There are days that are really busy and yet not at all stressful. Today was one of them. The last few times I’ve been in Delhi I’ve hardly had the pleasure of travelling by metro – but today I did. My favourite place to sit is in the women’s compartment. The mood of my fellow travellers didn’t seem so great.
I went to Chandni Chowk, which somehow always seemed like an immense density of people and traffic and smells and noise. I’ve only been there once though. Maybe I was in a different corner this time? In any case, I was surprised by a wide promenade where only small rickshaws etc. drove.
There I could watch nicely left and right. And at the end there was a mosque.
And a little further on, the spice market began. There was a lot to marvel at. In small alleyways, shop after shop lined up, goods were stored in sacks, things that I often couldn’t identify were beautifully presented, people pushed past each other and bought and my nose was constantly tickled by interesting smells. Here are a few pictures:
These 4 droll dogs were practically forced on me to photograph them, they were little celebrities. I had some nice little encounters, I had a cup of tea and discovered a small backyard mosque and a niche Hindu temple.
It was really nice there and I could have continued to wander around. Although I had been there for a relatively long time – I saw a few groups of tourists who were only doing a short circuit. I organised myself an autorickshaw and drove to one of the sights I hadn’t visited yet: the Agrasen ki Baoli step well. It looks impressive, but what’s even more impressive is that it’s in the centre of the more modern part of Delhi.
After the stepwell, it was lunchtime and I hurried to a restaurant where I met 2 colleagues from a partner agency in Uttarakhand. They both speak very good German – which still takes some getting used to for me. Though I have never fallen into English. They came all the way from Dehradun to meet me! And then soon went back again. So perhaps we tried to pack a bit too much into the conversation. But it was so nice to see each other and see what makes you tick. Back then, they had a very good Austrian teacher or mentor or whatever you call it for the agency. And now they are standing on their own two feet and the Austrian has moved away from their area.
As the Khan market was nearby, I went there and walked around a bit. Shopping area for the better off. Not such a bad offer – but quite a contrast to the morning. I didn’t do any shopping and hardly took any photos – just the Christmas decorations, which always amazed me in India.
And then I had the pleasure of taking a motorbike taxi to the hotel. It’s quicker, the wind blows through my helmet visor and I really like it.
I hung out for a while and then my pick-up driver came to take me to the train and I set off on time. And then something happened that you wouldn’t believe! You can read about it in the next post!