The End of Another Wonderful Adventure

Our final Southern Asia stop after leaving the peaceful and majestic mountains of Nepal was a two day stay in New Delhi. We were quite impressed with the airport but as soon as we boarded a taxi to our guest house we quickly remembered what is was like being in an overpopulated city (20+ million people). With horns constantly honking, the 3 lane one-way road had at least 6 lanes of vehicles vying for the lead in the race to nowhere, while pedestrians nonchalantly crossed the street defying injury, and cows calmly walked down the middle of the road, somehow knowing that they were sacred creatures and ultimately had the right of way even if they were moving against the flow of traffic. It was clear that we were back in India! Anticipating what this was going to be like, Rhonda found us a lovely place to stay in an ‘upscale’ neighbourhood (it’s all relative) where the metro train stop was only a five minute walk away to whisk us off to the sights we wanted to see without having to dabble in the traffic, and questionable air quality, more than was necessary. The metro system was excellent…….frequent trains, inexpensive ($2 for full day use), air conditioned, easy to use, and built above ground (with more to come) allowing for city views and not adding to the traffic problems. 

We spent the remainder of our first day plotting our sight visit strategy and enjoying a delicious meal at the rooftop restaurant at our guesthouse. Our 3 day excursions included visits to markets (Delhi Haat and Kahn), Humayan’s Tomb (model for the Taj Mahal, built by the Emperor’s wife), Presidential Palace and Qutab Minar (12th century ruins). Our Delhi experience turned out to be better than anticipated and we both avoided  ‘Delhi belly’ which was an added bonus.

We completed our adventure the same way it started………spending time with our daughter, Rachel, this time in Basel, where she now lives. Rachel and Aaron were great hosts, and it was nice to visit again with Raegan, her 3-legged dog who many of our friends have come to know and enjoy. We did two full day trips with them, both 2 hour drives from Basel. The first was to the Broc – Gruyere area where we went to one of the original Swiss chocolate factories (Cailler), a gruyere cheese factory and the interesting HR Giger Museum (Academy Award winner for Special Effects – Alien).  Another day we drove to Interlaken, a beautiful place connected to two lakes by a river running through the city, with views of the surrounding Swiss Alps (4,000 metres, 13,500 feet). We did an easy hike (10 km’s but mostly flat) along the Valley of 72 Waterfalls, next to a creek with some of the falls having a drop that exceeded 400 metres. The Trummelbach Falls were our favourite, 10 glacier waterfalls inside the mountain.  We took an elevator part way up the mountain(the stairway was closed due to icing) and then followed interior caves to see water roaring down rock chutes carved out by the water flow. The views of the Alps along the pathway were also wonderful but another highlight was watching the multitude of paragliders and base jumpers diving off of the vertical cliff faces. While the experienced paragliders were able to catch updrafts and seemingly float forever, it was the base jumpers that got the adrenalin going, even for us. They used their squirrel suits to steer themselves away from the cliffs and then waited until they were three-quarters of the way down before pulling their parachutes. Something for me to consider going forward although jumping out of a plane might be a little safer and provide more time to enjoy the views! Pocahontas doesn’t want to partake in either one of them.

Following a 24 hour day, 16 hours travelling and an 8 hour time zone change, we are now back home. It was another great adventure with many more memories to add to our list of lifetime highlights which I have decided to start documenting before I start to forget about some of them. I started the list while we were trekking in Nepal and there are over two full pages of really special things that we have done. We are truly blessed, and fortunate to be able to realize many of our dreams.



New Delhi - Humayan's Tomb - the Emperor's wife had this monument built in 1565 when her husband passed away, setting the bar for the Taj Mahal which was built almost 100 years later. I let Rhonda know that I didn't need anything this extravagant.

Some of the ruins at Qutab Minar. The rock-carved pillars were impressive.

Rules for using the Delhi Metro system. With the exchange rate at 50 rupees to $1 Cdn, a 200 rupee fine converts to $4. A rooftop ride for only a $1 seems like a pretty good deal!

 

The Cailler factory in Broc. One of the original Swiss chocolate factories, now owned by Nestle. This was only part of the tasting line which offered many wonderful samples.

 

Walking up to the cobblestone road to the small village of Gruyere which was surrounded by a fort wall.

The HR Giger Museum bar. The Alien movie influenced the design of the pub.

Walking around Basel with Rachel, Aaron and Raegan. It was so nice to have so many pedestrian-friendly streets to walk along.

During our hike in the Valley of 72 Waterfalls. The steep face on the cliff to the right was ideal for the many paragliders and base jumpers who came to the scenic area in the Swiss Alps.

We saw a minor avalanche as we were walking along the trail. We heard the initial sound and then had plenty of time to snap pictures as the snow tumbled to the base.