‘Law students really need to enjoy their lives as soon as possible because that might be the last time they ever do so.’ – True? Totally.
Me, my roommate and my classmate who is also my hostel mate #mateymuch, received the news of our mini vacation we would be getting for Christmas and New Year. We were interning under a lawyer who rarely gave us holidays and getting a vacation was a big deal for us.
I still remember what all ruckus I went through to ask permission from my father for the same. Long story short, it was a budget trip as none of us were earning. We got a mere stipend from our employer. I booked three train tickets from Bandra to Delhi.
We left on 22nd December and reached Delhi on the 24th. Little did we know was the gut clenching cold of December waiting for us there. We had loads and loads of warm clothes with us and yet it was cold. Fun fact, you are excused from bathing on a daily basis. Another fun fact, I took a bath daily. Why didn’t I turn into a frozen popsicle?
Also our stay was sorted as my roommates sister stayed in Delhi. No problem in that eh!
Day 1; Sarojini Market
As soon as we reached Delhi, we took an Uber towards Munirka as that was the place we were gonna stay at. We reached towards our destination, freshened up and slept. Yes I accept that, we were exhausted, sleepy and we really needed that sleep. Not much time at our hands we decided to go to Sarojini Market as we were dying to do some shopping. We are not shopaholics, atleast not me, but we were dying to visit Sarojini as it was much hyped about.
We took a rickshaw towards Sarojini, and guess what; no meter. Why do you people even own Rickshaws when you can’t use meters or don’t use meters. 100 bucks to go from Munirka to Sarojini.
Sarojini was filled with winter clothes. Lots and lots of them. Enough to last for a hundred winters. If you come to Mumbai during winters you get all variety of clothes; not just sweaters. But we also don’t need sweaters in Mumbai anyway right. All in good faith. I really didn’t like the behavior of people in Delhi. Trust me, it’s a true story. I share my concern. If someone pushes you by mistake in Mumbai, you get an instant sorry. But in Delhi the case was a bit different. I am sorry to say that but I never heard a sorry and was tossed like a pinball in Sarojini Market.
The clothes were cheap and the food was absolutely amazing. Dahi Bhalla is a must try. P.S. we call it Dahi Wade here. Now you know what it is. The momos were to die for. And the kebabs were amazing. Who can miss the roasted sweet potatoes. Yum!
Day 2; DLF
Yayy Christmas!
Day two, excited? Perhaps. DLF Mall, that’s where we planned to go. We took an Uber. Uber is a life saver in Delhi because public transportation is highly neglected and not taken care of. Our visit to DLF Mall was okayish because in the end, we were in Delhi and visiting a mall; like there aren’t already enough malls in Mumbai.
But there was this place known as Bing’s Cafe on the Second Floor which had amazing Korean food. Prior known as SONGCHEE this place served amazing slushies and tasty Ramen Noodles. Cheese Ramen is a must try.
Next stop was Delhi Haat. Took a Rickshaw; meterless Rickshaw towards Saket Metro and went to Delhi Haat. I don’t remember which station we got down at but it was definitely a 2 minutes walk from that metro towards Delhi Haat. Delhi Haat was a haven for people who lurk for different handicrafts around India. All at one place. At the entrance you find these ladies sitting with different colored strings all ready to weave them in your hairs. It was some 20 or 30 bucks per braid. I got one for myself. Love for colors prompted me to.
The entry fees was around 40 bucks for Delhi Haat. Soon we were welcomed with some rappers rapping in Punjabi just at the entrance. Their performance was pretty good. We soon came across different artifacts from different states along with different food items. I so love Delhi for its food.
To be honest we had an amazing time at Delhi Haat. Our next stop was India Gate #cliche. India gate should be on the topmost list for anyone who visits Delhi. For us Mumbaikars, reminded us of Gateway of India. More crowded Gateway of India. They say you can take out the person from Mumbai but can’t take out Mumbai from that person. I was on a constant spree of comparison as well as enjoying my time there. Gateway of India is a mesmerizing piece of Architecture but was too crowded a place to be enjoyed. We had moongdal bhajiyas with pudina chutney. Also you shouldn’t let a foodie alone on the streets of Delhi. They reveal their savage side. We also had Ice Cream in that chilly, always wanting to pee weather. This is where it went crazy absurd. It was 8pm, just 8pm and the bus we took had just us girls and two more guys excluding the conductor and the driver. Whaat!!! Streets be empty AF at 8 pm. Life starts in Mumbai after 8 pm. If I am standing at Andheri station at 9 pm, it won’t be empty. Never. Mumbai is a city which never sleeps, true; but also Delhi come on I expected a Night Life from you.
Day 3; Sleepy!!
Slept in! Comfortable, cozy blanket and that spongy bed is all you want. Tired from our previous spree we just slept. It was a really lazy day. In the evening we explored Munirka. Had the most amazing Aloo Chat in Munirka, the best Dahi Bhalle or Dahi Wade as we call it, most amazing Aloo Tikki and we were satiated to the fullest. We also had momos in the end. Can’t get my hands off them. So the third day was pretty chilled out and foodful #isthatevenaword.
Day 4; Qutub Minar, Lajpat Nagar
Qutub Minar is a piece of History worth visiting. Three people made this monument possible viz. Qutb al-Din Aibak, Aibak’s successor and son-in-law Iltutmish and Firoz Shah Tughlaq. We reahced Hauz Khas Metro station which is the one closest to Munirka. Then we took a metro from Hauz Khas to Qutub Minar station. Delhi Metro is very confusing and so is our Mumbai Local unless you get a hang of both. From Qutub Minar station you get sharing autos towards Qutub Minar. Also you need entry tickets to enter into the whole premises. Behold it won’t just be the Qutub Minar you would be visiting, the whole premises is full of monuments. These include Iron Pillar Of Delhi, Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, Alai Darwaza, the Tomb of Iltutmish, Alai Minar, Ala-ud-din’s Madrasa and Tomb etc. After Delhi Haat this was the place which I loved the most. Hadn’t it been vacations the place would have been serene and quiet and lovely. Anyhow we loved the place. But beware of the broken structures. I did slip and fell somewhere in there and it pained for a week. Be cautious. At that moment I realized, was Delhi prompting me to go back to Mumbai because I was comparing it so much to Mumbai! Chuck that thought. We enjoyed going there. The food at the stalls near Qutub Minar was bad. Don’t eat from there. Walk a bit, explore the place, find good food. Because Delhi is never out of good food.
We came back early from Qutub Minar and took a bus from Hauz Khas to Lajpat Nagar. Why is there so less options of transportation in Delhi? I mean why no meter for autos? Why just one bus for a place? Why? Had to Google which bus to take. Had to Google from where to take it. Why so difficult Delhi? Anyhow we reached Lajpat Nagar, which was again laden with food and clothes and shoes and what not. Reminded me of Fashion Street again. While coming back from Lajpat Nagar we were stuck, because we couldn’t find a single bus towards Munirka. Again, we took a direct Rickshaw to Munirka. All in all one time is okay. Always no meter is not okay. But we anyhow returned. Enjoyed our day to the fullest.
Day 5; Connaught Place, Palika Bazar
Connaught Place was more like a mixture of Fort and Colaba. Again it was very crowded. I don’t know what is the buzz about Connaught Place, because it was just a place for brand shopping and nothing more. You will find occasional street vendors there but nothing really out of the box to hype about. Luckily we came across this Delhi Food Festival which was going on at that time in Connaught Place. Again you can’t say no to food. I went to Delhi to just hog it seems.
Then we visited Central Park which was filled with couples and that did reminded me of Bandstand. Mumbai people know what I mean to depict. After a while we went to Palika Bazaar which was an underground market, more expensive and filled with tattoo artists; or so they claimed to be. No dude I don’t want a tattoo, so stop asking me. It’s like a street vendor on Hill Road asking me to buy jeans #Bandraspiration. This day ended with us going back to the room and having some home made food.
Day 6; Dangal, DLF
- That one experience which makes you say ‘WHY SO SERIOUS?’ Oye Delhi people, why you be so serious? We went to watch the movie Dangal, at the same mall we went for Christmas. During the movie there were scenes where you really laugh it out loud, and all we could hear were our laughs #awkwardmuch. The movie was great but all that went inside my head was, guys losen up a bit. You can expect to hear ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ in Mumbai during a movie. Nobody did that in Delhi. So out of sheer curiosity I went back again to watch Dangal in Mumbai, and no surprise there; ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ was heard in full resonance, also people laughed heartily. That was that. We had our dinner at the food court in the Mall itself. It was kind of a system, we had to first recharge our cards with money and then you can use that to have anything at the food court. We chose to have Kashmiri food from a counter. I have had Kashmiri food before and trust me, the Rishta kebab and the chicken were very salty. The rotis were hard and the pulao was sweet. Wait what, it was sweet. It was a bad experience. Never have food from there. Street food is bae. We returned by 8pm by Uber #lackoftransport.
Day 7; Sadar Bazaar, Parathe wali gali, Jama Masjid
So this was the most fun day of all, we went to Sadar Bazaar first, as it was never heard of. There were spices, artifacts and what not. It was crowded as hell but it was worth it. It was like Crawford Market, just a huge one. You want cheap? You get cheap. You want quality? You get quality. Our hunger pangs there prompted us to eat chhole bhature. Yum we say!
Then we left for Jama Masjid. Jama Masjid is a serene and quiet place. It is a beauty of architecture. The Mughals left no stones upturned to make such beautiful masterpieces.
Even the food outside Jama Masjid is soul tempting #foodgasm.
Then we took a cycle Rickshaw where I was made to sit in the back, and we went to Parathe Wali Gali. The name itself states that you will get Parathas there. Before entering in there we had a thing called Daulat ki Chaat which so yummy. It was made out of cream or I don’t know what. It was sweet and creamy and served with a bit of salt and the combination was amazing. We entered into Parathe Wali Gali and had our Parathas at the very first shop itself. They had a compulsion of two Parathas per plate, be it any. So we had Paneer Paratha, Mixed Paratha and Kaju i.e. Cashew Paratha. Love thy Paratha, Love thy food. I can still recall the taste of those yummy Parathas. And the sides they serve with the Parathas are tasty to the moon and back.
Parathe Wali Gali is also known for it’s great bridal collection. Bridal shopping is a must at Chandini Chowk. Jewellery, Lehenga and what not. Beads, flowers and feathers; you just name it. Anyhow as the sun descended the traffic ascended. We walked towards the station and took a Metro back to our place. It was a great day to sum it up.
Day 8; Shim Tur, Paharganj
The last day in Delhi had to be worth remembering. We decided to go to this Korean Restaurant known as Shim Tur in Paharganj. We wanted to try Korean food desperately so we headed there. This was one of a kind experience. I had Kimchi, Squid Stir fry, Tuna Bibimbop, Egg rolls, Egg soup, Veg Kimbap and Gochujang. Don’t go by the names, if you have a taste for Korean food, this is the place for you.
After having such a hearty meal we decided to stroll a bit in Paharganj and shop. We bought various bags, clothes, perfume, diaries and what not. I still remember a guy coming to me and asking me to buy some Hash. I was taken aback. But apart from that everything was good. The experience was good. Many places were left unseen. But most of them were covered.
Day 9; Left.
Took a flight from Delhi to Mumbai.
Final thoughts:
There were times when I felt Delhi did not welcome me. Didn’t want me there. It was a great experience for me. I did had a thought of going to Delhi and staying there in the future. But this trip changed my perception a lot. I so love Mumbai that I am never leaving it. I felt so nostalgic after coming back here. Delhi I like you. Mumbai I love you.
All in Good Faith. Peace out.
Avid Traveller Blog 
Delhi, I like you. Mumbai, I love you.
So true 💜
Amazing!!!
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