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Published: January 14th 2010
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Hot Jalebis in Chandi Chowk
Orange coloured whorls of deep fried batter in sugar syrup. Yum!! We finally arrived in Delhi although our train was delayed by nearly 4 hours, one and a half hours of which was spent just outside the platform waiting for a train to move. Brrr, Delhi was freezing cold and foggy. Stupidly we did not expect India to be this cold, we can’t wait to head down south where it is still in the 30s.
We stayed on the Main Bazaar, just down from New Delhi train station which was handy. We headed to yet another fort, this time Red Fort before wandering around Chandi Chowk, the main market street in the Old Town and feasting on delicious street snacks. The Jama Masjid (Mosque) was stunning and set in a really cool Muslim area crowded with street vendors and hawkers.
The spice market was fascinating, all the wholesalers were on the streets with their huge sacks of spices bursting at the seams. It was complete chaos with rickshaws, ox and carts and thousands of people collecting fresh ingredients for their evening meals.
At Connaught Place we headed for a drink and met Tammy from South Africa. We met up the following morning to go on a walking tour with
Salaam Baalak Trust. This is a charitable organisation that organises city walks showing people what life is like for the street children. There are more than 10 million street kids in India. The children that we met were absolutely gorgeous and despite their desperate situation, were happy and so friendly. The contact point where the children are bought from the streets each morning is next to the railway tracks and they kick a ball from one side of the tracks to another as the trains whiz past. A little girl from the UK who was on the tour gave the children a Barbie set. The kids were so excited (even the boys!).
The Trust arranges schooling and shelter for children but some of them just like to spend the day in the safety of the other children playing before they head out to scrounge food off the arriving train or sell postcards on the street. Some of the children live on the street with their parents, while others have run away from abuse at home. They earn about 50 rupees a day and on Fridays, most children spend their day’s wage by washing and going to the cinema to
Spice Market
Sacks of red chillis bursting at the seams see the latest Bollywood flick (which costs 60 rupees).
Listening to their stories was heart wrenching. When we asked one boy whether he was scared living on the street, he said yes, they were scared of the police who would round them up and beat them before dumping them back on the street.
We were taken to the shelter (for boys aged 10-12) and met some of the children there. They had just finished their morning English lesson and a few were keen to show us their exercise books. Their handwriting and drawings left mine for dead at that age! They were so proud of their work. One little boy told us his dream was to become a waiter we he got older and another a train conductor.
While on the tour we met Jeff from Canada/US/Tokyo and the four of us spent the rest of the day milling between the sights - India Gate and the Ghandi Smriti museum which was established where Gandhi took his last steps before being assassinated.
We had a great dosa meal in Connaught Place (still not really sure how you are meant to eat these gracefully) and headed out
Salaam Baalak Trust Walk
Children we met at the contact point for inner city homeless children. for a cheap beer. We really enjoyed Delhi and have another night here next week before heading to Chennai.
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