Day 8 - Delhi

Today, we set out to create our plans for the next five days. All we knew was that we needed to be back in Delhi on the 31st to catch our flight to Chennai. Other than that, we had a vague idea that we wanted to see Varanasi (a very important Hindu site) and Khajuraho (famous for its temples' suggestive sculptures (which Saurabh's dad claims was an ancient social policy decision to boost the Indian population)). So we said goodbye to Saurabh's family in the morning and set out to buy train tickets.

Of course, we arrived at the train station 14 minutes after the ticket office for foreign tourists closed. We had several options, all of which Saurabh and his family were willing to do. 1) rent a car; 2) book online; 3) use a travel agent. All we needed to do was create an itinerary. Instead, we chose to do nothing and enjoy Delhi.

We spent the day in Delhi, shopping and eating. First, we went to Karol Barg market, where we really wanted to purchase jewelery and gifts for our friends and family at home. So far, though, I think it has been hard to find inexpensive items that are good quality. Things seem to be either expensive or the same junk we see everywhere. (We are still looking, though!) I bought some shoes for myself (If you like these and want a pair, just send your size to me! They cost $8.)



We went to a popular Delhi sweet shop, Bikanervala, for dhokla -- the store was packed! Everything we had was delicious. We definitely recommend this spot if you are in Delhi (there are a few locations around the city)



We then moved on to Old Delhi, the old part of the city. This is the area surrounding Jama Masjid (which we visited on Day 2). We walked through a largely-Muslim market. There really were not very many tourists here, the area was packed with people shopping and enjoying Sunday evening.







One of the really neat things that we saw was this guy making chai -- he would make literally ten cups in a sort of one-man assembly line in just a few seconds. We wish we had captured this on video for you, but hopefully this picture sort of illustrates how quickly he moved.



Finally, we made it to our ultimate destination -- Karim's. This restaurant had been recommended to us by several people, and it still exceeded our wildest expectations. We plan to return to it each time we are in Delhi during the trip. The Butter Chicken dish, as well as the Chicken Burra, were incredible. You can see from the pics that the restaurant is actually several rooms that open onto a courtyard. This is because Karim's has grown from occupying one of these storefronts to occupying all of them...and now also to other locations throughout Delhi. We definitely think this is a must-see item if you are in Delhi (it is in our Lonely Planet, so you can check there for details.)







Since we had whittled away our afternoon touristing, after dinner, we had no choice to return sheepishly to Saurabh's home for an extra night of hospitality and late night travel planning.