An inside guide to Delhi

As soon as we stepped out of the airport and into Delhi we were shocked by the madness already. Firstly the sounds of the constant touting of horns from cars, tuk tuks and motorbikes was overwhelming, and then of course the constant stares from people who either want to sell you a tour, bus ticket or taxi, and the people who want a picture with you as if your the newest celebrity in town! We arrived at our hotel (Aman Continental) located in the Main bazaar and was amazed to find this quiet haven in the mix of all of the madness of the main bazaar. We quickly headed back out to explore as we only had 2 nights in Delhi. We took a walk down the main bazaar and picked up some useful items such as a scarf for Kayleigh to be able to cover her shoulders and some trousers because Kayleigh likes to shop! It’s worth mentioning women should not show there legs or their shoulders when out in public in India as a sign of respect.To end the day we found a roof top cafe in the Main bazaar to try our first Indian meal! The cafes were in a great position to watch people down below at the main bazaar and just far enough away to be able to enjoy your meal!We began our second day with breakfast at our hotel as we planned our route around the city. We were sure to write down the full addresses of everywhere we wanted to visit as many tuk tuk drivers were unsure.We headed out first to Chandi Chowk, Chowk means market and this is the biggest in Delhi. We discovered this is where Indian’s come when they are to be married as they select outfits, fabrics, shoes and flowers for the occasion. The market itself was crazy with thousands of people, cars, tuk tuks and bikes trying to fit down the narrow streets of Deli with the pedestrians. After some convincing from a tuk tuk driver he persuaded us to take his tour of the spice market in Chandi Chowk and I have to say it was probably our favourite part of our Delhi trip. We followed our guide behind the scenes down the narrow streets and witnessed hundreds of large bags of every kind of spice you can imagine. As we followed our guide up some strange steps in one of the streets we were told this was the chilli house and as soon as we arrived we could see why. Tons of bags of chilli’s sitting beautifully colourful. We watched in amazement as they crushed them up to make various types of spice. The biggest challenge was trying to stop coughing and sneezing because of the overwhelming smell.  We continued to follow our guide up the stairs in the chilli house until we reached the top and we were both stunned to see the whole of Chandi Chowk market below us. We people watched for a while as we saw people going about their daily business. We hopped in a tuk tuk down the road to the Red Fort which is named for its huge enclosing walls of red sandstone and is adjacent to the older Samlimgarth Fort. We payed the 250 rupee each to get inside and walked around reading the various signs and shooting pictures of the impressive fort although all the locals wanted to do was continue taking snaps of us once again. After the madness of Chandi Chowk we were ready for a change of pace and took a 200 rupee tuk tuk to the Lodi Garden’s which turned out to be exactly what we needed. We were shocked to firstly discover the gardens were free to get into, we walked around looking at the various species of birds that call the gardens there home, examined the temples inside the gardens and took a walk by the lake with a cold ice cream.After the Lodi Gardens we took another 200 rupee tuk tuk to our last sightseeing stop the Lotus temple, as soon as we arrived we were both surprised to find this a free attraction. We headed on up the path and could not help see the resemblance to the Sydney Opera House. Lastly a 200 rupee tuk tuk to Haus Kauz village and felt like we were in America rather than India. With fairy light lit streets with various bars and restaurants all offering happy hour deals. Although we found the food to be too expensive for us backpackers it seemed to be a good pace to send the evening. We headed back to the main bazaar after a 250 rupee tuk tuk in search of another roof top cafe for dinner. We chose Krishna cafe for dinner and were glad we did. We were served beer in tea mugs as they are not allowed to serve alcohol so the receipt read “vitamin drink” and had a great chicken curry, rice and nan bread. We headed back to our hotel ready to catch the early morning train to Agra. (Read all about how we fell for our first scam next!)

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