The Best Way to Explore Delhi’s Old Quarter

A Muslim prays on one of the many mats in Delhi's Jama Masjid mosque

Grab a bicycle rickshaw and know the best time to get to the Jama Masjid mosque.

 

We enjoyed breakfast at the Amici Cafe, adjacent to the Bloomrooms Hotel. This is where I discovered the Amul Dairy Girl on a single-serve packet of butter and where my mild obsession began. She’s the offspring of a ’60s Fisher-Price Little People toy and a rosy-cheeked, cherub-faced Campbell Kid.

After breakfast, we asked the concierge about transportation to the Old Quarter. The hotel has its own travel service conveniently located above the café, which in affiliation with the Delhi Tourism & Transportation Initiative, offers fixed rates. We were able to get a car and driver for the day for about $28.

“We were able to get a car and driver for the day for about $28.”

Heading to Old Delhi

Arriving at the parking lot behind the Red Fort, our driver called a cycle rickshaw over, explaining to us that this was the best method to get to the Jama Masjid mosque and see the Old Quarter.

Initially we were hesitant to accept, believing we could walk, but once we caught a glimpse of the dense, chaotic Sunday market surrounding the outer perimeter of the walled city, we agreed that this was the most practical/least stressful way to traverse the congested interior.

Our driver introduced himself. He was a friendly man named Mohammed. Clearly it's not easy to pedal with two men as passengers. Wally apologized by telling him that we both had big breakfasts.

Mohammed asked if we were married. For the sake of avoiding offense and to reduce any confusion in such a conservative country, I answered yes. When asked if I had any children, my reply was no, which was met with a look of puzzlement, so I recovered by saying “two jobs,” which wasn't exactly a lie, as both Wally and I work. He paused for a moment, after which he told us that he has three children — two boys and one girl.

En route to the Jama Masjid, we passed a restaurant named Sunny Lala Chicken Wallah, possibly named after local entrepreneur Lala Chunna Mal. That made me chuckle.

We arrived, dismounted the rickshaw and were approached by two scrappy little boys who tugged at our shirtsleeves and attempted to sell us stickers.

Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque)

Built in 1650, India’s largest mosque takes its name from the congregation that gathers to worship in its great courtyard on Fridays, the Muslim day of prayer.

We arrived shortly before 10 a.m., as the mosque is closed to non-Muslims between 12 to 2 p.m. We ascended the steps to the main entrance and removed our shoes prior to entering.

The mosque is constructed upon a natural elevation and rises high above the narrow streets. It is spectacular, if only in its sense of scale, and served as a soldier’s camp during British rule. –Duke

Welcome to India: The Most Intense Smells, Sounds and Sights

Wally and Duke got about a hundred pictures taken by a man at the Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi, India. This was the only one that came out OK

Arriving in Delhi, overwhelmed with wood smoke, honking horns and colorfully painted goods carrier trucks.

We arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India at 1:30 a.m. from our layover in Heathrow. I had added the cities we were visiting to my iPhone weather app prior to our arrival and will admit I was wholly unfamiliar with the weather condition of “smoke.” It turned out to be a soupy haze caused by assorted pollutants.

Once we had passed through customs, collected our luggage and exited the airport, it hits you. The air was acrid and thick with the aroma of sandalwood incense. Overpowering the incense is wood smoke from cooking fires, burnt plastic, dust and diesel exhaust punctuated by a cacophony of honking horns.

“Wood smoke from cooking fires, burnt plastic, dust and diesel exhaust are punctuated by a cacophony of honking horns.”

Horn OK Please!

On our way to our hotel, we passed colorfully detailed Goods Carrier vehicles. These trucks, which are compact in size, reminded me of carnival-style food trailers. Many of them have hanging brass bells adorning their bumpers and occasionally threads of tinsel added for good measure. One of the trucks had an inscription painted in bright blue shadowed in white on its back bumper exclaiming, “Love Speed Great India 40km.” Our driver told us that trucks are only allowed to use the highways at night.

These vehicles have their permit, the AIP (All India Permit), which allows the holder to drive throughout the country, painted on the side of the truck. Occasionally this stylization appears like a yin yang, reminiscent of the Pepsi-Cola logo but in the tricolor of the national flag of India: saffron, white and green.

Stainless steel organic-looking sculptures emerged in clusters along the highway. Added to the AIIMS flyover during the 2010 Commonwealth Games and designed by sculptor Vibhor Sogani for Jindal Stainless, they appeared like highly polished steel bean sprouts.

Powder blue police barricades with red plastic tube LED lights strung atop separate lanes were painted messages like the following: “True we slow you down. But we try not to let criminals slip by.” A steaming vat of tar simmered alongside, undoubtedly contributing to the aforementioned nasal miasma. –Duke

Oh India! Why We Decided to Finally Give India a Try

George, Duke and Wally enjoying pre-dinner drinks at the Mews at Udai Bilas Palace, our hotel in Dungarpur, India

Purchasing guidebooks to India and suffering the side effects of malaria pills.

 

When Wally received an email in early September 2014 from our friend George, inviting us to visit him in India, we agreed to make it our next adventure.

India had been on both of our shortlists of places to go and having a friend there made the decision a no-brainer. Plus we decided to plan the trip for the dead of winter, which would give us a much-needed reprieve from the cold, gray days of February in Chicago.

“India is an expansive country comparable in size to the United States.”

Wally purchased travel guides (DK and Lonely Planet) while I began researching online. We also got the informative and detailed Blue Guide India by Sam Miller from the Chicago Public Library. Together, over the following three months, we mercilessly altered and tweaked our itinerary in hopes of reducing the amount of time spent traveling. After all, we only had 12 days, two of which would be lost getting there and back. India is an expansive country comparable in size to the United States.

Bitter Pills to Swallow

Two days prior to leaving for our trip, we began taking our daily dose of Malarone, an oral malaria preventative. After swallowing the first tablet, I felt my stomach cramp and was convinced they were giving me the shits.

Wally’s experience was different. He thought it caused him to produce an excessive flow of saliva, and by the second dose I felt it, too.

In addition to the above, we both experienced some of the more common side effects:

• Mouth sores

• Shortness of breath

• Strange dreams

I had a curious dream where my niece morphed into a combination of an Ewok and our calico cat. As she is black, Wally remarked that my subconscious is racist.

I countered that Ewoks are soft, fuzzy and cute. But he wasn't buying it. –Duke