Old Delhi

The old quarter of Delhi in India, reached via Chandni Chowk. Its main street is closed to cars, so movement is on foot or by cycle rickshaw, and it packs in markets, temples, mosques, sweet shops, street vendors and a dedicated food street named for paratha. Harry notes that people often advise visitors to skip it in favour of newer areas, and he disagrees firmly: he goes precisely because it’s unlike home, calling it a bit like going back in time and the place to find the real characters and real people of India.

What Harry did

Spent most of a day here with Ali on a $10 budget. Ate cheese paratha at Paratha World, a shop trading since 1889, watching it made from scratch — dough rolled and floured, stuffed with cheese, vegetables and spice, then deep-fried, all in about ninety seconds and served with a metal tray of chutneys. Worked through a mixed plate of sweets from a family shop at the entrance to the quarter, and tried and failed to haggle a sports shirt down from a fixed-price stall.

Practical facts

• Cheese paratha at Paratha World: 120 rupees, roughly two dollars, with all chutneys included in the price.
• A mixed plate of sweets: 100 rupees.
• A “designer” sports shirt: 250 rupees, just over three dollars — the stalls here hold fixed prices and Harry could not get a discount from any of them.
• Tuk-tuk across to Chandni Chowk: 130 rupees after haggling five drivers down from opening quotes of 200–500.
• Touts line the entrance and open with friendly questions such as where you’re from.
• The chutneys served with paratha are considerably spicier eaten on their own.
• The main street is closed to cars; cycle rickshaws work it instead.

Harry’s tips

• Come here rather than a modern mall — it’s the part of the city that isn’t like home, whatever people tell you about nicer areas.
• Don’t expect to haggle in the shops. Market stalls here run fixed prices, unlike the tuk-tuks outside.
• Order the cheese paratha, and use the banana chutney with it — the sweetness against the savoury cheese was his favourite combination of the day.

Source

• Crazy $10 Challenge in Delhi, India 🇮🇳 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abnAQ26UKlY