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Blank_page Delhi It may seem strange starting a book on my favourite places in India with Delhi. In fact if you ask anyone travelling in India if Delhi was up there as a favourite place they would say no. Many visitors want to get out of there after a few days. The problem is the heat of a big city, the crazy traffic - even by Indian standards - the noise, the pollution and the constant bother of touts and sellers who see tourists as walking ATM machines. Having said that, the old area of Delhi really fascinated me. On my first day of arrival I did all the newer areas like Connaught Place and got a Tourist Board taxi to take me around various sites for several hours which was great value. The next day, I ventured off on auto-rickshaw into Old Delhi and thats when the culture shock really hit. It's one seething mass of humanity, hooting pushing cars, autos, cycle rickshaws and ox carts. An assault on all the senses at once which makes for a very 'in the moment' experience. 6
Delhi

It may seem strange starting a book on my favourite places in India with Delhi. In fact if you ask anyone travelling in India if Delhi was up there as a favourite place they would say no. Many visitors want to get out of there after a few days. The problem is the heat of a big city, the crazy traffic - even by Indian standards - the noise, the pollution and the constant bother of touts and sellers who see tourists as walking ATM machines.
Having said that, the old area of Delhi really fascinated me. On my first day of arrival I did all the newer areas like Connaught Place and got a Tourist Board taxi to take me around various sites for several hours which was great value. The next day, I ventured off on auto-rickshaw into Old Delhi and thats when the culture shock really hit. It's one seething mass of humanity, hooting pushing cars, autos, cycle rickshaws and ox carts. An assault on all the senses at once which makes for a very 'in the moment' experience.6
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Blank_pageIndia and Nepal Views from cycle rickshaw of Old Delhi Old Delhi is the seventeenth century city of Shahajanabad built by the Moghul emperor, Shah Jahan (the Taj Mahal guy). The original city walls spread for seven miles, enclosing the Red Fort (not as impressive as Agra's Red Fort) and the huge Jama Masjid mosque. The main street through all of this is Chandni Chowk (pages 5,6 and 11) which is like a seething river of humanity, traffic, noise and commerce. It once was a sublime canal lined with trees and some of the most opulent bazaars of the East. While waiting in line to retrieve my sandals from outside a Hindu temple near the Red Fort, a cycle rickshaw driver approached and offered me a tour around Old Delhi for 100 rupees. We agreed on this and off we went down Chandni Chowk. Speaking good english, he showed me some of the original old architecture, and took me into a Jain temple (where an old monk insisted on giving me a half hour tour, then wanting a tip and donation). He took me into the courtyards behind the streets (page 8, 9 and 10) and up onto the roofs to get amazing views and we had a chai with his mates in the back alleys. His skill in weaving the rickshaw down very tight, narrow alleys through scenes that could have been from centuries ago, was impressive. After three hours of amazing sights he insisted that we'd agreed on 100rs/hour and I realised that he had skillfully used up the three hours! getting ripped off as a tourist or encouraging overpricing and giving a good amount for a great service and realising how much more five or ten dollars of our money can buy for them. 7 India and NepalViews from cycle rickshaw of Old DelhiOld Delhi is the seventeenth century city of Shahajanabad built by the Moghul emperor, Shah Jahan (the Taj Mahal guy). The original city walls spread for seven miles, enclosing the Red Fort (not as impressive as Agra's Red Fort) and the huge Jama Masjid mosque. The main street through all of this is Chandni Chowk (pages 5,6 and 11) which is like a seething river of humanity, traffic, noise and commerce. It once was a sublime canal lined with trees and some of the most opulent bazaars of the East.

While waiting in line to retrieve my sandals from outside a Hindu temple near the Red Fort, a cycle rickshaw driver approached and offered me a tour around Old Delhi for 100 rupees. We agreed on this and off we went down Chandni Chowk. Speaking good english, he showed me some of the original old architecture, and took me into a Jain temple (where an old monk insisted on giving me a half hour tour, then wanting a tip and donation). He took me into the courtyards behind the streets (page 8, 9 and 10) and up onto the roofs to get amazing views and we had a chai with his mates in the back alleys. His skill in weaving the rickshaw down very tight, narrow alleys through scenes that could have been from centuries ago, was impressive. After three hours of amazing sights he insisted that we'd agreed on 100rs/hour and I realised that he had skillfully used up the three hours! getting ripped off as a tourist or encouraging overpricing and giving a good amount for a great service and realising how much more five or ten dollars of our money can buy for them.7
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