The end of the tour

The final food stop was for a mango lassi. It was delicious, and Zubair assured me it would help with my digestion. I was definitely full, and wouldn't need to eat again for the rest of the day!

We also visited Khari Baoli, Asia's largest spice market. We only went to one stall, where a staff member gave me a quick overview of the spices on sale. I bought some powdered mint and a ground biryani spice mix, but it all felt a bit rushed. I'd love to go back and explore further.

After the spices, we visited the 17th-century Fatehpuri Masjid, built by Fatehpuri Begum, one of Shah Jahan's wives. It is a haven of tranquillity after the frantic streets outside. After the First War of Independence in 1857, the British sold the mosque to a Hindu nobleman for 19,000 rupees. It was returned to Muslim worship 20 years later in exchange for four villages. Obviously, we had to remove our shoes before entering the mosque, but the floor tiles were burning my feet, so we didn't linger for too long. I was very tempted to go for a paddle in the ornamental pond!

We then got back in the cyclo and returned to where we'd left our car. We went on the wrong side of the road, directly into oncoming traffic - hair-raising, to say the least! Zubair left me at this point to return home, and Ali drove me back to my hotel. I had enjoyed the tour, though it wasn't as long as I expected (just over two hours, rather than the four hours stated in the description).

I didn't do much else for the rest of the day 😂.Leggi altro