Originally posted: April 14th, 2014
March 11th was an awesome day of exploring. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no recollection of what happened the entire morning, but we packed enough into the afternoon to more than make up for it. I’m assuming Apoorva and I left early from her work to go see the Red Fort and Jama Masjid, which required a metro trip to the Chandni Chowk station in Old Delhi. Old Delhi is wild. It is the crowded section of Delhi and there are people, dogs, cows, birds, etc. EVERYWHERE. We exited the station and I slowed way down to give Apoorva a lot of space as we approached the throngs of rickshaw drivers waiting for fares. I put a good 30 or 40 feet between us because since I am a large man by Indian standards, my size would be heavy for a rickshaw cyclist and would hamper Apoorva’s price negotiations. Once I saw that a fare was arranged and Apoorva started to get in the rick I would close the gap, hop in, and off we’d go.
Americans throw the phrase bumper-to-bumper around like it ain’t no thang, but let’s be honest, there’s always a good 3-5 (or more) feet between cars stuck in traffic on 95 at rush hour. Here, bumper to bumper means you stop moving when you hit the rickshaw in front of you. Who needs brakes when you can just use the stopped vehicle you’re stuck behind...
The last time we tried to see the Jama Masjid (but failed because the Imam was in town/everything was on lockdown), we had to get out of the rickshaw, follow the driver as he lifted the rickshaw over the foot-high curbed median, and then get back in so he could navigate us through the oncoming traffic to the other side of the road. This time was relatively uneventful.
We followed Chandni Chowk road all the way east to its end, where the monolithic façade of the Red Fort loomed into view. Sidenote, it’s like 85º out. The Red Fort is a massive 250+ acres that, from the outside, looked like something Khaleesi would roll up on and take over with dragons. The inside was spacious, green with grass and full of beautiful architecture, which is definitely a theme in Delhi. After walking for a while we checked out a museum (which mysteriously had little pools of blood on the floor in one of the rooms that trailed elsewhere).
Me and Samir chillin at Red Fort. JK I don’t know this dude, but props to him of doing a great job of framing himself into my photo. Anyway, the Red Fort’s walls extend wayyyyyyy out on either side several hundred yards and it’s got a moat and everything. Worth exploring. I wish I had had time to sketch this place.
Oh, subtle 2,400% increase on my ticket price because I’m not Indian. Das racist
Normally, 90 Rs. is too steep a fare to go from the Red Fort to Jama Masjid, but when the driver says something that roughly translates to, “I am a good hardworking rickshaw driver, hop on my helicopter and fly to your destination!,” ya just can’t really say no to that.
Jama Masjidddddd. Cant capture this whole place with just a camera
Next we arrived at the largest mosque in India, the Jama Masjid. Once the Muslim prayer was over, we took our shoes off and were allowed to enter. This place was massive and breathtaking. We explored for a while and were stopped by a small Indian man excitedly asking for a photo with me because he thought I was famous Australian cricketer David Warner. Apoorva shut him down in Hindi, which was a bit of a bummer because I normally enjoy showing love to all my fans around the world.
This is David Warner. I wish I had known what the man was saying to Apoorva so I could have whipped out my Aussie accent and just gone with it. I think I can pull off David Warner for a day. Does anyone know what Hindi sounds like in an Australian accent? I really want to hear that right now.
Jama Masjid as we were leaving. It’s gorgeous even when you can’t see it
We decided to walk the last leg of the journey in Old Delhi before it got really dark. The sun was dropping behind the buildings and from what I’ve gathered, the streets of Old Delhi are NOT the best place to be at night, especially for women. We made moves to the metro to go meet up with friends at Hauz Khas Village, a nice section of town where Vedanti works (I think?). We ate dinner at ThirtyNine after walking around a bit and checking out an antique shop. ThirtyNine is a restaurant/bar where the atmosphere is about 5 times better than the food. Luckily, we were really there for camaraderie rather than cuisine and within an hour or two we had transformed from a pair to a party of eight.
Winding down the day on the rooftop restaurant of ThirtyNine with friends and friends of friends and friends of friends of friends, all certifiably great company and a very welcoming bunch of characters. Everywhere I go I fall in love with people. It has plenty of problems, but at the end of the day, what a great world we live in.
Luckily the rain held off until we were going home, and we got dumped on during the ride. We somehow packed four people in an autorickshaw and my left leg and arm provided a nice rain blocker for the doorless sides. After parting with friends, one final auto took Apoorva and I home through the now flooded backstreets of Delhi. All that could be seen of the “road” ahead were the headlights of oncoming autos shimmering off the surface of what I mentally christened Lake Street. Luckily, the driver knew how to navigate all of the major potholes by heart so we did not fall into a ditch and get soaked. Getting home with dry feet was the perfect end to the day.
For my previous post, I shared a link on Facebook with a photo of a hot Bollywood actress. Not because she had anything with the post, but the last time I used a photo of an attractive woman in my link preview, my page views quadrupled. #justsayin