Nakay Tshoem

Bhutan's produce is in many ways similar to what is available in the US. However, there are also some unique items available. I always have an urge to buy them at the market so I've decided to do periodic posts on cooking with these items. 

First up: a Bhutanese dish called Nakay Tshoem, which means Fiddlehead Ferns with Cheese. True, fiddlehead ferns are available in the US so this doesn't quite fit the unique criteria. But they are currently plentiful here and available at many market stalls. Contrast this to the limited early spring availability in MN (and probably other places), not to mention the price difference!

This recipe comes from a cookbook Matt and I purchased in Thimphu called Authentic Bhutanese Cuisine, by Punap Ugyen Wangchuk. We wanted to learn to cook Bhutanese food and given our current lack of adoptive Bhutanese grandmother, this seemed like a good way to do it. Many of the recipes require very few ingredients and are very accessible.

Photo: http://junctionbookstore.wordpress.com/

Now to the preparation. Below is a picture of the fiddlehead ferns as they were purchased from the market. They were wrapped with with a straw-like material - eco-friendly!

First, the fiddlehead ferns, onions, and chiles were chopped. Below are the fiddlehead ferns.

The recipe stated that "if you are unsure about the fiddlehead ferns, then stream them before cooking". Nope, definitely wasn't certain of the origin of these little guys. Given that we have no means to steam things, I opted to boil them.

Next, fry ferns with onions....

Matt works on ema datse (chiles and cheese; on right) while I work on the nakay tshoem

Then add water, chilies, and cheese and let cook.

You're done! Serve! We chose to put it over Bhutanese red rice. 

Matt with our dinner creations

This recipe turned out to be very easy and delicious. The complete recipe is below. Happy cooking!

Nakay Tshoem (Fiddlehead Ferns with Cheese)

From Authentic Bhutanese Cookbook by Punap Ugyen Wangchuk

Ingredients:

• 8 fiddlehead ferns
• 2 chilies
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil
• 1 ball of cheese (datse) [this is the traditional yak cheese that is sold at the market and is formed into balls; we didn't use this type of cheese and guessed at the correct amount]
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 onion
• Salt 

Preparation:

Shred ferns into halves or about 3 inches. Chop onion and cut chilies. Fry ferns with onion and a little salt. Continue frying until the color turns brownish. Further cook with 2 cups of water. Then add chilies and cheese, cook for about 5 minutes. Just before taking it off the stive, add salt to taste.

Note:

You can prepare the ferns without cheese. Many Bhutanese love to use ferns (nakay) as a supplementary vegetable with beef and pork. If you are unsure about the fiddlehead ferns, then steam them before cooking.

Visiting the Hospital

Last Tuesday I went to the hospital in Thimphu, the largest hospital in the country (the full name of hospital is the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital), to get my health certificate for the dependent visa. This is a process that everyone has to go through to get a visa or a job (and maybe other things as well). This involves showing up at the hospital after 4pm, paying a sum of money (for me it was the equivalent of about $10), filling out a very brief form, and waiting in line to see the doctor. When Matt did this he didn’t even get his blood pressure taken. I got more of an exam, if you can call it that: pulse taken, brief look at my eyes and mouth, brief listen to my heart (though I don’t think he could have heard much), and maybe a brief listen to my lungs. The doctor also took my blood pressure and asked if I had had any previous illnesses. I wonder what they would do if you actually had a long list of issues? I don’t think he would be equipped to handle that given the number of people he needed to see. I wasn’t even asked if I took any medications. 

Understandably people complain about this process. It’s cumbersome, bureaucratic, and I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t catch most actual health problems - only ones with very obvious symptoms. Not to mention the fact that I'm pretty sure some people were only in the exam room long enough to obtain a signature. In my opinion, if they really wanted to know about our health, they would have us at least fill out a health history form. I told this to Matt and he said he’s heard talk that this process is more of a way of getting people registered in the system than actually checking up on their health. In any case, I got my health certificate (even though my blood pressure was high when the doctor took it and he never even tried for a second reading...) and all my paperwork for my visa has been turned in. Hurray!

Budhi, who is Bhutanese and used to be a nurse, also came to the hospital with me (Matt, too, joined us when we got to Thimphu). He now works at the infirmary on campus and does other odd jobs. He was very helpful as I didn’t know a) where the hospital was, or b) where to go within the hospital to get the health certificate.  Because Budhi used to work at the hospital, he also offered to bring me up to the OB ward after I finished with the certificate process. 

The hospital itself looks very beautiful from the outside, being built in the traditional Bhutanese style. 

Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital
(Photo: oobhutan.blogspot.com)

The inside can only be described as drab, largely because of the general lack of windows and decoration. Matt described is as somewhat of an overly Western, overly sterile-looking take on the hospital. Maybe utilitarian is another way to describe it. Walls are whitewashed and all floors are a dark green stone (from what I remember). However, this is in comparison to the new and beautiful hospitals that I have been to in the US. I don’t want to put down the hospital, only try to describe it. This is also a public hospital that offers universal health care, something the US hasn’t yet accomplished. I’m sure we could do with less fanciness and better access to care.

The OB ward was much smaller than I expected. I think there were three delivery rooms and one postpartum room with 4-6 beds (I didn’t look too carefully because I didn’t want to be intrusive).  Other than that, there were was pretty much only a nurses station and a table for the doctor. The charge nurse allowed me to come in and look around (this involved taking off our shoes and slipping into hospital-provided rubber shoes - too bad I wasn’t wearing socks!) but said that I needed to talk to the nursing superintendent of the hospital about a job (I wasn’t surprised by this). In any case, it was interesting to see the ward even though it was only briefly. The NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) was right down the hall but I declined the offer to see that unit. I feel weird looking just to look (plus I figured I’d be back).

On Wednesday I took it upon myself to contact the nursing superintendent. And guess where I found her phone number? On the hospital’s website! This was quite shocking to me. Many of the doctors and employees list their work numbers, cell phone numbers, and occasionally an email address there. This makes sense when you consider that there’s no voicemail and sometimes no other way to get in touch with them. However, I still find it strange because it’s exactly the opposite of what happens in the US. It’s still astonishing to me how much easier it is to access people in many other countries. 

I first called the nursing superintendent's office number but didn’t get an answer. I hesitated for awhile about calling her cell phone but figured if it’s on the website, might as well call. She answered this time and I explained to her who I was and what I wanted to do, all the while half expecting her to say, “And how did you get my number?”. Thankfully she just spoke to me like it was normal to get a random cold call on your cell (which it is here). She told me to meet her at the hospital between 11 and noon on Thursday so we could discuss my working or volunteering as a nurse. 

At the appointed time, I showed up at the hospital, called her, and she came down to meet me in the lobby of the same building where I had gotten my health certificate (there is a nearby but separate entrance for the building where the wards are). Luckily I was easy to spot, being the only white person present. We passed several waiting rooms of people as she brought me up the flights of stairs to her office. We had a very casual discussion about what I wanted to do and other chit-chatty things. She basically stated that I could either work as a contract nurse or as a volunteer, but that she thought it might be difficult for me to make the shifts based on transport from where we are living (she is correct - I would have to pay for a taxi in at least one direction, which really adds up). The nursing shifts are 8am-2pm, 2pm-8pm, and 8pm-8am. From what she told me, it seems like the long night shift is due to transport issues and nurses rotate through all shifts. 

She told me that I needed to “write an application”, which I assumed meant that I needed to fill out an application (as in the US). She actually just meant that I needed to write a letter to the Ministry of Health (MOH) explaining who I was and what I wanted to do. After she found out that I had no idea where the MOH was located, she decided that I could write the application while I was there in her office (hand-written!) and she would bring it to the MOH for me. With the letter I gave a copy of my CV, a copy of my nursing license, a copy of my passport, and two passport-sized photos (you need those for everything here). It seems that this will be sufficient for me to become registered in Bhutan. She also said that she would call me when all of this was completed. She thought perhaps early October but we shall see. There are several holidays coming up which usually leads to decreased efficiency (I'm fairly certain this is an international phenomenon). 

So whenever all of this gets processed, I will be starting as a volunteer nurse in the birth center (which is not a center, but in fact the small ward I described earlier). I’m VERY excited. I decided to start as a volunteer for several reasons. First, since I’m still a new nurse and will be learning a whole new system (and perhaps even new medical language), I’m going to feel incompetent and useless for awhile. I feel much better doing that as a volunteer. Second, paying jobs don’t offer as much flexibility (and for now, it's nice to have the option to travel or do other things besides work at a hospital). Third, there’s the issue of transport. If I don’t have to be there at the prescribed shift times, I can get free or cheap transport into town in both directions. And finally, if I really don’t like it, I won’t feel as bad quitting. I don’t anticipate not liking it but it will be a completely different nursing experience than in the US so I have no idea how I will feel about it. 

I’m still in the process of getting in touch with other people connected to maternal health. It may also be possible for me to do something more public health-related while I’m here (like I said, flexibility will be good for now). I’ll keep the updates coming! And no doubt I'll have more information on the hospital and health care system as I spend more time here living and working.

Long as I remember the rain been comin' down

We are now in Day 5 of unrelenting rain that has gone all day and all night without stopping. I have never experienced rain like this, and even the Bhutanese are starting to wonder why we are receiving so much rain. September is technically the last month of the monsoon season, and I guess Mother Nature is letting the season go out with a bang (or a deluge, as the case may be). Next weekend is the Bhutanese holiday known as Blessed Rainy Day that marks the end of the monsoon season and the beginning of the clear and dry Autumn season. Let's hope the local rain deities take notice.

Despite the constant precipitation, Emily and I managed to have a good weekend exploring Thimphu and spending time with friends.

On Friday, we went into town in the afternoon and did some shopping and walking around. I showed Emily some of the good handicraft stores and the good bookstore (DSB books). We were trying to find the one Mexican restaurant that just opened up in Thimphu (no doubt the only one in Bhutan as a whole), but we had no luck discovering it and found out later that it had moved locations. We ended up eating at The Zone, which is a Western-favorite and serves burgers, fried chicken, fish and chips, alongside some very Bhutanese dishes like yak ribs and pork tripe. After dinner, we walked up to Clock Tower Square and there was a concert going on despite the rain to commemorate World Ozone Day (Bhutanese love to celebrate environmental things). The band that was playing, Druk Revival, was a pretty good bluesy-rock jam band. (And a hint to the lyric that is this blog entry's title.)

Waiting for the bus from campus to Thimphu.
Emily is filled with ennui because of the rain. 

Gotta love poorly translated English signs. 

Emily shows off her veggie burger at The Zone.

I got the fried chicken. It was really good!
(Although the cole slaw that came with it was very underwhelming.)

Druk Revival

The Ozone Day stage at Clock Tower Square.

Our first homemade momos. A bit dense and messy, but not too bad!

Saturday was a low-key day for the most part. We slept in, made a big brunch, read, did laundry, took a nap, etc. At night, Emily and I went out to dinner with our friends/neighbors Jeff and Sue. We went to the new "mall" in the suburbs of Thimphu called Shearee Square and to a restaurant called Chang. The mall is famous in Bhutan because it features the only escalators in the country. Apparently, when the mall opened last year people came from all over Bhutan to ride the escalators up and down. If you think about, if you are a 75 year-old from rural Bhutan, escalators are very magical. There were some that came to see the escalators that refused to ride them until a Lama had blessed them. I can't think of a more Bhutanese story than that! The mall is kind of silly and out of place for Bhutan, but there it is anyway. There are clothing stores that look very Western, a bar and discotheque, an arcade, and many random stores selling all kinds of random items. 

The restaurant where we had dinner was featured in a cultural magazine called Bhutan Time Out. The magazine claimed that it was Thimphu's best restaurant and "the place to be seen" in Bhutan. When Jeff, Sue, Emily and I went, we were the only people in the restaurant – at 7pm on a Saturday night. That does not bode well for "the hottest restaurant in Bhutan." The food was decent, but nothing special. The prices, however, were pretty outrageous for Bhutanese standards. Emily and I spent Nu.2500 on dinner, which is about $50. Basically, that's about 10x what a meal at a decent restaurant in Bhutan should cost. Emily and I agreed that we will probably not go back there again although, from the looks of it, it probably won't be open for much longer if its Saturday night business is any indication. 

The famous escalators. 

Jeff, Sue, Me, and Emily at Chang. 

Emily and I pose with the King and Queen. 

This morning we went to a puja that was hosted by my friend Deepak and his wife. A "puja" is a religious ritual that is used to mark special occasions and is practiced in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. In this case, it was a Hindu ceremony. 

Here, the occasion was the new apartment that Deepak and his wife (her name is pronounced Wangchu, but I don't know the spelling so I don't want to keep misspelling it all over this post) have purchased down the road from campus. When we arrived at the apartment, we removed our shoes and sat in the living room drinking tea with my other friends Arun, Bhudi, Suraj, and Kimi. Deepak also had lots of family members running around the house. There was a Hindi priest that was chanting in the altar room where people were giving their offerings. Emily and I brought fruit as our offering (which was an appropriate item). Deepak was busy praying and at various times coming in and out of the altar room. We sat in the living room drinking, eating, conversing, watching tennis on the television, and playing with Bhudi's 6-month-old baby. 

Eventually, we were invited into the altar room and we prayed while the priest read/sang the songs of Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita. We took flowers from a bowl and kept them in our hands as the priest sang. When the priest was finished (about 15 minutes later), he rang a bell and sprinkled the group with holy water. We then scattered the flowers from our hands onto the altar. 

It was a very interesting and cool experience, and I was thinking during the prayer how lucky I am to be experiencing this unique ritual closer to its origins than I have ever been before. Bhutan is, of course, predominantly Buddhist, but there is a sizable Hindu minority given Bhutan's geographically position so close to India and Nepal. 

Suraj, Kimi, and Bhudi's baby.

Bhudi and Arun.

Deepak praying with his family.

Praying all together in the altar room. 

Bhudi is apparently trying to raise a genius baby. 

After hanging out at Deepak's for a couple of hours, Emily, Kimi, and I went into Thimphu to do some shopping at the Sunday Centenary Market. (The Hindu/Neapli speakers call it the "Subji Market" which means "produce market.") Emily and I bought lots of produce, and then crossed the Thimphu Chuu on an traditional cantilevered bridge to see the handicraft bazaar on the other bank that is only open on Sundays. After that, we walked back into downtown to have a late lunch and coffee at Ambient Cafe. My friend Samir was hanging out there, so we joined him and then came back to campus together. 

The Buddha statue at Coronation Park along the Thimphu Chuu.

The rains, oh the rains...

The Thimphu Chuu is raging right now.

Emily on the Kundeyling Baazam bridge crossing the Thimphu Chuu.

It was a very good weekend, and I am excited to be able to spend time with new friends. I am also feeling better after a rough two weeks of being ill. Now if only the rains would end...

And Finally, to Bhutan!

Now, finally an update on my time in Bhutan thus far.

On September 7th, after one last delicious breakfast at my hotel, I headed back to the Delhi airport for my flight to Paro. Check in went smoothly, although I did have to pay a large fee for my excess baggage (the free baggage allowance is 20 kg). I knew that in advance so it wasn’t a surprise.  Then after passing through customs and security (shoes could be left on, thankyouverymuch), it was into the duty-free shop. I’ve never shopped in one before, only browsed, but I had a request from a certain husband to get a bottle of whiskey and some dark chocolate. And boy did I get some chocolate! We’ll definitely be sharing it!

And yes, the carpet at the Delhi airport is every bit as wonderful as Matt said. There were two styles but unfortunately I was only able to get a picture of one.

Other great perks of the Delhi airport: reclining chairs (genius!) and these humorous, completely unrelated news bites:

As with Matt’s, my DrukAir flight (Bhutan’s national airline) was able to take off as scheduled. Nothing too exciting to report except the views. THE VIEWS. I was lucky enough to get a window seat on the left side of the plane (crucial for mountain viewing). I may or may not have seen Everest’s peaks (I couldn’t quite hear what the captain was saying). In any case, I did see the peaks of some of the world’s tallest mountains and it was every bit as exhilarating as you would imagine. I was more amazed by seeing the mountaintops through the clouds than I ever imagined. It was truly breathtaking and in all my travels I’ve never felt as awed by a sight.

If any of you have read books about Bhutan, I’m sure that you have heard about how harrowing the flight into Paro is. I can now tell you with certainty that these are great exaggerations for literary effect. Yes, you do fly closer than usual to some mountains but it never feels like you’re going to hit them (as is suggested by many authors). It wasn’t any scarier than flying into SFO (which to me aways feels like you’re going to land in the water - anyone else?) And, as you might expect, the views are again spectacular. My window was very smudged but you get the idea.

After landing in Paro, we disembarked from the plane and entered the traditionally Bhutanese-style airport to pass through customs once again. This process was fairly slow and not helped by the fact the we lost electricity for a few minutes (an event that hasn’t yet been repeated). Matt had told me that I would need to pay $20 for my visa upon arrival, a fact that I forgot until I was sitting at the gate in Delhi with only $14 in my possession after spending most of my cash on chocolate (like I said, SO MUCH CHOCOLATE). Anyway, travel being travel, I figured something would work out. I mean, would they really not let me in the country? After the customs agent had looked over my paperwork, she told me that I in fact needed to pay $40 for my visa. Well, lucky for me I still had a 50 Euro bill that was left from a previous trip and that I found in the front pouch of an old purse a few years back. I held on to it figuring it would come in handy sometime. And the time was then. Hurray!

After claiming my luggage, I walked out of the Paro airport expecting to be greeted by Matt. Well, he wasn’t there but I wasn’t concerned. I figured that he was just running a little behind. However, everyone else was very concerned. I was offered a ride into town and one particularly concerned man insisted that I use his cell phone to call Matt. I did and I was right - Matt and his friend were just running a little behind. 

They arrived not too much later in a small car that was luckily able to fit all of my luggage. Then Matt offered me a Dramamine and we were off driving along the windy mountain road (pretty much all roads in Bhutan are like this) with lush greenery and steep hillsides all around. We made one stop at a holy water site (water flowing from the top of the mountain) and one stop to buy fire-roasted corn and green beans from a family selling on the roadside. 

Matt had a faculty meeting to attend so after we arrived back on campus and at our apartment I took the rest of the afternoon to unpack. That evening was a faculty dinner that is hosted once monthly so we also attended that. I was pretty tired but it was nice to finally meet the people I keep hearing about. I wasn’t all the talkative due to jet lag but it was fun nonetheless.

On Saturday, we went into Thimphu in the staff van. The campus is 11 km from town so it’s not easy to just pop in. We walked around town for awhile, had lunch, checked out the handicraft sellers (where we bought a beautiful wooden bowl), got groceries from a store and the produce market (so fun!), and had coffee and cake at Ambient Cafe, a expat hangout that Matt has mentioned before. The only picture from the day was me drinking coffee there.

Thimphu is a very manageable city and I loved the fact that it is possible to walk around without being bothered! It’s fabulous and obviously makes adjustment much easier and less tiring. The town extends uphill so there are many staircases connecting the different streets. I don’t know my way around yet but I’m sure I’ll pick it up soon. It’s quite interesting to be surrounded by the ancient and the modern. There are the ubiquitous prayer flags, monasteries in the mountains, religious sites visible in the mountains and in town. In contrast, many Bhutanese young men sport the gho, the traditional male dress of the country, rolled down around their waists with t-shirts on top. My favorite: Megadeath. A large number of young men also have punk hair styles - gelled in crazy angles and occasionally dyed various colors (and, oddly enough, it works for them!). Matt even said the he once saw a monk driving a Mercedes and using a Blackberry. Such are the complexities of development.

Sunday was more of a lazy day but in the afternoon we did go for a hike. The campus extends directly uphill and if you follow a path near where campus ends, you arrive at a large stream that is the water source for campus. 

We tried to figure out a good way to cross the stream and eventually settled on the tree that formed a kind of bridge across the water (which is obviously why it was there). Matt said that he’d seen people walk across it before but we opted for scooting instead. We tried to find more trails after crossing the stream but were less successful. We were able to find a few small ones but eventually we ended up bushwhacking, at which point I decided I wasn’t having fun anymore. We made our way back to the stream where Matt decided he should walk through the water. After discovering that the rocks were very slippery, I opted to scoot back across the log. I am happy to report that no injuries were sustained.

Baby bamboo

This week has been pretty quiet. I’ve been updating the blog (as you can tell), which actually takes quite a bit of time. In addition, the internet here is very slow so any online tasks take significantly longer than they would on most internet connections in the US. In fact Matt told me that it is possible to purchase more bandwidth for use in one household in the US than is available in all of Bhutan. That should give you some perspective. We were spoiled! Enjoy it for us. 

I’ve also been updating my resume so that I can find some sort of work here. We’re unsure if I can get an official paid position given that I am here as Matt’s dependent (don’t you love it?). We’ll see. I’m sure there’s something a nurse can do, even if unpaid! Once I get a SIM card for my phone, I’ll start networking more. So far I have a few good leads. The director of Royal Thimphu College has several siblings who are doctors, one of whom is an obstetrician and one of Matt’s friends knows the director of UNFPA Bhutan (United Nations Population Fund). Matt has also met the son of the dean of the nursing school and several people who have worked at the hospital in town. I haven’t yet been to the hospital so I can’t say for certain if I want to work there. Again, we shall see. In any case, I’m confident that something interesting will work out.

So far I’ve been enjoying my time here. Probably the best part is the beauty (besides being reunited with Matt, of course!).  It’s quite amazing to be constantly surrounded by pine-covered mountains. We get a good dose of nature were we live because, like I mentioned, we are located outside the city and are farther up in the mountains. However, the disadvantage is that we are removed from the city life and culture. Yes, there are Bhutanese people who work at the college, but it’s not the same at total immersion (as frustrating as that can sometimes be). I’m kind of missing my study abroad days when we got cultural orientation, local language classes, and a home stay! I’m sure more familiarity with the culture will come with time and some travel to more rural areas. 

One Day, Two Nights

Originally, I was very nervous about visiting India by myself. I had heard plenty of stories from other female travelers about how much they had been harassed and I wasn’t excited to experience this myself, especially not in a place so large and unfamiliar.  And if you’ve read Matt’s post about visiting Delhi, he got harassed enough without having the added factor of being a solo female traveler. I also knew that I would be very tired from traveling and the idea of fending for myself in a jet-lagged state was not appealing. In any case, this all led to me booking a guided tour with Delhi Urban Adventures which incidentally is run by the same company that my mom and I used for a tour in central Europe. They are not the typical tour company and encourage cultural immersion and real experiences.

My guide, Dipu, came to pick me up at the hotel at 10am. No one else had signed up for that day so I got a private tour. From the hotel we drove to central Delhi through all the traffic craziness that is common in many developing countries - lots of honking, ambiguous lane distinctions, motorbikes flitting between vehicles. Here are a few street scenes from the drive:

We were dropped off in central Delhi near a Metro station (I wish I could remember which one) which we took to Chawri Bazaar in Old Delhi. Entering the Metro also required a purse scan and passing through a metal detector. The Metro system is quite impressive - clean and well-marked. The female only cars would also have been an advantage for me if I hadn’t been with a male guide. 

After exiting the Metro, we took a bicycle rickshaw to Jama Masjid. And yes, it was quite the experience! The seats are not made for tall people and I had to use quite a lot of leg muscle to stay on. It did feel wrong to be transported by the energy of another human but I suppose there is an argument to be made in favor of these rickshaws as they provide an income for men who may otherwise be unemployed (this could be a length discussion, I’m sure!). 

While riding the rickshaw, I held my camera towards the street (in a way that didn’t make it obvious that I was taking photos) and took pictures throughout the ride. I am perhaps overly timid when taking travel photos. As an outsider, it feels intrusive and disrespectful. Here are some shots that I got along the way:

Mosque up ahead

Those electrical wires!

Jama Masjid is the largest mosque in India, was the final architectural accomplishment of Emperor Shah Jahan, the builder of the Taj Mahal, and can hold up to 25,000 people.  To enter, shoes must be removed (hello hot bricks!) and women must don a robe-like item to cover themselves. Interestingly, women don’t need to cover their heads during non-prayer times (this is in contrast to all mosques I visited in Africa). In consulting my guidebook while writing this post, I discovered that it’s possible to climb one of the minarets for “unforgettable view.” That certainly would have been a nice thing for Dipu to tell me during the visit! He did tell me some of the history about the building but I don’t remember anything. I’ll blame jet lag. If you are interested in more of the history, click to link above at the beginning of the paragraph.

Jama Masjid

Walking though an outer corridor

Looking out into the city - the Red Fort is visible in the background

Looking at the mosque for the outer staircase

From the mosque we walked through the labyrinthine streets of Old Delhi (if they can be called that given their narrowness) lined by all sorts of shops and filled with people going about their daily business. I could have taken some spectacular pictures here but didn’t due to above mentioned aversion to taking photos in certain places. 

Eventually we stopped for lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall that served paranthas, fried Indian flat bread made with whole wheat flour. I had two - one with mixed vegetables and one with lentils. They were served with accompanying chutneys and such. They were very delicious - much better than they look in the picture! While I was eating Dipu sat across the table from me barely saying a word and two men stared at me from the corner. Good times.

The view from where I ate

From there we walked through more of Old Delhi and eventually arrived Chandni Chowk, meaning “moonlit square”, and according to Wikipedia is “one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi” (although where we were, it was just a busy street). It was previously divided by canals that reflected the moonlit. If you think this sounds romantic, you would be very disappointed when visiting.

Street view of Chandni Chowk

We made our way to Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib (the place where Sikh’s worship is called gurdwara, meaning “gateway to the guru”). After going to a sort of welcome room, we walked into the main room where a large group of people sitting and three men were playing musical instruments and chanting verses of scripture.

We then walked over to the kitchen and dining room area of the gurdwara (called langar). One of the main principles of Sikhism is sharing and one way to do this is through the distribution of free vegetarian (so that all may eat) food to anyone who shows up. (Of course, it’s actually much more complicated than this but I don’t have the knowledge to delve more deeply into Sikhism.)

Cooking in the kitchen

Lunchtime guests

Hey, that's me!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good view of the exterior of the gurdwara because we never crossed to the street to get the view (another guide fail).

After this final visit, the tour was over. Dipu walked me down the street and near the Red Fort to wait for a taxi.

View of the Red Fort from where I waited for my taxi

Street view of where I waited for my taxi

Overall, I enjoyed my day. As mentioned previously, I wouldn’t say that Dipu was all that great of a guide but going on the tour allowed me to see the city with minimal effort. Much of the tour also involved walking through different parts of Old Delhi, which I love because it allows you to observe a culture close up and gives you a better sense of a place. I’m sure being with a male guide also saved me from harassment. Really the only time I was approached by people was when walking along one of the larger streets and they were mostly men trying to get me to come to their shops. Luckily Dakar gave me lots of practice with ignoring people on the street! Throughout my time in India, no one told me I was beautiful or asked me to marry them so that’s a successful trip in my opinion!

In stark contrast to what Matt experienced, my trip was almost too easy. I’ve never traveled in a manner where so many things were arranged for me. It was fine for this trip but it’s not nearly as interesting as roughing it a little bit more. Otherwise, where would the crazy travel stories come from? I’m excited to explore India more with Matt - perhaps this winter.