Day 3 - Old and New Delhi
Because we arrived late last night we opted for a later start to our day. We began our tour at 10 a.m. This way we got ~5 hours of sleep. We ate breakfast at the hotel before heading out. It was a fairly standard international buffet, much like we have seen in the other countries we have visited.
We had two tour guides today - one for New Delhi and one for Old Delhi. Our first tour guide was Ranjeet Roy. He was a talkative fellow and gave us a lot of cultural, historical, and personal insights as we toured. Our first stop of the day was Humayun’s tomb. We drove for a while to get there. This turned into a driving tour of New Delhi. Delhi is a very interesting place - it is huge and sprawling but does not really have big skyscrapers because, according to our guide, it is a fairly active seismic zone. It is a bustling city, even on a Sunday which is the least busy day of the week. There is a lot of poverty in Delhi. The city itself is fairly dirty, there is a lot of trash and debris around. There are also many stray dogs, which breaks Alison’s heart. As we drove around Delhi we saw a wide variety of homes, from people sleeping on the streets to shanties to mansions. However, there was more poverty than anything else. Whenever our car stopped for a light men, women and children would knock on our windows trying to sell trinkets or begging for money. This part of India was hard to see. Even with these widespread impoverished conditions, every person we interacted with in India was kind and we felt safe. We really enjoyed our day in Delhi and found it to be one of the most interesting places we have visited.
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| We saw stray dogs like this one all over India and Nepal |
As I mentioned, our first stop was Humayun’s tomb. This is a World Heritage site. It is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun Outside of the main tomb were a smaller and older Muslim tomb and a mosque. It is the tomb complex of Isa Khan Niyazi, an Afghan noble in Sher Shah Suri's court of the Suri dynasty. We spent a few minutes exploring this area before moving on to the next tomb.
Humayun’s tomb was impressive. It is one of the buildings that inspired the Taj Mahal. It was the burial place of many of the Mogul rulers/families. Our guide spent some time explaining the site before giving us some free time to explore. It is a beautifully crafted monument. We spent 20-30 minutes exploring the building and the gardens. One thing worth mentioning is that it is extremely hot and humid in Delhi. It is 90+ degrees Fahrenheit and it feels like you could cut the humidity with a knife. Fortunately, our van had good A/C and most buildings had A/C as well. The heat helped us appreciate the intricate latticed windows throughout Humayun’s tomb. These windows and the airflow they provided made walking through the tomb bearable in this climate.
After the tomb, we visited another famous site in Delhi - India Gate. This monument stands as a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died between 1914 and 1921 in the First World War. Our guide called India Gate their version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was an apt description. This area is centrally located in the city and it was bustling. Most areas of India are bustling. Everyone we talk to in India likes to point out that there are more than 1 billion people in India. It was true. Everywhere we went and looked there were people. Sometimes in what seemed to be the most unlikely places.
Our next stop was up the road from India Gate. It was the presidential residence, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and government buildings. I was amazed at how large and ornate these buildings are. They were built by the British during the British Raj. The president’s house used to be the house of the British Viceroy in India. Our guide also moonlights as an activist and shares with us his political opinions throughout the day. We had some very interesting conversations. While we were at the government buildings he told us there is a feeling in India that their politicians have failed them because they have not been able to achieve the level of prosperity of other democratic republics such as the US, Germany, and Britain.
During our tour, both our guide and the driver told us a few interesting things about the political climate in India. For example, there has recently been a change in the enforcement of traffic laws in India. Fines for infractions such as not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle, running a red light, and speeding have gone up by more than 10 times. Driving in India is very chaotic and as our guides often pointed out people in India love to use their horns and often do not follow any rules. Maybe this new level of enforcement will make a difference. Every individual we interacted with mentioned this change in the traffic rules so it seemed to be on everyone's mind. Our guide and driver also talked to us about Kashmir and Pakistan. It was very clear the Indian people we talked to do not like Pakistan. They view Pakistan as a breeding ground for terrorism. It seemed like they saw China and Pakistan conspiring against India and obsessing over the Kashmir region, which they consider to be 100% part of India. They seemed to agree with the Indian government's policy in the Kashmir region. Another very interesting belief we heard often was a self-deprecating attitude toward the Indian people. For example, our tour guide attributed Britain’s ability to conquer and rule India to the higher IQ of the British people. He would also often say things like, “In civilized parts of the world” or “We are so uncivilized”. These and other statements slipped, without a second thought, into many conversations showing just how institutionalized colonialism still is decades after Indian independence.
After the government buildings, we went to a restaurant for lunch. Alison had butter chicken and I had tikka masala. Both dishes were very good. We also had the most amazing cheese naan. It was easily the best naan I have ever eaten. During lunch, our guide talked to us about his activism. He used to teach physics and now he fights to create a basic standard for education within India. He was very passionate.
When we finished lunch our time in New Delhi was over. We bid farewell to Ranjeet and our driver took us to meet our guide for the old Dehli portion of our day. We met our guide, she was a lovely PhD student here in India. She was a total pro. We wish she could have been our guide for the entire trip. She specializes in city experience tours in India and works primarily with the embassies in Delhi. We started our tour of Old Delhi around 4 p.m. The tour lasted about two hours and consisted of a rickshaw ride through the markets and alleyways of the old city. We are not normally fans of rickshaw rides, but this particular tour was amazing. It was the highlight of the day.
Before we jumped on the rickshaw they had us sign a waiver. I thought that was kind of funny, but quickly understood why as wove through congested alleyways. Our rickshaw operator was also a total pro. He looked out for us throughout the tour and did his best to tell us about the shops and other places we passed. Sometimes he would make us nervous because he would look back and talk to us while still moving through narrow and crowded passageways. We made a few stops along our way. The first stop was in Chandi Chowk, a densely populated market that has been around for 3 centuries. Here we visited the ruins of a once majestic house that belonged to the accountant of one of the Mughal Emperors. The house was so grand because the ruler wanted to give the impression the treasury was located at this house, rather than at the palace in the hopes that an invading force would attack this house before the palace. Our next stop in Chandi Chowk was a shop, Old Famous Jalebi Wala, on the street corner where we ate two local dishes, one was a Samosa, a fried or baked dish with a savory filling. In our case, it was filled with peas and spices. In other parts of the world, this dish is served with meat, but it is traditionally vegetarian in India because so much of the population is vegetarian. The second treat was jalebi, it was a sticky fried bread made from fermented flour and lentils that are fried in ghee and covered in sugar syrup shortly after it is fried. It was a delicious treat.
Then we continued our rickshaw tour through Kinari Bazaar. This marketplace specializes in traditional dresses, especially for marriage, along with lace, threadwork, stonework, etc. Alison really liked some of the beautiful saris she saw and would have bought one if she thought she would ever wear it. Many of the shops were closed because it was a Sunday, despite the closures the market was still very busy. This area transitioned into Dariba Kalan, which is the oldest bullion market in the city and specializes in jewelry. We stopped and visited a row of 9 mansions. In more ancient times these mansions were home to Jain jewelers, and some of their families still live there today. The houses support a Jain temple located at the end of the alleyway. After the mansions, we found another shop where we bought a traditional type of Indian stuffed bread, paratha. They have many different filling options for the bread. We tried banana (sweet) and lemon (savory). The fried bread was served with a platter of sauces that had a wide variety of sauces all of which contained traditional Indian spices. We tried them all, some were very strong, but all were pretty tasty.
Our next stop was Khari Baoli, which is Asia’s largest wholesale spice market. As we rode and walked around this area the air was full of spices. The scent could be so strong it was hard not to cough or sneeze. We exited our rickshaws and headed up to a balcony to get a view of the city. Getting up to the balcony was sketchy, we had to walk through an alleyway that was covered in trash and then walk up a handful of flights of uneven stairs. The stairs were quite dark, but our guide used the flashlight on her phone to illuminate the way. The view at the top was worth every step. We looked down at the spice market below as our guide explained the history of the fascinating area. Our gaze then turned upward where we saw scores of kites flying stretching out into the horizon. We watched as individuals on the rooftops flew their kites, trying to cut down competing kites. It was quite a site. We crossed the balcony and found ourselves looking down into the courtyard of a mosque. I find it interesting that we are here in India, a predominantly Hindu country, but so many of the places we have visited today were Muslim places of worship. We stood and watched the activity below as the sun began to dip low in the sky. Across the way, we watched a large group of monkeys running and playing on the rooftops. It was one of those magical moments where I felt true awe at the majesty of this world we live in. It is a moment that I hope I will remember forever.
We returned down the sketchy stairways/alleys to walk through the spice market. This area, particularly the smell, reminded Alison of the Old City of Jerusalem. Our guide helped show pointing out many of the spices sold at the market. When we were done we returned to our rickshaw and continued our ride back to the parking area.
It had been a long day. We were tired, both our limited sleep the night before and jet lag was getting to us. Having such a full day should help us get over jet lag more quickly. On our way back to the hotel we stopped and pulled some Rupees out of an ATM. We tried some ATMs earlier in the day, but we were having trouble getting them to work. It was frustrating and unexpected, but we figured out the problem was due to the particular ATMs we were trying and not our card. This time we had no issues and were able to get some cash.
We got back to our hotel at ~7:30 p.m. and went right to bed. Normally we would try to stay up later to beat jet lag, but we have to get up at 3:30am to head back to the airport for our flight to Nepal. We are hoping to get a good night's sleep before we continue our adventure tomorrow.
Humayun’s tomb was impressive. It is one of the buildings that inspired the Taj Mahal. It was the burial place of many of the Mogul rulers/families. Our guide spent some time explaining the site before giving us some free time to explore. It is a beautifully crafted monument. We spent 20-30 minutes exploring the building and the gardens. One thing worth mentioning is that it is extremely hot and humid in Delhi. It is 90+ degrees Fahrenheit and it feels like you could cut the humidity with a knife. Fortunately, our van had good A/C and most buildings had A/C as well. The heat helped us appreciate the intricate latticed windows throughout Humayun’s tomb. These windows and the airflow they provided made walking through the tomb bearable in this climate.
After the tomb, we visited another famous site in Delhi - India Gate. This monument stands as a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died between 1914 and 1921 in the First World War. Our guide called India Gate their version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was an apt description. This area is centrally located in the city and it was bustling. Most areas of India are bustling. Everyone we talk to in India likes to point out that there are more than 1 billion people in India. It was true. Everywhere we went and looked there were people. Sometimes in what seemed to be the most unlikely places.
Our next stop was up the road from India Gate. It was the presidential residence, Rashtrapati Bhavan, and government buildings. I was amazed at how large and ornate these buildings are. They were built by the British during the British Raj. The president’s house used to be the house of the British Viceroy in India. Our guide also moonlights as an activist and shares with us his political opinions throughout the day. We had some very interesting conversations. While we were at the government buildings he told us there is a feeling in India that their politicians have failed them because they have not been able to achieve the level of prosperity of other democratic republics such as the US, Germany, and Britain.
During our tour, both our guide and the driver told us a few interesting things about the political climate in India. For example, there has recently been a change in the enforcement of traffic laws in India. Fines for infractions such as not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle, running a red light, and speeding have gone up by more than 10 times. Driving in India is very chaotic and as our guides often pointed out people in India love to use their horns and often do not follow any rules. Maybe this new level of enforcement will make a difference. Every individual we interacted with mentioned this change in the traffic rules so it seemed to be on everyone's mind. Our guide and driver also talked to us about Kashmir and Pakistan. It was very clear the Indian people we talked to do not like Pakistan. They view Pakistan as a breeding ground for terrorism. It seemed like they saw China and Pakistan conspiring against India and obsessing over the Kashmir region, which they consider to be 100% part of India. They seemed to agree with the Indian government's policy in the Kashmir region. Another very interesting belief we heard often was a self-deprecating attitude toward the Indian people. For example, our tour guide attributed Britain’s ability to conquer and rule India to the higher IQ of the British people. He would also often say things like, “In civilized parts of the world” or “We are so uncivilized”. These and other statements slipped, without a second thought, into many conversations showing just how institutionalized colonialism still is decades after Indian independence.
After the government buildings, we went to a restaurant for lunch. Alison had butter chicken and I had tikka masala. Both dishes were very good. We also had the most amazing cheese naan. It was easily the best naan I have ever eaten. During lunch, our guide talked to us about his activism. He used to teach physics and now he fights to create a basic standard for education within India. He was very passionate.
When we finished lunch our time in New Delhi was over. We bid farewell to Ranjeet and our driver took us to meet our guide for the old Dehli portion of our day. We met our guide, she was a lovely PhD student here in India. She was a total pro. We wish she could have been our guide for the entire trip. She specializes in city experience tours in India and works primarily with the embassies in Delhi. We started our tour of Old Delhi around 4 p.m. The tour lasted about two hours and consisted of a rickshaw ride through the markets and alleyways of the old city. We are not normally fans of rickshaw rides, but this particular tour was amazing. It was the highlight of the day.
Before we jumped on the rickshaw they had us sign a waiver. I thought that was kind of funny, but quickly understood why as wove through congested alleyways. Our rickshaw operator was also a total pro. He looked out for us throughout the tour and did his best to tell us about the shops and other places we passed. Sometimes he would make us nervous because he would look back and talk to us while still moving through narrow and crowded passageways. We made a few stops along our way. The first stop was in Chandi Chowk, a densely populated market that has been around for 3 centuries. Here we visited the ruins of a once majestic house that belonged to the accountant of one of the Mughal Emperors. The house was so grand because the ruler wanted to give the impression the treasury was located at this house, rather than at the palace in the hopes that an invading force would attack this house before the palace. Our next stop in Chandi Chowk was a shop, Old Famous Jalebi Wala, on the street corner where we ate two local dishes, one was a Samosa, a fried or baked dish with a savory filling. In our case, it was filled with peas and spices. In other parts of the world, this dish is served with meat, but it is traditionally vegetarian in India because so much of the population is vegetarian. The second treat was jalebi, it was a sticky fried bread made from fermented flour and lentils that are fried in ghee and covered in sugar syrup shortly after it is fried. It was a delicious treat.
Then we continued our rickshaw tour through Kinari Bazaar. This marketplace specializes in traditional dresses, especially for marriage, along with lace, threadwork, stonework, etc. Alison really liked some of the beautiful saris she saw and would have bought one if she thought she would ever wear it. Many of the shops were closed because it was a Sunday, despite the closures the market was still very busy. This area transitioned into Dariba Kalan, which is the oldest bullion market in the city and specializes in jewelry. We stopped and visited a row of 9 mansions. In more ancient times these mansions were home to Jain jewelers, and some of their families still live there today. The houses support a Jain temple located at the end of the alleyway. After the mansions, we found another shop where we bought a traditional type of Indian stuffed bread, paratha. They have many different filling options for the bread. We tried banana (sweet) and lemon (savory). The fried bread was served with a platter of sauces that had a wide variety of sauces all of which contained traditional Indian spices. We tried them all, some were very strong, but all were pretty tasty.
Our next stop was Khari Baoli, which is Asia’s largest wholesale spice market. As we rode and walked around this area the air was full of spices. The scent could be so strong it was hard not to cough or sneeze. We exited our rickshaws and headed up to a balcony to get a view of the city. Getting up to the balcony was sketchy, we had to walk through an alleyway that was covered in trash and then walk up a handful of flights of uneven stairs. The stairs were quite dark, but our guide used the flashlight on her phone to illuminate the way. The view at the top was worth every step. We looked down at the spice market below as our guide explained the history of the fascinating area. Our gaze then turned upward where we saw scores of kites flying stretching out into the horizon. We watched as individuals on the rooftops flew their kites, trying to cut down competing kites. It was quite a site. We crossed the balcony and found ourselves looking down into the courtyard of a mosque. I find it interesting that we are here in India, a predominantly Hindu country, but so many of the places we have visited today were Muslim places of worship. We stood and watched the activity below as the sun began to dip low in the sky. Across the way, we watched a large group of monkeys running and playing on the rooftops. It was one of those magical moments where I felt true awe at the majesty of this world we live in. It is a moment that I hope I will remember forever.
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| These pictures cannot do justice to the multitude of kites flying in the distance. |
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| How many monkeys can you count on the nearby rooftops? |
We returned down the sketchy stairways/alleys to walk through the spice market. This area, particularly the smell, reminded Alison of the Old City of Jerusalem. Our guide helped show pointing out many of the spices sold at the market. When we were done we returned to our rickshaw and continued our ride back to the parking area.
It had been a long day. We were tired, both our limited sleep the night before and jet lag was getting to us. Having such a full day should help us get over jet lag more quickly. On our way back to the hotel we stopped and pulled some Rupees out of an ATM. We tried some ATMs earlier in the day, but we were having trouble getting them to work. It was frustrating and unexpected, but we figured out the problem was due to the particular ATMs we were trying and not our card. This time we had no issues and were able to get some cash.
We got back to our hotel at ~7:30 p.m. and went right to bed. Normally we would try to stay up later to beat jet lag, but we have to get up at 3:30am to head back to the airport for our flight to Nepal. We are hoping to get a good night's sleep before we continue our adventure tomorrow.
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