I’d expected Delhi to come at me like a slap face. I thought that my senses would be overwhelmed and I would be intimidated by the madness of the city. And I nervously anticipated learning to love the chaos and embrace the smells.
Possibly (probably) because we had been in India for three weeks before we arrived in Delhi, the wave of fresh culture shock never quite came. The horns, the gridlock, the animals, the markets; it was all what we had come to expect.
Indeed, here they had free public toilets, a metro system and a McDonalds slap bang in the middle of Old Delhi. As we explored, we found well-kept gardens, quiet avenues lined with trees, streets bare of tea stalls and rickshaws. It was fantastic.
Sometimes there were even bins!
Of course, Delhi is a huge place with a fantastic range of places to explore. One day it was quiet, organised public parks, the next we were weaving our way through gridlock, bazaars and stalls offering some of the most vibrant, delicious, and unique street food we found in India.
Overall, Delhi was a hit with us, and is one of the few places in Northern India that we are convinced deserves another visit. It is full of museums, mosques, temples and much more. We only had time to visit a few of them and are keen to return to see what else this city has to offer.
Our tips for Delhi:
- The Metro. Buy a smart card and use the metro. It’s cheap, easy and you beat the traffic. Beware of the desperate scrum to get off!
- Gandhi Smriti. A memorial mark the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Next door is the house where he lived for the last 144 days of his life and is now a museum and memorial. It’s a very well put together exhibition and well worth spending a couple of hours there (Entry is free. The nearest Metro station is Racecourse)
- Red Fort. Just don’t go.It’s a waste of your time (and money) which would be much better spent in Lodi Gardens, walking amongst old tombs and giant palm trees. If you are after a fort, we can recommend Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur or Amber Fort in Jaipur and I hear that Agra Fort is good if you don’t plan on visiting Rajasthan.
- Jama Masjid. Spend the pennies you saved by skipping the Red Fort on visiting this impressive mosque and climbing to the top of one of the minarets .
- Booking trains. Book trains IN the station. There is a foreign tourist booking office on the first floor of New Delhi Railway Station where you can easily book tickets for trains from any Delhi station. It’s really simple. DO NOT listen to anyone who tries to take you anywhere other than New Delhi train station.
- Akshardham Temple. This is well worth a visit and easy to get to on the metro. It’s entrance and locker system was impressively organised and there were so many bins I could hardly believe I was in India! Entry is free for the main temple but you can pay to see other exhibits. Men and women should wear skirts/trousers that cover their knees. (nearest Metro station: Akshardham)
We made a video of our trip to Delhi and Agra – check it out here.
