First trip to Old Delhi

I summed up enough courage to venture into Old Delhi for the first time today... and it’s a significant contrast to the relatively relaxed and slow paced life we have in Anand Niketan! Tony (Alicia’s husband) was my guide, and we also had Yannik along with us (their son). We didn’t do any of the main tourist spots in the book, instead choosing to wander around some of the back streets.
Sensory overload probably sums it up and it was a great introduction to a place i’m sure ill visit many times over.

A few highlights included:
Chai: As soon as we arrived we brought some chai from a man on the street. I’m not fully convinced with the sweet spicy tea thing yet, but Tony had about four while we were out so maybe it’s something I’ll grow to like!

Shops: All the shops seem to be gathered into sections in Delhi, so you’ll walk from a street selling shoes to another selling fireworks – these were pretty stocked up given Diwali is next week. (It’s a shame I couldn’t ship a few back for Trist’s annual fireworks competition. They’d either win hands down, or cause a pretty horrific accident. )

Rooftops: One of my favourite bits was heading up to the rooftops near the spice market. You get an unobstructed 360 degree view of Delhi, including the Red Fort, Jama Masjid (the largest mosque in India) and loads of other places I couldn’t identify. It was great to get away from the hustle of the crowds below, and in seconds you can have the rooftops pretty much to yourselves.


Young white people: Yannik was the star of the day, receiving as much attention as a celebrity would walking through the streets. He took it all in his stride, shaking hands with locals and saying bye when prompted. One cool little dude. :-)