We have arrived at Delhi, at the neck of India if you take the region of Kashmir to be the head. First things first, get it right. It’s dell-ee with a silent “h” not dell-hee.

I suppose after seeing, hearing, smelling and sweating in Bombay I developed natural shock absorbers from what I witnessed in Delhi. Being the second largest mega-city in India you feel the place being awash with people, elbowing and jostling their way as they hustle on with their daily lives. Like Bombay, traffic here is a daily endurance exercise but it is far more efficient getting from one place to another because of the Delhi Metro. The metro is a magnificent study in modern transportation that breaks the stereotypical sluggish overcrowded chug-chugs we see in photos. It is fast, clean, punctual and devoid of supplementary seating on the roof.

For city commuting, Delhi beats Bombay with ease and so gives much more time to explore its famed monuments which date back much further than just the British Raj. Old Delhi was a city controlled by the Mughals who ruler over northern India for a good three centuries so it is here that you can have a visual feast of its gloriously opulent architecture, among them the tomb of Emperor Humayun – a crypt to mark death in paradise, Qut’b Minar – the longest standing minaret in the world and the Red Fort – where Independence Day speeches are read out.

All three have been designated as UNESCO world heritage sites which offer plenty of opportunity to show of your photography skills. If these three sites can’t satisfy your appetite for domes and minarets, Agra is just four hours away on land for the most precious of Mughal edifices, the Taj Mahal. Emperor Shah Jahan’s loving ode to his third wife has been regarded as the closest mankind can come to physical perfection.

Delhi is an archway to an enthrallingly majestic past; and yeah, you can almost hear the sitar-plucking soundtrack as I say that.

Ever wonder What's Your India?? Let Madam Araisia's Airstrology cards tell all! http://www.facebook.com/AirAsia?v=app_273284093628&ref=ts

Also, WIN goodies from Maryann's adventure right here via AirAsia's "What's Your India" contest :)

AirAsia's "What's Your India" Contest terms & conditions

1. The “What’s your India” contest [“Contest”] is organised by AirAsia Berhad [“Organiser”]. The Contest will run from [“Contest Period”]: 10:00 (GMT +8) 9 February 2010 and end 23:59 (GMT +8) on 9 May 2010.

During the Contest Period, one (1) winner will be picked for each blog post. The will be nine (9) winners to this Contest and each of them will receive the following prize:-

PRIZE
• ONE (1) souvenir from India by AirAsia Berhad.

2. The Contest is open to all members of the AirAsia blog except for the following [“Participant”]:
a. Permanent and/or temporary staff or employees of AirAsia Berhad, P.T. Indonesia AirAsia, Thai AirAsia Co., Ltd., AirAsia X Sdn. Bhd. and Go Holiday Sdn. Bhd and its immediate family members;
b. Representatives and/or agents (including advertising & promotion) of AirAsia Berhad, P.T. Indonesia AirAsia, Thai AirAsia Co., Ltd., AirAsia X Sdn. Bhd. and Go Holiday Sdn. Bhd.

3. By virtue of an entry to the Contest, Participants signify acceptance and agreement to all terms & conditions set out here.

4. To qualify for the Contest, participants will have to do the following:
Contest Mechanism:

Week 1: 10:00 (GMT +8) of 9 Feb 2010 – 23:59 (GMT +8) of 14 Feb 2010
Week 2: 10:00 (GMT +8) of 22 Feb 2010 – 23:59 (GMT +8) of 28 Feb 2010
Week 3: 10:00 (GMT +8) of 2 March 2010 – 23:59 (GMT +8) of 9 March 2010
Week 4: 10:00 (GMT +8) of 16 Mar 2010 – 23:59 (GMT +8) of 22 Mar 2010
Week 5: 10:00 (GMT +8) of 29 Mar 2010 – 23:59 (GMT +8) of 5 Apr 2010
Week 6: 10:00 (GMT +8) of 12 Apr 2010 – 23:59 (GMT +8) of 18 Apr 2010
Week 7: 10:00 (GMT +8) of 2 May 2010 – 23:59 (GMT +8) of 8 May 2010
Week 8: 10:00 (GMT +8) of 10 May 2010 – 23:59 (GMT +8) of 16 May 2010
Week 9: 10:00 (GMT +8) of 17 May 2010 – 23:59 (GMT +8) of 23 May 2010

a. All participants need to be a registered member of the AirAsia blog.
(http://blog.airasia.com)
b. A new blog post about a city in India will be posted over a period of 15 weeks. (Total 9 posts )
c. Participants need to submit a comment describing why this city (according to the blog post) resonates as their India, and to end the comment with the sentence “What’s your India?”

5. Only entries in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and Chinese will be accepted.

6. All entries must be submitted and received by 23:59 (GMT +8) on 14 Feb 2010, 28 Feb 2010, 9 Mar 2010, 22 Mar 2010, 5 April, 18 April 2010, 2 May 2010, 9 May 2010 and 16 May 2010.

7. Only Participants that fulfill the Contest Mechanism stated above shall be eligible to win the Prize. Incomplete entries and/or participants that fail to fulfill the Contest Mechanism will automatically be disqualified from the Contest without notice.

8. The winners will be selected based on the most relevant and creative answer by a panel of judges appointed by the Organizer.

9. Selected winner will be contacted, at any time deemed appropriate by the Organizer, via email.

10. Under no circumstances shall the Organizer (including its respective employees, staff and agents) be liable for any loss (including loss of opportunity and consequential loss arising therewith) and/or damage suffered by any Participant and/or winner in connection with the Contest.

11. The winner is bound by the terms and conditions that come with the prize. The acceptance of prize indicates the acknowledgment and agreement of such terms and conditions.

12. The Organizer reserves its sole right and discretion to delete, remove, not consider or reject comment with content that is deemed by it to be improper or offensive in whatever nature.

13. The Organizer reserves its rights to publish or display materials or information, including but not limited to the names of all Participants for marketing, advertising and publicity purposes in any manner it deems appropriate. The Organizer further reserves its right to use any personal data of Participants in any manner and/or for any purpose it deems fit and Participant is deemed to consent to such use with no monetary payment.

14. The Organizer reserves its right to cancel, terminate or suspend the Contest with or without any prior notice and reason. For the avoidance of doubt, cancellation, termination or suspension by the Organizer shall not entitle the participant to any claim or compensation against the Organizer for any and all losses or damages suffered or incurred as a direct or indirect result of the act of cancellation, termination or suspension.

15. The terms and conditions herein shall prevail over any inconsistent terms, conditions, provisions or representations contained in any other promotional or advertising materials for the Contest. In the event of any inconsistency, conflict, ambiguity or discrepancy between the English version and the Bahasa Malaysia version of these terms and conditions, the English version shall prevail at all times.

16. The Organizer reserves its right to vary, delete or add to any of these Terms and Conditions and/or substitute or replace the gifts from time to time without any prior notice.

17. By participating in the Contest, it is deemed that the participant agrees to be bound by the terms and subject to the conditions herein set out upon submission of entry. The decisions of the Organizer in relation to every aspect of the Contest including but not limited to the type of prize and winner shall be deemed final and conclusive under any circumstance and no complaint from any participants will be entertained.

18. The decision of judges appointed by the Organizer are final, conclusive and binding and no further appeal, enquiry and/or correspondence will be entertained.