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.