Old Delhi, Markets, and Street Food - Sandwich's Diary
Tuesday--old Delhi
Woke up. Ate paratha aloo.
Our plan was to go to Dilli Haat, an ethnic crafts market via the metro. Mrs. S loaned us metro cards to use, and the Civil Lines stop is literally 2 min. walk from here.
At the station we added 100 Rs. to each card (they each had just a bit on them). And the Delhi Metro is just amazing!!!
It's super clean (for India), super easy and super fast! You go through the scanner in the ladiies' line, they scan your bags, you lay your card against the turnstile and then go wait for the ladies car.
Every train has a ladies car, either the first or the last, only for ladies and their children.
Each car has a marquee inside listing the stops in English and Hindi, and there also a map with lights showing where you are. AND they are making announcements in Hindi and very clear English. You cannot get lst and it's very safe.
And so cheap! We rode 6 times today and spent 60 Rs.
So off we went to Dilli Haat. We found it after asking one direction, and went up to the ticket window. But just as Leslie was going to buy a ticket (you pay to get in and then there are no touts), I saw a sign in the window saying it was a changeover day, being the first of the month, and only two shops were open. It must be that different merchants sell each month.
Change in plans.
So we decided to go back on the Metro to Chandni Chowk which is another market area. This was pretty overwhelming, even for us seasoned India-navigators, but we pressed on. Relying on my amazing sense of direction (truly), we set off in search of steel. This area is very crowded, dirty, broken sidewalks, pushy men desperately trying to sell us mustache trimmers (note to self: check if walrus hairs need plucking). The first side of the street had nothing for us, but then we spotted a kitchenware shop and found all the things we needed. I finally got my dosa spreader (Kristin V.!). On the way back, Leslie found the rest of the outfits she needed to pick up and I found something for a certain 7 year old who is getting a lot of presents from this trip!
Metro back to the villa and order lunch for Naveen who was asleep before it arrived. But! News flash! Before his nap, he pooped in the toilet! Potty trained, I tell you! Some people have all the luck! (meaning only that Leslie gets to bring home a potty-trained child, not that I need to be potty-trained
Leslie had missed printing out one important document she needs tomorrow and had planned to go to an Internet cafe across the street Mrs. S told us about. Naveen was really tired, tho, and we had to leave again for our street food tour at 3:30, so after he went to sleep, I had her email it to me and I set out.
Our street was easy to cross, not busy at all. All I knew was that tha place was somewhere across the street and down a block or two, nothing more. The first place I asked had no idea. Past the Metro stop, there were some small shops down a lane, so I headed that way. I asked at a food stand/restaurant and they pointed it out.
I went in and asked to print. They showed me to a computer and I got logged on. Someone came and took my passport to photocopy. I opened the email. He sat down to log my information into the book. I waited for him to be done. When he handed back my passport, I asked to print. He copied and pasted into word, printed 4 sheets, I paid my 40 Rs and was done!
I went back to the food stand/restaurant and ordered some veg Hakka noodles for 80 Rs. ($1.50) to take away. Talked with a lady from Arkansas who was eating there with a colleague (Indian) and said the food was good and safe.
Brought it back along with a menu and Leslie's papers and we ate the noodles. They were like lo mein and sooooo good!
Let Naveen nap until 3:15 then got him up and headed for the Metro again.
Our street food tour was so much more than that. Dhruv showed us little thing we wouldn't have noticed on our own. We ate Aloo Chaat (spicy fried potatoes), veg patties, Mutter Kachori, and gulab jamun. We drank sweet lassi from a clay cup.
We went to his home where his very nice wife, Richa let me help make the fried appetizers and we talked recipes. We met their teenaged daughters and had a tour of their home, traditional for this area called a Havali.
Naveen did great until dinner and then we had to rush through it a bit but it was delicious. We had Rose (flavored) kulfi (ice cream) for dessert, which Naveen loved.
Dhruv walked us back to the metro and insisted we call him when we were safely back at the villa. We really enjoyed this tour!
(here is what I wrote for tripadvisor:
“Excellent experience of the "real" India”
My friend and I travelled with her two-year old son and she booked this tour via the Internet, based on the excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.
It was everything already stated in the reviews and a wonderful experience!
Dhruv took excellent care of us and was very responsive to the needs of the child. He contacted us a few days before our tour to suggest an earlier time than normal, and perhaps he cut a few things out when the child became fussy, but no matter, it was all wonderful!
We felt safe eating the street food and did not get sick. No one bothered us while walking.
The highlight was visiting his home and needing his family. For those who scoff at the cost, THIS is what you are getting for your money! The is more than just a street tour, but a chance to spend time with a real Indian family and to see how they live.
Mrs. Richa let me help make the snacks and we exchanged cooking tips as I also cook Indian food at home. She was so warm and friendly.
Our only regret is that our dinner was rushed because the child was becoming tired, but even then they were so gracious and did not make us feel badly. They even brought him extra kulfi, which he enjoyed.
Dhruv walked us back to the metro and insisted that we call to let him know we had returned safely.
This was more than a tourist gimmick of see this, learn that. This was about relationships and getting to know people. Well worth the money, in my opinion.
Thank you Dhruv and Richa!
Visited May 2012
Woke up. Ate paratha aloo.
Our plan was to go to Dilli Haat, an ethnic crafts market via the metro. Mrs. S loaned us metro cards to use, and the Civil Lines stop is literally 2 min. walk from here.
At the station we added 100 Rs. to each card (they each had just a bit on them). And the Delhi Metro is just amazing!!!
It's super clean (for India), super easy and super fast! You go through the scanner in the ladiies' line, they scan your bags, you lay your card against the turnstile and then go wait for the ladies car.
Every train has a ladies car, either the first or the last, only for ladies and their children.
Each car has a marquee inside listing the stops in English and Hindi, and there also a map with lights showing where you are. AND they are making announcements in Hindi and very clear English. You cannot get lst and it's very safe.
And so cheap! We rode 6 times today and spent 60 Rs.
So off we went to Dilli Haat. We found it after asking one direction, and went up to the ticket window. But just as Leslie was going to buy a ticket (you pay to get in and then there are no touts), I saw a sign in the window saying it was a changeover day, being the first of the month, and only two shops were open. It must be that different merchants sell each month.
Change in plans.
So we decided to go back on the Metro to Chandni Chowk which is another market area. This was pretty overwhelming, even for us seasoned India-navigators, but we pressed on. Relying on my amazing sense of direction (truly), we set off in search of steel. This area is very crowded, dirty, broken sidewalks, pushy men desperately trying to sell us mustache trimmers (note to self: check if walrus hairs need plucking). The first side of the street had nothing for us, but then we spotted a kitchenware shop and found all the things we needed. I finally got my dosa spreader (Kristin V.!). On the way back, Leslie found the rest of the outfits she needed to pick up and I found something for a certain 7 year old who is getting a lot of presents from this trip!
Metro back to the villa and order lunch for Naveen who was asleep before it arrived. But! News flash! Before his nap, he pooped in the toilet! Potty trained, I tell you! Some people have all the luck! (meaning only that Leslie gets to bring home a potty-trained child, not that I need to be potty-trained
Leslie had missed printing out one important document she needs tomorrow and had planned to go to an Internet cafe across the street Mrs. S told us about. Naveen was really tired, tho, and we had to leave again for our street food tour at 3:30, so after he went to sleep, I had her email it to me and I set out.
Our street was easy to cross, not busy at all. All I knew was that tha place was somewhere across the street and down a block or two, nothing more. The first place I asked had no idea. Past the Metro stop, there were some small shops down a lane, so I headed that way. I asked at a food stand/restaurant and they pointed it out.
I went in and asked to print. They showed me to a computer and I got logged on. Someone came and took my passport to photocopy. I opened the email. He sat down to log my information into the book. I waited for him to be done. When he handed back my passport, I asked to print. He copied and pasted into word, printed 4 sheets, I paid my 40 Rs and was done!
I went back to the food stand/restaurant and ordered some veg Hakka noodles for 80 Rs. ($1.50) to take away. Talked with a lady from Arkansas who was eating there with a colleague (Indian) and said the food was good and safe.
Brought it back along with a menu and Leslie's papers and we ate the noodles. They were like lo mein and sooooo good!
Let Naveen nap until 3:15 then got him up and headed for the Metro again.
Our street food tour was so much more than that. Dhruv showed us little thing we wouldn't have noticed on our own. We ate Aloo Chaat (spicy fried potatoes), veg patties, Mutter Kachori, and gulab jamun. We drank sweet lassi from a clay cup.
We went to his home where his very nice wife, Richa let me help make the fried appetizers and we talked recipes. We met their teenaged daughters and had a tour of their home, traditional for this area called a Havali.
Naveen did great until dinner and then we had to rush through it a bit but it was delicious. We had Rose (flavored) kulfi (ice cream) for dessert, which Naveen loved.
Dhruv walked us back to the metro and insisted we call him when we were safely back at the villa. We really enjoyed this tour!
(here is what I wrote for tripadvisor:
“Excellent experience of the "real" India”
My friend and I travelled with her two-year old son and she booked this tour via the Internet, based on the excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.
It was everything already stated in the reviews and a wonderful experience!
Dhruv took excellent care of us and was very responsive to the needs of the child. He contacted us a few days before our tour to suggest an earlier time than normal, and perhaps he cut a few things out when the child became fussy, but no matter, it was all wonderful!
We felt safe eating the street food and did not get sick. No one bothered us while walking.
The highlight was visiting his home and needing his family. For those who scoff at the cost, THIS is what you are getting for your money! The is more than just a street tour, but a chance to spend time with a real Indian family and to see how they live.
Mrs. Richa let me help make the snacks and we exchanged cooking tips as I also cook Indian food at home. She was so warm and friendly.
Our only regret is that our dinner was rushed because the child was becoming tired, but even then they were so gracious and did not make us feel badly. They even brought him extra kulfi, which he enjoyed.
Dhruv walked us back to the metro and insisted that we call to let him know we had returned safely.
This was more than a tourist gimmick of see this, learn that. This was about relationships and getting to know people. Well worth the money, in my opinion.
Thank you Dhruv and Richa!
Visited May 2012
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