A Day in Old Delhi

With a free day in Delhi, I wanted to do something that I could start late. I looked through Viator’s offerings and found a photo and food tour in Old Delhi. India Food Tour confirmed my registration and gave me the price for a transfer from my non-central hotel.

The driver was early and we headed out into the morning traffic. It took about forty minutes to get to the meeting point and we waited a few minutes for Jaidev to arrive.

I was the only one on the walk and we headed into the old city.

Jaidev asked what I liked to photograph and I said just about anything, especially cats and dogs. He said most of the streets had a specialty like power tools, car parts, stationary, and my favourite, cameras.

There were dozens of shops, some of which were able to fix older cameras. Others sold second-hand gear.

It wasn’t long before I found my first dog.

It was close to lunchtime and the food vendors were crowded.

We came to the end of one laneway where there were ricksaws and tuk-tuks going by. Jaidev suggested we try some panning.

Panning involves following a moving subject with the camera with a slightly slower shutter speed and if you can match the speed of the moving object, it would be in focus and the background blurred. It was my first time trying it in a long time.

We had a look at one of two video rental stores in Delhi.

Probably the last two on the planet.

Nearby was a door with an interesting set of steps.

Apparently, they had a set of wooden steps to help people inside. (Or a back door).

Then he pointed out a man ironing clothes and on the ground was a coal powered iron.

Very cool.

At another street, we came across tradesmen offering their services like this keymaker.

He used the files to form each key by hand.

This man offered an essential service for Delhi traffic. He repaired horns.

I found another dog.

Then I asked Jaidev where the cats were. He guessed they spent the days indoors away from the noise.

And the monkeys.

Wait! What?

Yes. There were monkeys swinging from the wires in Old Delhi. The government tried to remove them because they were being pests but weren’t able to completely empty the city.

Around another corner we saw a mongoose.

This was turning into an urban wildlife safari!

We made another stop to try something different, aiming down a shop door at people walking by in the laneway.

We came to a busy street and took some time to photograph the locals driving by.

I did eventually get a smile.

No one seemed to mind having their picture taken and none looked for money.

Here, we stopped at this shop for my first sampling.

The puffed ball of bread, called puri, could be torn apart and dipped into the chutneys.

I liked the one that tasted like honey (far right). The yogurt cream was bitter to me. I ate most of it and we moved on to the next food stop. A food cart selling a meringue type of cream dessert.

I almost licked the cup.

At the next shop, we got a half sandwich of mango, cottage cheese and grapes with chai tea and then we sampled Indian hashbrowns and home fries. Our next food stop was for cookies that were baked below the burning coal.

They were light and airy. Delicious.

The vendor was very photogenic.

After another stop to try panning, I came across a cow.

Well, a bull, actually.

Jaidev showed me the doorways in some of the buildings and asked me what I thought it was made of.

It looked and felt like wood but was actually rock. In many cases, it was one or two piece. Some were made of multiple pieces but were not as expensive. I could not see the lines joining them at all.

He also showed me a statue of a Hindu deity that the British had added wings to.

Our last food stop was for ice cream.

The ice cream was actually made of fruit and they sprinkled masala on top. The freezer was full of different fruit. The pulp had been removed and processed and then placed back into the skin to be frozen.

Instead of plastic spoons, they had bamboo strips to use as a scoop.

I didn’t need dinner that night.

As we walked out, we went through the stationary street. One shop was using a press to imprint on large envelopes.

They were for British Airways.

We finished up back at the parking area by four. I thanked Jaidev for the great day and it took  about a half hour to get through the traffic back to the hotel.

The tour cost me $155 plus 1500 Rupees for the transfer. It was the ideal introduction to Delhi and the best activity I did in the city.