Day 2 - Old Delhi is not New Delhi

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Yesterday was a tame effort by Delhi to put us out of our comfort zone. I think it has realised this and so went full steam today..

Old Delhi is a place where the British thought not a great location to put their capital back before India's Independence. I now know why.

We crossed the bridge from our hotel in Par Ghanj to a completely different city, one made up of bazaars with shops selling ANYTHING you care to mention, shops that just sell doorhandles, shops containing nothing more than a hotpan, i nearly bought a new DeWalt drill for my dad in one! All on narrow streets with thousands of people, nearly as many rickshaws and tuk-tuks, schoolkids and goats. We thought we'd sorted out our route before we left but once inside this medieval-style city with the sunlight blocked out from the sheer density of the streets, we completely lost all sense of direction. We ended up on a standard Delhi main road, horns still blaring, as if the streets we'd just left were a dream. Not only this but we still didn't know where we were, so we just chose a direction and went for it, avoiding death by tuk-tuk on several occasions.
We stopped in a cafe to get some lunch (fantastic vegetable tandoor), catch a breath and work out where we were supposed to be headed.

We renewed our search with enthusiasm, now knowing how to get where we were supposed to be headed, Lal Qil'ah (The Red Fort). A truly impressive Red Sandstone-walled complex, standing 100m above the throngs of the town. It contains several buildings used by up to 3000 people at one point and was originally the home to the Imperial Family of India. It was nice for us to actually do some sight-seeing instead of life-preservation, and we enjoyed our time inside the Fort, with the constant drone of traffic dumbed by the sandstone walls...

Outside the fort was a different matter altogether.

No sooner had we stopped to cross the street, than I turned around to Rhian on hearing her shout at an old woman who had her hand in her bag! luckily the woman was scared off by Rhian's up-fronted holler and didn's snatch anything. But we were now on a level of alert the US government would be proud of circa 09/11. We were shocked and became very disorientated but ended up a side street bazaar full of stalls selling automotive parts and it front of the biggest mosque in India in full prayer, so we couldn't go in but it sounded amazing!

We then had to find our way home. We decided that we didn't fancy the trip through the bazaar again so we found a coffee shop and worked out a way back on main roads. The strain of staying alert, the heat (no way is it 35 degrees it feels more like 40 at least), the sheer intensity of Delhi, the brightness of the sun, even though it was only 5pm it had taken it's toll on us. We decided that it is very difficult to last more than about 6 hours out on the streets of this city!!
Tomorrow we are going to travel to South Delhi, a city of skyscrapers and hopefully more 'westernised' as i dont think my mind can take any more of this right now! don't get me wrong we are not in anything less than an excited mood, it's just hard work!

G & R
x

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Comments

[H]

thanks for the updates
Hi G & R I am getting a real sense of the experiences you are having, so well done for that. I have enjoyed the two blogs alot so far. I have sent the link to Rob, Jeff and my friend Charlie, so that they can get a glimpse of your travels! I am glad the security alert has been light enough in terms of loss but relieved that your are more aware of the potential impacts it could have! Stay safe, but enjoy yourselves.. look forward to the next update. HJM