Delhilicious!

It was 10^th of November, 4 am local time when my plain from Istanbul hit the ground of Indira Gandhi airport in New Delhi, India. Before that, I took a plane from Rovaniemi to Helsinki, spent one night in our capital  and the following day: Helsinki-Istanbul-Delhi. I flied with Turkish Airlines like I did last year and it didn't let me down this time either, except that the flight from Helsinki arrived late to Istanbul and I had to run really really fast to departure gate-it was last call already but I made it in time. In plane I sat next to one very nice finnish lady, she was heading to Nepal straight from Delhi to work as a trekking guide. I didnt even catch her name but I wish her safe and happy travels :)

On the airport it got me, the overwhelming joy: I came back to mama India. Finally.

I got into my hostel early in the morning and went straight to bed, I did not get hardly any sleep in crowded plains. Room was good, big bed, free wifi and just a few steps from restaurants and shops of Main Bazar. When I finally woke up, it was almost +30 degrees and the heat hit me on the face hard but damn did I liked it!

  

I stayed in Paharganj which is in north Delhi and seemed to be quite popular among the packpackers. In this area the traffic wasnt so crazy that I expected, actually quite easy to copy after my Mumbai experience last year, but of course in these huge Indian citys traffic can be a real killer and you have to pay attention all the time. After all, I found it quite nice to walk around Main Bazaar and smaller streets of Paharganj.

And I DID walk, mostly looking for next place to eat :D I found plenty of them, area is full of restaurants, cafes and street kitchens and everything so so cheap!! I ate mainly veggie food-I'm not an vegetarian but this country really knows how to make dishes so delicious out of vegetables that you wont even miss meat or fish. 

During my three days in Delhi I ate thalis (traditional indian meal, selection of several dishes in one plate) dosas (crepe with rice and lentils and vegs but you can get them with chocolate too...) steamed nepalese momos (pastry with fillings and delicious sauce) breathtaking good strawberry and mango lassis (sweet yoghurt drinks) omelets with indian spices, some aloo paratha for breakfast (thin whole wheat bread stuffed with potatoes and spices) and loads of non-indian treats too; noodles, avokado salad, soups, ratatouille, moussaka, fruit salad...and cinnamon rolls, croissants and cheese cakes size of my head. From market I bought some bananas and apples and cashew nuts... and little hot stuffed pastries and yummy peanut cake from street kitchen-and yes, you can eat from indian street kitchen without getting sick if you choose wisely, avoid meat and make sure that your food really is fully cooked. At least I can :)

During the day I drank many cups of masala chai (spiced indian milk tea) and my favorite, ginger-lemon-honey tea where the taste doesnt come from a tea bag but from bites of fresh ginger and lemon in hot water. Mmmmmmm.

 

 

I did some calculating and I managed to spent around 800 rupees to food during three days-and that's about 13 euros :D So, this country is not gonna bankrupt me but if I continue like this, it's gonna make me fat...well, like I mentioned before, I walked a lot and did some pushups and sit ups back in my hostel so maybe I still have hope :DD

Of course I did more than just ate in Delhi. I visited beautiful Bahai House of Worship, also known as Lotus Temple beacause it's shape and Tibet House and it's museum (in both places photography prohibited so I can't share them with you). I made a lovely sightseeing with riksha (after bargaining about price for quite some time) and I met lots of nice people, locals and travelers and had some good tips for my future travels.

I'm not one of those travelers who wants to visit all possible popular sights and make sure that they have picture of each and every one of them.I enjoy more just hanging and walking around, seeing everyday life with it's little details.

 

All and all, I liked Delhi and Paharganj area. I could spend hours in one of the rooftop restaurants just looking at the streetlife; riksha drivers, indian women wearing their colourfull saris, busy business men talking in mobiles, tourists carrying their Lonely Planet India guides and market sellers constantly bothering them, dirty street kids, dogs, cows, beggers, hippies with beautiful long rastas, holy men in their orange color robes...bit chaotic but still somehow laid back atmosphere, sounds of traffic and funny hindi pop and scent of incense sticks that to me is, and always will be, The Scent of India.

I bought bus ticket to Dharamsala, up to mountains, and I'm leaving there tomorrow afternoon. The ride takes all evening and night in bumpy mountain roads but I'm sure it's gonna be worth of all the trouble. Many thanks to Rohan from Pushkar who helped me to get a bus ticket!!!

The finnish woman that I met in plane on my way to Delhi said to me ”Think about it, how lucky we are. We can just pack our things, get in the plane and see the world.” Sitting in a roof top balcony, drinking my second cup of chai and watching how sun slowly sets over Delhi I couldn´ t agree more.