I stopped in Delhi on the way back from Ladakh partly because I wanted to explore a mega city of 23 million people and see what such a large chunk of humanity is up to. And partly because I can’t get enough of India; it is so damn interesting. I have been to Delhi a couple of times before, and returning to a place at different junctures of your life is a useful exercise: you can check whether it has changed as much as you have. This time I spent close to a week, long enough to revisit some familiar places and venture well beyond them.
Coming down from Ladakh, the contrast was considerable. The motorcycle trip had been about mountain roads, big landscapes and the company of fellow riders. Delhi was about getting around a vast city, walking its neighbourhoods and choosing where to peep. Most days involved a substantial walk, a monument or museum, and somewhere decent to eat. Cheap Uber rides filled the gaps. Most cost around A$2–3, and I don’t recall paying more than A$5. At those prices, heading across crazy-town to explore somewhere new felt less daunting.
Connaught Place became my regular starting point, although I walked around its circles so often that familiarity sometimes tipped into repetition. Its shops, cafés and restaurants made it convenient, and the busy dining rooms offered a good view of Delhi off duty: families eating together, groups of friends settling in for an evening, tables crowded with food. Many restaurants felt geared toward a substantial night out rather than a quick meal, but the quality was generally good. Around A$10–15 bought a decent dinner. For an independent traveller, it was a practical base rather than necessarily the most interesting part of the city.
Coffee required a little more investigation. I returned to the chain Café Coffee Day, remembered from my 2015 visit, and found it underwhelming. A local cafe called Cottage Café was a much better discovery and became my favourite long-breakfast spot. The coffee was good, and the omelettes came in skillets, with the Spanish omelette particularly worth ordering. A couple of espressos, an omelette, a shake and water cost around A$10–15. Finding a reliable breakfast spot in Delhi is worth the effort. Delhi might be enormous, but at least the first decision of the day was sorted.
The Red Fort justified a couple of hours, even in the heat. What struck me was its scale: the huge enclosure, the formidable exterior and the sense that the buildings inside belonged to a whole urban complex. It is the sort of place where the overall impression matters as much as any individual feature. I found the museums less convincing. Some displays leaned heavily on an out-of-place anti-British colonial national narrative, with presentation that did little to encourage closer examination. The fort itself was considerably more engaging, walking through it and looking at the surviving buildings.
From there, Old Delhi provided a different kind of interest. The market was one of the most absorbing places I visited, and a reminder that walking through a working neighbourhood can be as rewarding as inspecting a monument. After the Red Fort’s enormous spaces, the market brought the city back to a more immediate scale. This was a part of Delhi where I wanted to keep moving and looking, perhaps forever.
Jama Masjid was a highlight, especially climbing the fucking scary minaret. When I arrived, no one else was at the top, which made the experience slightly unnerving, especially with all the black birds circulating. The view was excellent. From above, Delhi appeared remarkably flat and spread out, its size shown by the city’s extent rather than a concentration of tall buildings. After spending so much time navigating streets at eye level, seeing the broader layout was useful. The mosque, market and Red Fort made a strong combination: enough variety for a substantial outing without crossing the city.
The Gandhi Museum offered a slower visit. Its photographs, busts and quotations were displayed in a distinctly old-fashioned way, but I found it moving, nonetheless. It also brought back memories of studying 20th C Indian history at La Trobe with Dr Don Ferrell. I remembered his argument that British rule helped produce the Indian nationalism that ultimately turned against it. That discussion came back to me as I looked through the displays. The museum was worth visiting not because it was particularly Indian heartland, but because sometimes photographs and words are enough; elaborate exhibition design would not necessarily improve the encounter.
Hauz Khas Village was the most welcome change from my circuits around Connaught Place. It was small and contained, with a handful of alleys lined with restaurants, rooftop bars, tattoo shops, and a club. The crowd was noticeably young, and I didn’t see any other Western visitors while I was there. In a city that can require considerable travelling between places, its compactness was part of the appeal. It also looked promising as a base for a future visit, with cute Airbnb apartments advertised with lake views!
I stayed for dinner at a rooftop restaurant and ate very well: a vegetable salad, penne with a creamy mushroom sauce, and a hot brownie with ice cream. The pasta was among the best meals of the trip. At around A$35, dinner cost more than my usual Delhi meals, but it was money well spent. Hauz Khas gave me a different impression of the city from either Old Delhi or Connaught Place, and I was glad I had made the journey. A week gave room for that sort of exploration, alongside the major sights and the occasional return to a familiar place. I left with a better sense of Delhi, and good reasons to come back as a starting or ending point to this great country.
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