The best priced flight was to Delhi on the Tuesday night the week before Tet. Justin had such a hectic first week of his work trip, it was very intense with many things not going to schedule. The second week was somewhat better, however he was originally supposed to be in Delhi when I arrived but he only arrived on Thursday evening. Either way he would have been working that week so I had 3 days on my own in Delhi. A somewhat nerve wracking thought. It went better than expected and of the three cities we visited, I oddly felt the safest in Delhi.
My flight landed quite late and it took a while to get out of the airport. Money drawn, sim card purchased and activated, uber finally worked out, I arrived at the hotel at around 01:00 on Wednesday morning. However, the road to the hotel was blocked off for some reason and the uber driver wanted me to get out and walk down the road in the dark with my heavy bags at 1 am in the morning. Uhm, that’s a no. In the end, it was a short detour to go around the block which he did eventually oblige and at no point did I feel unsafe or threatened. Was just a weird experience. The hotel was more average than expected and I wondered what kind of neighbourhood it was... more would be revealed the next day, but a fitful night of dogs barking and not much sleep followed.
I was quite nervous about safety and being a solo female traveler in Delhi and so booked some group tours. Booking tours was not as straightforward as other places and took much more time and effort to arrange. Top tips: the photos and reviews online are quite often fake and way more positive than they should be. View with caution and a healthy dose of suspicion. And be prepared to go with the flow. We weren’t even sure if we were confirmed on some of the tours even though we had already paid but just showed up anyway to see what would happen (Ranthambore safaris I’m looking at you). In the end it was all fine but took a lot of time, energy and more stress than normal to arrange. Most travellers we came across had booked everything through a travel agent. It probably cost a bit more but there is some wisdom in that and any future trip to India we will probably lean towards that.
The first day I booked a full day bus tour to see the main sights and get the lay of the land. I was expecting a slightly bigger group (there were only 6 of us and I was the only foreigner lol) and a slightly more comfortable bus (not a decommissioned public transport bus lol), but at least it had air conditioning. The whole tour was only $7 so I guess I couldn’t expect more. I made friends with a young guy from Kerala who had come to Delhi to go to a car show and he kindly looked out for me through the day, thank you. We also didn’t realise that it was Republic Day on the coming Sunday. A lot of roads and main attractions in Old Delhi were closed the whole week ahead in preparation for a big annual parade. Fortunately we had planned a day of Delhi sightseeing the following Saturday and not the first Saturday so we didn’t really miss anything.
Some of the sights were just a drive past and some we could go into. Sights seen and visited included India Gate, several government buildings, memorials of previous leaders and politicians, Raj Ghat (a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi), Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb, the Lotus Temple, and Akshardham Temple. I had a chuckle when the tour guide told us that the ground floor of the police headquarters is permanently reserved for Bollywood filming.
The highlight of the day was Humayun’s Tomb. Completed in 1572, Humayan’s Tomb is the tomb of Emperor Humayun and was the first structure to use red sandstone on such a large scale. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, it was the first garden tomb in India and set a precedent for subsequent Mughal architecture which culminated in the Taj Mahal in Agra. The tomb is situated on the Yamuna River close to the burial site of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya. According to the guide, a lot of people choose to be buried close to a Sufi saint so this area is a popular choice in Delhi. The tomb grounds are expansive at 27 ha with an additional 53 ha buffer zone. The gardens have a charbagh design: four quadrants with pools and channels. The Tomb itself is radially symmetrical with eight chambers branching off from a central octagon. From the garden one can have impressive uninterrupted views of this beautiful symmetrical red building. Definitely a highlight in Delhi.
It was a good first day but also difficult as I clearly stood out as a foreigner and people stared at me A LOT. Something we would have to get used to over the whole trip. A real highlight for me on this first day was all the school kids on a trip to Humayan’s Tomb. They were so friendly and giggly and just being kids and having a good time. They also stared at foreigners lol, but in a very innocent way. I loved waving, saying hi, and high fiving them. They really cheered me up on an interesting first day. And going forward into the trip I always greeted the school kids, especially the girls. They were thrilled to say hi to a foreigner.
I chose to skip visiting the last stop of Akshardham Temple and headed back to the hotel using the metro for the first time. Shout out to the very kind guy at the metro station for going out of his way to help me activate and load credit to a metro card and for showing me how to navigate the airport style security. A quick stop at a (very random) supermarket (where a guy asked me to buy him a Snickers since they were on a 3 for 2 special and then also asked for a selfie lol. Can’t make this stuff up.) to stock up on some water and simple snacks, I was back at the hotel well before sunset. Which was just as well since shortly after arriving back some very loud music started playing followed by an hour of gunfire in the street. No jokes. I called reception to clarify what was going on and apparently there was some kind of festival and people were celebrating with gunfire. Lovely neighbourhood. I was glad I was safely back and not trying to navigate my way through gunfire after a dinner out.
After a long and interesting (and not always for the right reasons) first day, it was a very early night!
On the Thursday, I had booked an early morning cycle tour with Delhi by Cycle. Originally started by a Dutch guy, Delhi by Cycle host some lovely cycle and walking tours through Old Delhi, New Delhi, and South Delhi. Due to Republic Day closures, my first choice of tour was not available so I joined the Nizamuddin Tour instead and was pleasantly surprised, it’s actually one of their best tours. The tour started with a cycle past the Humayan’s Tomb gardens down to the train tracks and past the Sikh temple Gurudwara Damdama Sahib; a beautiful, quiet and leafy green area. It was really quiet and peaceful so early in the morning, and quite fresh being January. The tour took us though some of the affluent areas of Nizamuddin with its wide street and fancy houses. And also through the village of Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin with its narrow and winding one-bicycle-width alleys that grew up around the burial site of Sufti saint Nizamuddin Auliya and eventually became part of Delhi. The village was full of people quietly going about their morning business and not minding us coming through on bicycles, quite welcoming in fact. Such a contrast of areas in one suburb. We stopped for a chai tea and matthi, a flaky biscuit and typical tea time snack, in the Basti area and also went up to the rooftop of the NGO Hope Project for a view over the suburb. The tour continued through the Lodhi Art District with interesting paintings and murals on several walls around the area to Lodhi Gardens, a beautiful garden with two tombs, so many birds, and the sweetest little squirrels! The lovely guides produced picnic blankets and a wonderful local breakfast picnic. It was my first taste of real Indian food and goodness, was it delicious! We enjoyed potato samosas with tamarind sauce and another spicy sauce, a kind of fried sandwich, a juicy coriander cake, another traditional sweet, bananas, and a kind of peanut brittle but different. It was all amazing! We have samosas in South Africa but the ones in India are different and way better. Thank you Delhi by Cycle for a very enjoyable morning! The guides were so lovely and went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and comfortable. The main guide even walked me to the nearest metro station and made sure I got on the correct train, so very kind. Thank you. I highly recommend this tour, you will see places and parts of Delhi you will never see on your own.
From the cycle tour, I took the violet metro line to Janpath and then a tuk tuk to Ugrasen ki Boali. The metro is so easy to use and well connected, and I always felt safe. The first carriage in the direction of the train is a ladies only carriage and I always stood there. My first tuk tuk! Tuk tuks are also the best form of road transport and so cheap. Feel free to pick one up on the street but be prepared to haggle a price, or book on the Uber app for a fixed price. Ugrasen ki Baoli is a 60 m long and 15 m wide historical stepwell in New Delhi. It has 3 levels with arched niches on both sides and 108 steps and was likely rebuilt in the 14th century. I really enjoyed visiting this stepwell. It was shady and cool, and so peaceful and calm. I sat here for about 30 min just recharging. An oasis in the city and definitely worth visiting.
From the stepwell, I took a tuk tuk to nearby Connaught Place: one of the main business and commercial centres in New Delhi with a park in the middle of a series of concentric circles of colonnaded Georgian style buildings. Everything I had read online made CP sound unsafe and that this area should be avoided. I think that is true at night but in the daytime it was ok, unsavoury but ok. I enjoyed browsing at the Oxford bookstore and a hot drink at Starbucks. And then it was time to take the metro back to the hotel just in time for Justin to arrive, yay!
During my online research for this trip, Karim’s came up a lot as a safe place for foreigners to eat (and Haldiram’s, more about that below). Karim’s is now a chain of restaurants but the first one was started in West Nizamuddin in Delhi by the cook of the royal court. There are now several restaurants all over the city and the menu offers both vegetarian and non-vegeterian options. There was a Karim’s near our hotel so we went there for dinner. We shared the dhal makhani and naan bread. Was so yummy!
The Friday was still a work day for Justin before our trip started. He was supposed to have a meeting at Connaught Place but it got cancelled. Since our hotel was so average and not conducive to work there for the whole day, he found a suitable cafe at CP anyway and sat there for the day. I joined for a morning tea and snack and then went to join a walking tour of Old Delhi.
I came across a site called GuruWalk where local people give free guided tours in cities all around the world. Free is also a bit misleading, while there is no upfront payment for the tour, you are expected to tip upwards of $10 per person and they are not shy to remind you lol. I’ve always been skeptical of free walking tours but actually it was pretty good and some people in the group have used this app all over and said it’s always been good. So, here’s to a potential new travel discovery!
The meeting point for the tour was Gate 1 of Lal Quila metro station. Our guide was a lovely young man who had grown up in Delhi and we were a lovely mixed international group of 7 people. The first stop was a Jain temple right near the metro. It is the oldest and best known Jain temple in Delhi, and although we didn’t go there, is well known for its bird hospital. From there we walked to a sikh temple that has a large kitchen and feeds from 10 000 to 40 000 people a day! The meals are all for free and they rely completely on donations and volunteers. It was really moving walking around the kitchen watching people give their time and resources to help those in need. The volunteers are from all walks of life including a lot of retired people, there was a lovely sense of community and feeling useful, serving to meet people’s needs more than just a meal.
From the temples, our guide led us through the narrow winding streets of Chandni Chowk market. At first glance the market appears to be just one straight road, but is in fact a labyrinth of alleyways crammed with all kinds of shops. I felt safer walking here than I expected to but all the same probably wouldn’t venture here on my own. After a while we stopped to try parathas at a local paratha shop. I shared a mixed veg paratha and a paneer paratha with someone in the group. Oh my gosh, so so good! And it came with a side of sauces and veg curries included. The paneer one is a firm favourite.
Next stop was a chai tea break further down the main street and then down to the spice market at the end of the road. A quick walk through a mosque and then on to a lovely hole in the wall lassi shop. The easiest way to describe lassi is as drinking yoghurt. They come as sweet, salted or with fruit most popularly with mango. I tried a mango lassi, oh my gosh so good! A meal in a glass lol. I wouldn’t normally eat and drink in the market but we felt safe with the guide showing us where to go. And with that, the tour ended.
I made my way back to Connaught Place and had a tea at the bookshop while waiting for Justin to finish the workday. We decided to have dinner at CP before heading back to the hotel and thought we’d try Haldiram’s. Haldiram’s started in 1937 as a sweet shop and today has grown into a national restaurant chain. Tourists are often encouraged to eat here as a safe way of trying some of the street food options and also the many varieties of Indian sweets. There is also a retail section where one can purchase pre-packaged sweets and stores at the airport to satisfy a last craving. We shared a vegetarian Tali plate and also some street snacks, and of course a lassi. Definitely a good option if you are not sure where to eat or what to try.
From CP it was back to the hotel to get packed and ready for our trip starting the next morning.
A lot of people have asked me how was your trip, what was it like. It’s such a hard question to answer. We had so many mixed experiences. There are people haggling you and trying to rip you off, but there are also some really kind, friendly and helpful people. Just like everywhere. My typical answer is, it was good, a lot more intense than where we currently live in Vietnam, but good.
On my first day in Delhi, I had to be at the bus pick up point at 08:00. After about 5 hours of very broken sleep, I chose the easy option of an Uber to get there. Our Uber rides always automatically go off the credit card so I was slightly confused when the uber driver asked for cash for the ride. Took me a moment to realise he was just taking a chance. It was only around $1.20 for the ride but still. At the first stop of the day I bought a chai tea (first chai!) for 10 rupees, the guy wasn’t very impressed that I gave him a 100 rupee note (his choices were 100 or 500 since it was my first purchase after arriving). I don’t usually check the change but decided to out of curiosity what the currency looks like and discovered he had given me a random unidentifiable non-Indian coin mixed in among the change. He was not happy when I pointed out his ‘mistake’. Need to keep your eyesies open and have your wits about you.
Having said that though, there were also some really kind people that went out of their way to help me. Like the guy at the metro station that spent about 10 or 15 minute helping me to activate and load a metro card with credit, and show me how to navigate the airport style security at the metro. The lady at the bookshop who ordered in a book for me and messaged when it came in. All the kind people who helped me with directions. The super kind guide from the cycle tour that walked me to the metro station and even went part way on the metro with me.
So just like everywhere really. Some good and some less good experiences mixed together with interesting sights and some good meals.
See you next time for the start of our trip around the Golden Triangle!
