We kicked off the first full day in Delhi by hitting the breakfast buffet downstairs. They really laid out a spread at this hotel, and it took a while to discover that besides all the western breakfast standards they had some Indian food in the corner – chickpea curry, flatbread, and some steamed veggies and rice porridge. They also had masala lassi – spicy and sweet and full of diced cilantro. Yum. The service was great – serving us hot coffee with hot milk, and waiting on us hand and foot.
After breakfast we got our act together and went out front of the hotel to catch a cab. The big Punjabi doorman called a regular taxi for us, and the driver ushered us into the back and then took off. We asked him to drop us off at the Red Fort in Old Delhi, and he happily sped off in that direction, honking at everything in the way.
We enjoyed the drive there, and especially interesting was the point when we crossed from New Delhi to Old, crossing a bridge that dropped us into a completely different neighborhood. While New Delhi was a planned city with wide streets and trees everywhere, Old Delhi looked like a war zone. So many people, so much trash on the streets, cars haphazardly parked and the streets crowded with pedestrians taking their goods somewhere.
Once we arrived at the Red Fort, the driver drove us past it, explaining that since the next day was Independence Day in India, the whole thing was closed. The best we could do was take pictures from the outside, so he offered to let us out for a picture. We asked to be let off here, and he was pretty reluctant. These guys can smell money, and he seemed to be hoping to stay with us throughout the day. I hated to have the guy waiting around while we did sightseeing, so finally we paid him off and he left. He still offered to stay in the neighborhood if we needed him, but finally he drove away slowly.
We went on foot around the Red Fort taking pictures and watching the preparations for the festivities the next day. The fort was interesting, but not something we were dying to see, so we went on foot through the Chandni Chowk market to find Jama Masjid – an ancient mosque quite near the Red Fort in the eastern part of Old Delhi.
We walked through a metal detector to get into the mosque, and when I walked through it went off. The guy working there just waved us through – I guess it is more for show than anything. We parked our shoes outside, and then paid for two tickets for taking pictures (I’m guessing this is just a way for some guy to make money). Kuniko had to wear a fabric garment that covered her neck to feet – I guess women are not allowed to bare skin inside. Apparently it was fine for me to go in with short sleeves, though – weird.
After we went in the guy that sold us the tickets asked where we were from, and then started in on explaining some of the major points of the mosque in broken Japanese. This was a pretty common scam throughout Delhi. You are looking at something famous and some guy just comes up and starts explaining, and then holds out his hand at the end of it citing some huge number. Luckily we got out of it for 500 rupees – not breaking the bank but just enough to sting. It helped keep us on our guard the rest of the trip, and made for a funny story the rest of the day.
The rest of the morning we walked in and around the markets, peering into shops and stepping around dogs on the street while we drank in the sights and smells of Old Delhi. We rode tuk-tuks around town and tried to keep moving. Anytime we showed any hesitation walking around there suddenly appeared strangers with offers to help, as well as 2-3 taxis, tuk-tuks or bike rickshaws asking if they could take us somewhere. We definitely stood out, and it was a little uncomfortable. After walking around for several hours, we caught a ride back to our hotel, and went up to our room to refresh and clean ourselves off. Then we went down to the bar to look through the guidebook and make some plans without being bothered by strangers on the street. This turned out to be a good move, as it started raining heavily outside. We stayed dry inside, and went through quite a few beers before the weather let up and we were ready to go.
Next stop was to the south to visit Humayun’s Tomb, an UNESCO World Heritage site. We walked through the grounds quite quickly and took some pictures before heading on to the next stop – Connaught Place – a shopping circle at the center of New Delhi that was popular for sightseeing. We spent time in a park, and walking through underground bazaars before finally heading to the restaurant that we wanted to try – Veda.
Veda was kind of a modern Indian restaurant decorated with lots of lights and mirrors. Interesting ambiance, and we decided on a taster’s menu to try various dishes. The dishes were… interesting… but I guess we were hoping for more traditional Indian foods. Still, overall it wasn’t bad and one of my dishes included the largest prawn I’ve ever eaten which was cooked tandoori style and really delicious.
Finally, we filled up at dinner and caught a taxi ride home to the hotel, and made a beeline for bed. It was a full day of sightseeing, and we wanted to get some rest before the early morning trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal the following day.
