15-Aug-2005 -- Doug, Sam and I left Delhi at about 8:30 on Indian Independence Day. Although it was a Monday, traffic was light and we got out of town quickly. We took the ring road to avoid the traffic crush of Old Delhi, circling around the city and arriving at National Highway 1 in just a half hour. The tomb of Paik is on the highway, and since we rarely drive out of town in that direction, we stopped and spent a half hour exploring it. It was built in the Lodi Era (1456 to 1526) for an unknown person, possible a messenger to the emperor.

We reached the turnoff from highway one to Sonepat by 10:15, making this confluence a quick morning day trip from New Delhi. The road through Sonepat was well-paved and easy to navigate, so we reached the confluence around 11 AM.

Being a National Holiday, there weren’t many people around at the actual confluence site – which was so easy to find and close to the road that we practically parked on top of it. As John Kejr reported earlier, the confluence is located at a courthouse. The general area was open, although the offices and courtrooms were locked up. We moved around, taking photos of our GPSes at 29.00000N, 77.00000E – although, with 7 meter accuracy, each of us achieved the zeroing out at different locations. We explored and photographed the interior and exteriors of the building, including the parking lot, the courtyard, and the North-South road that the courthouse is on. Across the street is another complex of judicial buildings and offices. The fact that a busy building is on the confluence makes this spot seem urban. In fact, the road is populated by more tractors than cars, and the general area of the confluence is mostly farm fields and green spaces, with only a few buildings scattered around.

Some kids were playing in the area, and watched us exploring. After a while, a three guys sharing a ride on a motorcycle drove up and chatted with us. Doug, ever the motorcyclist, borrowed their bike for a minute and took it on a spin around the parking lot.

We waved goodbye and headed back to Delhi, arriving at a restaurant in South Delhi for lunch by around 12:45.

A fun way to spend a day off work!