delhi by the Taj express train, sipping on Taj tea, saying...... 'Wah Taj!'
