(Part 6) In India Like a Local: Old Delhi and the Tibetan Enclave

- March 30, 2018, Friday.

- Despite a full day in Agra the day before, I was up and about in exploring more of Delhi (see the first part of my Delhi adventures here). My itinerary for the day was to visit Old Delhi, which as mentioned in the earlier Delhi blog entry linked above, was the part of Delhi that was turned into the capital by the Mughal's before the British later expanded this capital region (New Delhi). Old Delhi is situated in the northeastern part of the capital territory. My first stop was one of Delhi's quietly-tucked places of interest called the Agrasen ki Baoli (or Ugrasen ki Baoli/Baodi.) The "baoli," or step well, was built in the 14th century by a king called Agrasen (the name literally means "Agrasen's step well.") It is near Janpath metro station (violet line.) However, from my hostel, it was just a short auto-rickshaw ride away (of course, after arguing with the rickshaw driver and insisting that he use the meter in his auto-rickshaw.)

Agrasen ki Baoli.

I wouldn't be smiling if I went up and down that three-story flight of stairs.

Wind power.

Pensive.

- Agrasen ki Baoli is open everyday, and entrance is free. It is a favorite place where people hangout and talk, just by sitting on the stairs and talking or sharing a snack. However, one thing you would probably want to know is that there are rumors that this baoli is haunted. (Key word: RUMORS. So don't be discouraged.) One story says that there are times back in the days when the water in the baoli would become black, and anyone who sees the black water will have this feeling that the water is hypnotizing them to jump and sacrifice themselves. The people who jumped to the water will help make the water levels rise. It is said that the souls of these people are the ones who are haunting this place today.

From the side.

Pretending not to be scared.

There were full of bats and pigeons inside the dome thing.

Power Rangers minus 1 (or 2, depends.)

Still pretending not to be scared.

Street art outside the Agrasen ki Baoli.

Ganesh street art.

- My second stop that morning was one of the city's main icons, the Red Fort, or Lal Qila. This fort served as the palace of the Mughal rulers after Shah Jahan (yes, the Taj Mahal dude,) changed the capital from Agra to Delhi due to Delhi's geographical location (near/beside other major cities and kingdoms) and features (not too many mountains and hills, to see incoming invasions). The Red Fort can be accessed through the Lal Qila/Red Fort metro station (violet line.)

The Red Fort is....you guessed it....red.

Finally, I'm seeing you up close!!

After security check.

Bright sun.

- I've seen the Red Fort in the past two times that I went to India, but only from the bus/car. This time, finally, I was seeing it at my own pace, and I had the opportunity to see what it actually looks like inside (although, yes, I know that the internet should help me with that no matter where I am in the world.) At a glance, the Red Fort resembles the Agra Fort both inside and out. However, I noticed that it looked smaller, and the buildings are smaller compared to the ones in Agra Fort. However, I like how they converted some of the buildings to museums dedicated to exhibit and explain the Mughal way of life, and other things. However, I didn't enter all these museums as there was a big number of people when I was there, and I nearly suffocated in one of the buildings due to the big crowd. I didn't get to appreciate the museum since I just wanted to go out. Of course, this is not the fault of the Red Fort; I just happened to chance upon a large crowd.Well, the halls were not made to me museums in the first place anyway; they were just repurposed.

Map.

At Diwan-i Am, or the area fort he general audience.

Reminds me of the Shah Jahan balcony in Agra Fort.

Same marble inlay work as in the Taj Mahal.

I think I didn't fully maximize my stay there since more than half the structures were under renovation. I could only admire them from the outside.

Behind the Pearl Mosque inside the Red Fort.

Supposedly in the middle of a small lake/big pond.

More marble.

View from the open area/garden.

Arches at the Diwan-i Am.

Diwan-i Am.

- From the Red Fort, I crossed the street to visit one of Delhi's most popular markets: Chandni Chowk. This market dates back to the 17th century, during Shah Jahan's time. Chandni Chowk, or "Moonlight Square" was called as such because there was a pool that glistened under the moonlight. Today, Chandni Chowk is known for selling clothes, particularly Indian wedding clothes, wedding accessories, shoes, Indian sweet stores, and textile stores. (There are no souvenirs here.) Just a little warning, the Chandni Chowk can be very VERY crowded, so hold on to your things really tightly while walking around. By the way, if you have enough time to explore, there are actually historical mansions, courtyards, and other places of worship. Come to think of it, Chandni Chowk reminds me a lot of Manila's Quiapo.

You need guts to endure this colorful chaos. 

The clothes were OK, but didn't find anything to suit my taste. I found some stuff for my mom though. (My mom is a fan of Indian clothes.)

- I left Chandni Chowk after seeing what they had there, and rode the train to Kashmere Gate (yellow, red, and violet lines.) From Kashmere Gate, I rode an auto-rickshaw up north to Majnu Ka Tilla, also known as Little Tibet, or Chungtown. Today, the closest metro station to Majnu Ka Tilla is Vidhyan Sabha Metro Station (yellow line,) but from the violet line, the Kashmere Gate metro station is the closest. This Tibetan settlement was established in the 1950s after the Tibetan uprising in China and the Dalai Lama was exiled in India. Through the years, there had been some Tibetans who have moved here from other Tibetan settlements nearby, or new Tibetan migrants from China. As with any ethnic enclave, they have built temples, and other establishments that look very "Tibetan." Of course, their biggest cultural influence will be from Vajrayana Buddhism, also known as Tantric or Tibetan Buddhism.

Welcome to Majnu Ka Tilla!!

Yes, I was prepared for my visit here, so I tried to look Tibetan.

The Tibetan Buddhist temple at the small square.

Giant prayer wheel.

- Majnu Ka Tilla may seem sketchy at first because of its many alleyways, but trust me, these alleyways, which by the way are surprisingly easy to navigate even without a map, lead you to either a shopping heaven, or a food paradise!! (It is also partly a backpacker's paradise due to the small hostels and guesthouses there. However, I don't really suggest staying at Majnu Ka Tilla since it's quite far from the downtown.) Majnu Ka Tilla is a maze of shops of the latest fashion trends, and if you're like me with a passion for cultural fashion, they also have some stores selling affordable Tibetan traditional clothes (so I hoarded,) jewelry, and other Tibetan souvenirs. As for the "food paradise" part, it has a lot of restaurants mostly serving Tibetan food, as well as street food. The most famous street food is called "laping," which is a kind of dish with a sheet of noodle wrapped around some kind of filling, and served with a soy-sauce-based "gravy." Later on, I had a proper but late lunch at Dolma House, which is one of them ore popular restaurants in Majnu Ka Tilla. I ate thukpa (noodle soup dish,) tingmo (fermented bread,) and of course, Tibetan dumplings or momos, and drank yak butter tea, and a mango lassi. (Yes, I think I had too much for lunch.)

Majnu Ka Tilla in one photo = it is as Tibetan as it is Indian (lady to the left is wearing a Tibetan chuba, and the lady to the right in an Indian saree.)

Laping.

Thukpa, tingmo, momos, yak butter tea, and mango lassi.

Tibetan costumes for sale.

Interior of the temple.

More prayer wheels at the side of the temple

- After shopping and eating at Majnu Ka Tilla, I rode the auto-rickshaw to Vidhyan Sabha metro station and took the metro to Janpath metro station. Now my week in India was about to end but I still had not found souvenirs for myself and some to bring back home. Chandni Chowk and Majnu Ka Tilla were my bets so far for cheaper souvenirs, but so far they did not have exactly what I was looking for - the typical Indian souvenirs like small pens, keychains, magnets and stuff like that. (Majnu Ka Tilla, however, did have the Tibetan souvenirs that I was looking for, but not "Indian.") Those in Dilli Haat were quite expensive, so I didn't buy a lot there. Agra had some souvenirs, but because I was running out of time, I didn't get to buy. Those inside the Red Fort, on the other hand, had limited choices. As for Mumbai, the only place I went to that sold souvenirs was Elephanta Caves, but they were priced too high. I did not realize that it was quite difficult to find souvenirs in India beyond scarves and bangles which can be found easily. In the past two times that I had been to India, Jaipur had always been my go-to for souvenirs, as they would be available everywhere in the city and for really cheap prices. Now in Delhi, my last bet for relatively reasonable souvenirs was Janpath.

- Janpath is a road below the main financial centers of Delhi, Connaught Place. Now upon arriving at Janpath, I was relieved to see store after store after store of the kind of souvenirs that I was looking for. Even better is that Janpath has FOUR (FOUR!!!!) souvenir "areas." The Tibetan Market to the southern part past the metro station is a block of stores that sells Tibetan goods, mainly jewelry. To the north of the metro station (going towards Connaught Place,) is the main market, with the usual souvenirs like keychains, ref magnets, Taj Mahal snow globes, t-shirts, Indian shoes, books, etc., and then when you see a colorful lane perpendicular to the main Janpath market is called the Gujarati Market. The Gujarati Market has goods from the state of Gujarat, and they mainly sell textile products like vests, carpets, scarves, etc. (Too bad they didn't have anything I was looking for when I went there.) Finally, for the more youthful ones, closest to the center of Connaught Place is the Janpath flea market, which sells modern clothes and accessories. Needless to say I went back and forth the street to buy myself a few souvenirs to bring back home.

- Since I had enough sunlight left for the afternoon, I walked past Connaught Place and walked to my hostel beside Delhi Railway Station. It was a far walk, and I should've taken the metro instead even though it was only one metro station away, but I realized that it was rush hour already and since I had a lot of things with me, they might get squished in the crowded train.

The main market of Janpath.

Passed by Central Park at Connaught Place.

The main market of Janpath.

One of my hauls, an India shirt. (Been looking for a good print of the Indian flag on a shirt for ages.)

Couldn't decide, so I bought this one too!!

- That evening, I had to pack my bags and my souvenirs since I had to check out the next day. Since my flight was still late in the evening, I technically had one more full day to explore more of Delhi. As for my day's adventures, I was happy that I was able to finally see a lot of Old Delhi, though if only I had more time, I would have loved to visit once more the Jama Masjid, which is a prominent mosque near the Red Fort, and Humanyun's Tomb, which is the red-and-white prototype of the Taj Mahal in Southern Delhi, as well as other important places that I have not been to in Delhi during previous visits. Despite this, I was still looking forward to my itinerary for my last day in Delhi!!

- Don't forget to read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here, and Part 7 here!!