Wednesday January 15 –Day 2 (New Delhi)
Today we started off our day with a metro ride to Chandni
Chowk, the heart of Old Delhi. I was so happy that this was part of our trip
because the small alleyways and “easy to get lost” layout has made it so
intimidating for me to do it alone.
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| The crowded streets of Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi |
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| Crazy wiring! |
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| A stand where paan is made, which is similar to chewing tobacco and usually can be made sweet or spicy |
I was in such amazement once we walked from the busy
main streets to the small, crowded alleyways of Chandni Chowk. We walked past
jewelry store after jewelry store, sari tailors, sweet shops, and fabric shops.
The fabric shops with all of their beautiful appliqués and ribbons hung up on
their walls were just waiting to be put on a sari or a salwar kameez. I didn’t
want to buy any and then have to carry it all around, but when I get back from
my trip, Chandni Chowk is definitely going to be one of my stops!
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| Cycle rickshaws |
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| Men selling jackfruit |
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| A shop where women can buy ribbon to put on their sarees and salwar kameez suits |
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| An Indian sweets shop |
With the dangling electrical wires everywhere and the peppers
and lemons strung together and hung outside the shops to keep the evil spirits
away—this reminded me of the real India, the incredible colorful, chaotic,
sometimes backward thinking yet frontward thinking, amazing India.
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| Men making flower garlands, usually given to the gods as an offering in a Hindu temple |
We saw
monkeys climbing on the wires, dogs sitting amongst piles of trash and a cute
little cat trying to scale the wall of a building.
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| One of the many street dogs that we saw on our trip |
We then stopped for a yummy samosa then went on our way to visit
the Jama Masjid mosque. Surprisingly the mosque didn’t ask the women to cover
up nearly as much as the Sikh Temple we went to later did. The women were given
capes/bathrobes to wear even though they didn’t cover our heads at all. So we
went into the Mosque, which was an outdoor space which could hold 25,000 people
for prayer. After getting into the Mosque and away from the staff, I decided to
discreetly take pictures and try to get away with not paying Rs 300 ($5 US) to
use a camera. That didn’t work for too long though! A guard saw us doing that
and forced us to pay. Then upon leaving, the staff had the women pay Rs 100 for
the robe. I understand them wanting us to wear the robe, but I think it’s a
cruel way for a religion and house of worship to make money.
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| The Jama Masjid Mosque |
After the mosque, we went to a Sikh Temple, where I had a
completely different experience. The Sikhs welcomed us to their house of
worship. We all had to wear something to cover our head—women and men, but were
never asked to pay for the head covering. In fact they were the ones offering
us hospitality—chai, sweet semolina and biscuits. Sikhs are known for being
very generous people. They provide two meals a day to people that come to the
temple, and many people volunteer their time serving food and doing other odd
jobs in the temple. I’m glad that we went to the two houses of worship because
I would’ve had a bad taste in my mouth if we just went to the mosque.
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A Sikh man making chai in the Sikh Temple
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| Women rolling out chapatis in the Sikh Temple |
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| Cooking the chapatis |
The rest of the afternoon was free for us to roam around. I
decided to grab some lunch at Saravana Bhavan (a south Indian chain restaurant) with some other people from our
tour group. I had a paneer masala dosa again, because it was just so good the
first time I went there! Then I just came back to my hotel room and read my
Kindle and relaxed the rest of the evening. I've been meaning to wander around Chandni Chowk because of all the history and small alleyways, and was the perfect introduction to our trip!
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