Day 2 - 04:00 AM. I woke up and kept hearing something scratching near me. "What on earth is that..?!" I stayed in a Hostel dorm room and my bed was just next to a window which was covered by wood. Something tried to get inside but I don't know what it was until now. When I woke up I also realized that I was sweating all over my body.. "Fu§K! The electricity went down and the air condition off. I think that's a general problem in Delhi. Staying in a 8 bed dorm with an outside temperature of 30°C + even at night felt just like a sauna. But it is like it is - I stood up and took a quick cold shower about 30 mins later when the power finally started working again. After taking a shower and probably 2 more hours of sleep I woke up to start my day.
My plan for the day was to get deeper and deeper into Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi) to discover it more and also to visit the Mosque which is located there.
Before I start this day report I want to talk about some prejudices of Delhi and how I felt about them:
- Dehli Stinks?!
I don't agree with that. I mean yes, there are some parts (mostly around water) which definitely smell bad, but most of the areas I visited did not stink at all. It was more the opposite and it smelled really good in most parts (food, herbs, incense)
- Dehli is dirty?!
Well, we can't hide the fact that there are a lot of parts in Delhi which are dirty. But - This is not because of Indian people are dirty. There are just not enough ways to get rid of all the garbage. We all produce it and we all need to place it somewhere. But what are you going to do when there are not enough places where you can throw your waste away? Also Delhi locals told me about it and how they expect more support from the government and the communities itself. Just don't ever think that the Indian people are dirty!
On the positive side - There is a lot of movement going on with reducing the use of plastic and other environmentally damaging materials. In fact I did see a lot less plastic in Delhi compared to a lot of other Asian countries.
As you can see in the picture above they also advertise with street art and also on TukTuk's with taking care of our nature.
- Dehli is dangerous!?
As always I only can answer this question with my opinion. And I can tell you that I did not feel any danger at any area at any time either at day or night time. Of course there are some crimes (25.000.000 population) - Just like in every other city of the world. But I for myself did not feel unsafe in any second.
- People in Delhi are rude!?
I also can't agree on that. If you go to a different country with a different culture PLEASE respect the fact that NOT everything goes the way like in your home country. If someone body slams the hell out of you on a walking way doesn't mean that the person is angry or doesn't like you - It's just the way it works here. If you watch this happening between 2 Indians on the street you will see that no one even bothers.
And if you find people are staring at you or even have a angry look at you - They mostly just curious about you and don't mean to offend you. As I mentioned quite a few times before - When I walk around I always look in all peoples eyes around me. And if someone stares at you just say Namaste and smile (Or Asalam Aleikum if you see the person is Muslim). In 100% of the cases the person in front of me replied with Namaste or Aleikum Salam and smiled back. Just don't worry and think to much. This always helps ;)
Time for a coffee!
As I did everyday in Delhi from day 2 on was visiting my new friend Omer which I met at the Hostel. He owns a place Travel Yoga Cafe which is a vegan restaurant with the most fresh juices, coffees and foods you can imagine. Make sure to check his place out whenever you are around Delhi. Omer can also give you tons of ideas what you can do in and around Delhi.
After having a cold brewed coffee I started my daily walking journey at around 11:30 AM with an outside temperature of already 35°C. Awesome! :D
Jami Masjid Mosque
There is one of the largest Mosques of India to visit in Chandni Chowk called Jami Masjid Mosque. It's located right around the busy areas of old Delhi. It was build in 1644 and completed in 1656. It fits The courtyard can accommodate more than 25,000 people and the highest point is above 40 meters.
The Mosque is open for everyone to enter it for free - Just make sure to wear long clothes and cover open skin parts on your body (They provide clothes for you at the entrance if you didn't bring any) - There is just a fee of 300 Rupees in case you want to take pictures around the Mosque.
If you exit the Mosque from an side exit you can also visit a market which is quite big and pretty interesting to walk through
I hope you enjoyed walking through Delhi virtually with me on day 2 again. On day 3 I will show you more about the hundreds of little alleys around Candni Chowk. Stay tuned for next weeks Day 3!
