My guide to Delhi: SIGHTS AND EXPERIENCES

One thing plenty of people don't give Delhi credit for is the amount there is to do here. Tourists land here, spend a couple of days and hot foot it off to Rajasthan.

However if you do give the city a few more days, these are the things I'd see:

Humayun's Tomb - my favourite sight in Delhi. To fill you in on a little bit of history... 'The tomb of Humayun was built by the orders of Bega Begum (also known as Haji Begum), Humayun's first wife and chief consort, and begun in 1565, nine years after his death, and completed in 1572 AD at a cost of 1.5 million rupees at the time.' That's huge money and it was worth it, this site is beautiful, peaceful and a complete oasis from Delhi madness. Come and enjoy the main attraction but also take the time to see recently restored Isa Khan's Tomb which is just as you walk in to the right.

Lodi Garden - What a beautiful city garden this is - historic tombs, lakes, flowers, young lovers and space! Something rare in these big congested cities. I love taking the kids to Lodi and letting them run around. Of course you have to be careful of the odd Desi dog, cavernous hole or jutting rock but all in all it is a lovely place to spend a spring or autumn afternoon. It just wreaks of history and you get a sense of it everywhere you walk. Also has a good running track - or so I have heard.

Nizamuddin Sufi walk - Nizamuddin Basti is a 12th century village that has slowly been taken over by modern Delhi. Visiting the Basti is like stepping back in time - a combination of tiny laneways, mosques, congestion, food stalls, offerings, flowers, tinsel and goats. It is a predominantly Muslim area and has about 200,000 residents.
I recommend heading in on a Thursday night on a tour - there are a couple of groups I recommend The Hope Project and Little Black Book Delhi. On Thursday night you can visit to be part of the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin and watch the Qawwalia (enchanting Sufi singers). Qawwalia starts about 9pm but you can do a tour before that and visit some of the mosques and shops and hear some of the fascinating history. The qawwalias are amazing to listen to, it really is something you won't experience anywhere else. After enjoy one of the many fine kebab stores in the area.

Old Delhi - Old Delhi is the Delhi you expect to see when you think about the capital. Busy, congested, dusty, electrical wires everywhere, a complete overload on the senses. Some of the best sites in Old Delhi are the Jama Masjid (walk to the top of the tower), Kinari Bazaar and the Spice Market. I can highly recommend hiring a rickshaw driver to take you on a little tour, it helps you see and do more with your time. Akbar is the guy I use and he is stationed at The Red Fort and his number is 9891 462 125. Akbar has great English and does a nice tour.

Gurdwara Bangla Sahib - I have done a post on this sight previously so I will refer you back to that.
It is still one of my favourite places. This is one of the most spiritual places I have been and gives you an appreciation of how many religions co-exist in this country - especially after a trip to Old Delhi.

Mehrauli Park / Qutub Minar - About 40 minutes from central Delhi is the Mehrauli Archaeological Gardens and the Qutub Minar. Beautifully preserved and a lovely spot to experience some green space. The Qutub Minar is 72 metre tall iron pillar and was built in from 1192 and completed in 1368. Again a seriously interesting spot to soak up some history about this incredibly old city.

Hauz Khas Village - as well as being a great spot to get a drink and some dinner, HKV has some pretty impressive old structures and a beautiful lake. Take the time to visit if you are there doing some shopping.

Raj Ghat - A quiet spot to reflect on the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was cremated here and a peaceful spot to appreciate what an influence this man had on the country. His museum is over the road and good for a look as well.

India Gate - A huge monument dedicated to those who died in the First World Wars (1914 - 1921). It is about 42 metres tall and very imposing when you stand under it.

Presidents Palace, Gardens and Changing of the Guard -Again I have written about the Changing of the Guard before - here - it's a nice thing to do on a Saturday morning and is full of pomp and ceremony!
The Presidents Palace is normally closed to the public but for a few weeks in March the gardens are open to the public. If you are in Delhi at this time go and check it out. They are manicured to perfection!

Out of Delhi but a MUST SEE!!!! Of course I am talking about the Taj Mahal. The Taj is breath-taking! You can see as may postcards and pictures of it but it is not like seeing it in the flesh. The symmetry, the history and the serenity. Get there and have a look.

On top of all this there is also plenty of shopping to experience, but this is a separate post to come shortly.
 

Tripping around Old Delhi

10am Saturday morning and T and I found ourselves at Chawari Metro Station ready to dive into the spaghetti lane ways that make up Old Delhi. Dhruv Gupta, from Masterji kee Haveli, was our guide for the day and had promised to explain some vegetarian street food to us and show us some of the tucked away parts of the city.

We started the journey in the Hindu part of Old Delhi near Chawari Metro. It was pretty quiet for this time of the morning except for a few food vendors. We stopped at our first street side food stand and tried the Kachori with a chickpea curry. It was definitely a bit on the spicy side for this time of the morning but this small meal could keep you going all day. These kachori's were thick, dense little morsels which had been deep fried in oil. It was full on flavour! This small snack would be enough to keep you going for ages!

Popular Kachori stand

Chatting to a local Kachori lover. Photo by D Gupta

A close up of the chickpea curry

After this we moved further into the rabbit warren of Old Delhi and watched all the morning vendors selling their fresh fruit and veges (or big bags of rice) and dodged the local goats. 

Crazy goats. Photo by D Gupta

Catwalk style! Photo by D Gupta

One of the great things about exploring an area with someone who lives there is you get to see things that you would normally just pass by. On this walk we saw Sultan Raziya's Tomb which is tucked down a tiny little alley in the middle of dense housing and a mosque that had been around since the 1300's. We climbed to the roof of the mosque and watched boys flying kites and pigeon callers spending the morning setting their pigeons free and calling them back. Old Delhi looks pretty amazing from the roof tops.

Kalan Mosque

Our friendly guide......  Photo by D Gupta

Top of the mosque. Photo by D Gupta

The next stop was a small Hindu temple that when you entered had the main bell at the reception but was then full of 85 bells that were busy being rung by devotees, what an amazing sound.

Hindu temple of 85 bells.   Photo by D Gupta

After visiting the temple we discovered a small school with the cutest group of children soaking up knowledge.... they were super cute and welcomed us into their classroom with a big hello!!!!

Then it was time for sweets and sweet it was. We met a gorgeous old man who was sitting patiently by his boiling milk watching the world go by. He sold us some delicious milk cakes. They were very good but so sweet you would be doing well to eat the whole thing.

And then to cement the sweetness we tried some Mango Kulfi. I really liked this, I love mango and it was so deliciously cool on the hot Delhi day.

Mango Kulfi. Photo by D Gupta

Then it was time for brunch at the Gupta's beautiful haveli. The Gupta's haveli is a four storey home with a central courtyard surrounded by rooms. I love type of home and it is perfect for this climate. The central well lights up the house but it is also very cool inside, and when it rains they can enjoy this as well. On arrival we enjoyed a fantastic fresh lime soda.

Inside Masterji kee Haveli

We went right up to the roof and looked at their beautiful view across Old Delhi and also had our turn at flying a kite (it's harder than it looks!).

Kite flying is very difficult!

Then it was lunch time! Mrs Gupta had made a fantastic meal. Home made pickles and  freshly cooked Poori to accompany our meal. There was a cauliflower curry and a yummy dahl. We then devoured her rose kulfi. I was so full I thought I might pop but it was delicious.

Brunch time. Photo by D Gupta

Photo by D Gupta

Our generous hosts

After a well earned rest and a chat with our generous hosts we hit the streets again. For this part of the walked up to Jama Masjid and witnessed the general madness of this town.... kids hanging off rickshaws, overturned rickshaws and the odd altercation!

School bus

Whoops!

We walked through the firecracker sellers area and into the jewellery section of Old Delhi and had a little play with some jewels! Don't worry there was absolutely no pressure to buy, Mr Gupta is good friends with the owners and it was good fun but T looked a bit nervous .....

T looking nervous!Photo by D Gupta

Which one should I choose..........Photo by D Gupta

Following the jewellery store we walked the alleyways of Old Delhi, turned down Paratha Gali

Paratha Gali

and into the most colourful alleyways of Sari's, jewels, lace - amazing! You can get anything you need here and a bit more food!

More food! Photo by D Gupta

It was a great day with Mr Gupta. We walked, ate and talked for about 4 hours and it was a really great was to experience Old Delhi. One of the nicest things about this walk is it is flexible. You can guide it by your interests and try or not try what you like and no we didn't get sick.

Masterji kee Haveli

Cost and Inclusions

Rs 2000 per person 1-4 number of guests

Rs 1750 per person 5-8 number of guests
Rs 1500 per person 9-16 number of guests

The price includes the following:

Food oriented bazaar walk, some street food tasting for those who feel adventurous, all ingredients, visit to haveli, brunch and bottled water.

Phone: +91 9810 750 217

Photos of first trip to the wilds of old Delhi

T and I decided it was time..... we had visited Old Delhi when we were here 5 years ago but hadn't ventured in this time around. So last Sunday we headed in to see the Jama Masjid, the principle mosque of Old Delhi. As soon as you pass through Delhi Gate....... chaos ......and this was a 'quiet' Sunday. Many of the shops were closed, but where shops were closed, impromptu markets had taken their place on the pavement. These markets sold everything from household items and books to socks and shirts. There was even shops for used mechanical parts - everything has a use and a price here, nothing is wasted.

Our driver dropped us off at the mosque but also very near to our restaurant of choice, Karim's. But before we had lunch we had a walk up and down a couple of the streets. It is an overload to the senses.....we saw chickens in cages and tied up goats whose hours were clearly numbered, food stalls, kitchen appliance shops, hotels and all this while you are trying to avoid being cleaned up by a rickshaw or motorbike. 

Curry anyone?

Pots, woks and bowls

Street food that I am not quite ready to dip into.... although it looks very pretty.

In case you are looking for accommy?

Face of Old Delhi

For lunch we ate at Karim's, an extremely famous restaurant that has been around since 1913. It is worth the fuss, the place is buzzing with local Indians and those who have just visited the mosque. The food is delicious. We ordered Tandoori Chicken, Chicken biryani (not great), naan and a qeema naan. All served with lime and red onion. We took the locals lead and ate with our hands (although as foreigners we did get given knives and forks which we proudly left alone).

Tandoori chicken

Qeema naan (mince naan)

Next time we get a curry - this is three of the curries on offer.

Following lunch we headed to Jama Masjid and on the way not surprisingly saw a local game of cricket

The Jama Masjid is enormous and wasn't too busy this Sunday - there was space for us to walk around and have a good look (and for everyone to have a good look at us). Not surprising given they made me wear a particularly bright unattractive, suffocating, polyester gown...(please note I had been culturally sensitive and worn trousers, a shirt and a scarf).

As of the 2001 census about 138 million Muslims live in India and it is the second most practised religion after Hinduism so this mosque is a fairly popular place to be.

Mother and children at the sacred pool

Seriously cute!!!

'Seriously cute' with her sweet big brother (I am getting my own back and taking pictures of other peoples children).

This guy wanted us to capture the memory of his hat and my bad outfit.

View of Old Delhi traffic from the mosque. Never complain about Punt Road again....

View of the walls of the mosque from the tower.

Sacred pool

Outside the mosque is a hive of activity - everything you could dream of is for sale clothes, jewellery, trinkets and dates....

Bicycle rickshaw with 5 young men aboard... poor bloke peddling.

Mr green shirt was very keen on getting our business and couldn't quite understand why we would want to walk anywhere.

This guy didn't want to take anyone anywhere - rancho relaxo.

So our first toe has dipped into Old Delhi and it was well worth the trip, after all it is the real Delhi and helps give a sense of the enormity of this city. So many people all trying to live and work in such a small space. No place for our little S but just incredible.