IndianPrincess: The visit to The Red Fort

Looking all Indian-ised and ready to go!

Finally reached our destination after an hour plus (pretty fast for water clogged Indian roads) BTW, it rained this morning again! N we can tell how rain-deprived the locals are by how they react when they see rain - dancing and playing in skywater. It really is quite a romantic thought.

The famous Red Fort - Lal Quila. The battlement walls stretch over 2.5km and enclose the fort and rise to a height of 33.5 metres at one point with a wide moat at its base. This was once connected to the river before it shifted to provide water to the moat.

The entrance to the Red Fort which is also the place where the Indian flag was hoisted for first time when India get its independence in 1947. Security is pretty tight with body searches (which also applies to the cinemas) and the bag detactor and scan procedures. However, the body search was compensated by special treatment for touristy me includes: personal 'handicap' toilet that is cleaned before I use and no queue for the tickets.

This is the sight we saw after the body searches. The official entrance to the exciting Fort city. Many people perceive that forts were meant to defend a city... BUT this was like a city itself inside the fort, stalls and entertainment meant for the owners or protectors of the fort. Will load those pics in the next post.

We were posing in front of Naubat Khana which means Drum House (to announce arrival of guests) which I thought was a Mosque so I had to act Muslim. Anyway I think the red turned out really well in the picture :) This three-storey building was also known as Naqqar Khana, it was here that music was played five times a day. It has another name which was 'Hathi Pol' (Elephant Gate) because visitors dismounted from their elephants here.

This is the entrance to the Museum that had information, paintings and sculptures of Indian's revolutionary past. It was a lovely sunny day after morning showers, so the sun was bright and clear, and surprisingly free from haze and pollution. Dont you like my Indian top? I like it too cos its a pretty deep shade of green.

This structure I believe was to house some birds cos I spied some flapping animals flying within the net. Somehow it reminded me of this scene from Aladdin cartoon where Princess Jasmine opened the beautiful white bird cage to release dozens and dozens of doves. On further research, it is actually the Emperor's throne, held in the Hall of Public Audience, made of a marble canopy or baldachin with pietra dura and floral motifs which were inlaid with polychrome semi-precious stones. It faces the main courtyard where civilians gathered to 'complain' to the Emperor.

The locals love to stop and gather to watch us while we posed and took pictures. Felt like a film star surrounded by hundreds of fans. if we charged everyone who stopped and stared at us 1 rupee, we could easily recoup our ticket costs. PS: we were all sweating despite looking fresh in pictures, being in the shade just lessened the burning sensation from the sun.

Look at the beautiful carvings! See how the daylight beckons and the rich shade of copper brown on the ceilings. One could marvel at the beauty and majesty of such sculptures filled with so much history and love which its sculptor patiently carved out.

I bet this place was reserved for Royalty. They really should let me in. I am princess in the eyes of my parents! The Diwan-i-Khas with an inscription on the wall which says “If on Earth be an Eden of bliss, it is this, it is this, none but this”. It truly is. I can only imagine how magnificant this fort must have been in the past with all its proper jewels and marble clean floors.

See the beautiful marble walls and carvings? How I wish my house would resemble this in the future, when I become power, rich and influential... hehe *dreams*

And I should have a pond in my garden too. Preferably with fountains and maybe kois. How about flamingos? hmm

View from the fort. The whole string of wires in the distance was covered with pigeons! To have a roasted pigeon, one should just electrocute those birds with those wires.

The out of place British barracks.

Ok we headed to CP for lunch at 5pm!! Hungry Singaporeans walked around for half an hour and the good Indian restaurants were packed and had a queue! Thankfully we came across this place called Zen. Guess what they serve?

Chinese Food! Although a tad too salty (maybe they spilled the bottle of salt into it), this wholesome meal put big fat grins on our faces. Yum yum. Lamb in Sze Chuan sauce, Cabbage and Xiao Bai Cai in Oyster Sauce, Pan Fried seafood noodles.