Four years ago, when I was invited to return to this newspaper, I told the editor that I wanted to be based in India.

For a journalist, there is nothing more exciting than the opportunity to chronicle one of history's tectonic transformations. India was where I wanted to be.

Six months later, I was in New Delhi as the Straits Times bureau chief for South Asia and India.

My wife and daughter chafe at being denied life in Singapore. Along with my son, who is in boarding school, they rush back to the Republic for long holidays.

I love Singapore too, but I do not like being separated from New Delhi for too long.

I hang back, weathering the Indian capital's torturous summers and winters, its muscularity, savouring its many libraries and bookshops and its club life.

And above all, I love its openness and the vigour of its debates: It is amazing what senior people in government and industry will tell you over a beer and kebabs at the Delhi Gymkhana Club or the India International Centre.

Here's a selection of things to do if you have 48 hours in this ancient city.

ABOUT NEW DELHI

For those with a passion for history, New Delhi, called Indraprastha in the Mahabharata epic, is a huge delight. Its most famous landmark is the 12th-century brick tower called the Qutab Minar, built by the first Muslim ruler Qutbuddin Aibak.

Like a fine tiramisu, the city's culture has several overlays, witness to the many empires it has hosted, from early Hindus, to the first Muslim rulers, Grand Mughals and latter-day British.

Indian Border Security Force soldiers on camels take their positions with clockwork precision outside the sprawling Presidential Palace during a military ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi.

The Red Fort built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan stands in the old part of Delhi.

It is one of the monuments in Unesco's World Heritage List.

In New Delhi, the imposing Raj Path boulevard has the seat of government at one end, including the magnificent 340-room presidential palace that was once the Viceroy's House. At the other end of the stretch is India Gate, a memorial to soldiers who died in World War I.

It used to be that hotel rooms start filling up in November when the baking northern Indian plains start to cool, and empty again in April when the hot weather starts. No longer.

Delhi hotels are booked out through the year, testimony to India's status as the world's fastest growing free market democracy.

Sit in the foyer of a five-star hotel and you just might see anyone from General Electric chief executive Jeff Immelt to actor Richard Gere passing by on his way to see the Dalai Lama.

From inexpensive public golf courses to museums and mausoleums for Mahatma Gandhi and visits to the old silver bazaars, or even a day outing to the nearby cities of Agra and Jaipur, there is enough to keep the traveller occupied during the day.

Night life, though, is wanting: Unlike the blazing neons of the Orient, New Delhi's evening pastimes border on prudery. If you aren't a member of a social club, an evening drink can be expensive because most bars are in five-star hotels.

WHERE TO STAY

Delhi hotels are prohibitively expensive.

For the well-heeled, the best address in town, amid Raffles-style elegance, is The Imperial (tel: 91-11-4150-1234) on Janpath, the arterial road known as Queen's Way in colonial days.

The Oberoi, overlooking Delhi Golf Club, offers impeccable quality of service too. The Claridges has that old-world charm, with the added incentive of newly refurbished rooms.

The historic Red Fort, a Unesco World Heritage Site, keeps visitors spellbound.

The Taj Group has three hotels in New Delhi, including the Taj Palace, the Taj Man Singh and the Taj Ambassador. While the first two are high-priced, the Ambassador's prices are less fancy. Plus, it is next door to Khan Market, where you can shop for Indian fabrics, inexpensive paperbacks and, when in season, luscious Alfonso mangoes.

When you book your accommodation, insist on a hotel pick-up at the airport and free breakfast to be thrown in for the price of your room, which can be in excess of US$250 (S$340) a night.

However, there really is no reason why you should spend so much on hotel rooms.

So, here is a piece of advice: Find friends in the capital, or friends of friends who are members of social clubs such as the India Habitat Centre (tel: 91-11-2468-2222) or the India International Centre (tel: 91-11-2461-9431).

If you plan a few months in advance, as you must, you would be able to find enough contacts who can book you into one of these clubs where rates can be a third of those charged by big hotels.

I tend to book my friends into the Habitat Centre. Its refurbished rooms are excellent. Its location is perfect: across from Lodi

Gardens, near enough to all key spots in the city. It has an excellent health club and several good restaurants and a bar that you can access once you are a resident.

WHERE TO EAT

Delhi has great street food. But you need to build a stomach for it and that isn't always easy. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the famous Delhi belly is less prevalent now, probably thanks to improving hygiene standards. But buy bottled water whenever you can.

If you are inclined to adventure, try Karim's in the Muslim quarter called Nizamuddin for biryanis and kebabs. For more kebabs and North Indian dhals and tandoori food, try any of the five or six restaurants in Pandara Road market. They are affordable and, because of the high turnover, food tends to be fresh.

But to play safe, pay a bit more. Since I feel no compulsion to show off, I take most visitors to the Dhaba at Claridges for Indian food. It is on the expensive side but won't leave you glancing worriedly at the right hand side of the menu.

On the other hand, if you are feeling rich and want to be told that you are sitting at Bill Clinton's favourite table, go to the Bukhara at the Maurya (tel: 91-11-2611-2233). The leg of lamb is a treat worth waiting the hour or so it takes for walk-ins to get a table.

The Dakshin at the Marriott in South Delhi can give you a taste of the fiery spices of South India. You can also get milder fare there, such as rice pancakes moistened with a vegetable or chicken stew that won't leave you steaming.

Of course, you can play safe and just order Western food. For me, one of the nicer surprises on returning to this city has been the array of chic Italian and Mediterranean restaurants.

At Tonino's in Mehrauli Gurgaon Road and Diva in Greater Kailash, for instance, you get first-class Italian fare. And once the chef realises you didn't come in to order just pizza, he could take special interest and cook up something truly spectacular.

WHAT TO SEE

Take a city tour. It will take you to the Qutab Minar and the Red Fort, where you can get a glimpse of the old silver market.

Visit the site where Mahatma Gandhi, the ultimate man of peace, was gunned down by a religious fanatic, or where prime minister Indira Gandhi, whom some Indians worship as the goddess of power, was shot and killed by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984.

Drive up to the presidential palace gates, a home for the head of state which is so big staff sometimes use bicycles to traverse the building. Then head for the Delhi Gymkhana Club which is somewhere between the Singapore Cricket Club and Tanglin Club. Browse Hauz Khas Village for shopping and food.

The ambience is deliberately rustic. You might even step around a sleepy buffalo or a villager dozing off on a string cot.

WHERE TO SHOP

If you spend an hour at the Central Cottage Industries Emporium in Janpath, across from The Imperial, you will be able to pick up plenty of Indian artefacts. Since it is run by the Indian government, prices are fixed, meaning there is a single price whether you are a visitor or a local. That is a great comfort.

If you like something really large, the emporium will gladly swipe your card and ship the product to you anywhere in the world. Should the goods arrive damaged for any reason, take a picture and mail it to the emporium and it can be trusted to send you a replacement without additional cost.

Majestic elephants ferry tourists in a colony in New Delhi.

An afternoon's browse at Khan Market is a refreshing foray into a part of the city where you don't need to be mindful of someone picking your pocket while you are peeking into shops.

If it's summer, pick up some great cottons for your wife (or loyal secretary) from Ogaan. Some people like to get their glasses made from one of the opticians in the arcade. Cherie Blair, wife of former British prime minister Tony Blair, once did.

There are also plenty of bookshops. My favourite i s Full Circle ( t e l : 91-11-2465-5641) although I wish it would give me a loyalty discount: The aroma of fresh coffee greets you as you enter the door.

There is plenty of room between the bookshelves, so you don't get too intimate with some outsized posterior that is bending over to check the bottom shelf. There are also plenty of children's books.

And when it is all done, just take the flight of stairs up to the Cafe Turtle and sit down for a latte and lemon cake. The waiter may look faintly Singaporean because many of the staff come from north-east India, where the population has Oriental features.

If you like jewellery, try Mogha Jewellers at the Meridien Hotel arcade. If you arrive without an introduction, they will charge you slightly more than their best clients, but you are guaranteed quality and reliability.

No chance of dud stones being passed off as diamonds. Ask for the proprietor, Mr R a v i Mogha, by name ( t e l : 91-11-2373-0723).

HOW TO GET AROUND

Delhi's rowdy traffic, poor public transport and trishaw drivers who tend to look upon you for a fast buck add up to one thing:

Your best bet is to get your concierge to hire a car and driver for the day.

These cars can cost as little as $50 for eight hours and 80km.

HOW TO GET THERE

Singapore Airlines now has two flights a day on several days and will soon have two daily flights to Delhi on a regular basis. India's Jet Airways flies non-stop to Singapore daily and anecdotal evidence suggests the business class on Jet is worth a king's ransom.

Air-India is another option.

India's Kingfisher Airlines is also expected to connect Singapore to Delhi. A recent visitor from Singapore who flew Kingfisher on a domestic flight told me that its hostesses made other airline cabin crew look like "supermarket staff".

SAFETY NOTES

It is always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings, all the time. Keep photocopies of your passport, visa and credit cards in your hotel room as a matter of precaution.

Do not accept lifts from strangers.

If you haven't hired a car for the day, ask the shop keeper you just bought something from to call you a car. He will know the taxi stand from where he ordered the vehicle. Also, do not be tempted by people who offer you better exchange rates. Go to a money changer. There are plenty of them in all the major shopping areas.

BEST KEPT SECRET

Spend an afternoon at the National Museum where you can check out five millennia of Indian history.

One of its thousands of historic artefacts, including relics of the Buddha, is the tiny figurine of a dancing girl excavated from the ruins of the Indus Valley civilisation at Mohenjo-Daro.

When you gaze at a figure that dates back to 2700BC, you get a sense of how young you are, never mind if you just turned 60 and your wife is complaining about your snoring.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on April 20, 2008.