India is NOT for Beginners 🇮🇳

I visited Old Delhi, which is one of the most crowded places in India.

My main reason for going was to try Butter Chicken, the signature dish at a famous old restaurant called Karim's. But first, a bit of shopping at the chaotic Chor Bazar (Thieves Market.)

The road from the metro station to the bazaar was a pain to navigate, with so much traffic and so many obstacles, so I bargained for a motorcycle rickshaw to take me there. That way I got to enjoy the chaos in comfort.

At Meena Bazar (the official name for Chor Bazar) I noticed it was a lot busier that the last time I visited there in March 2020. That was because this time I visited on a Friday, and the market is right beside one of the biggest and most popular mosques in the city, Jama Masjid.

There were so many random things for sale at Chor Bazaar, but none more random that a wind-up Doraemon toy that plays the drums. Of course, I had to buy that, and the bargaining session was quick and easy to knock 50% off the vendor's "first price."

It didn't take long after that purchase before finding something else appealing. I saw a vendor with stacks of dates, in many varieties. I asked the local people which type of date was best, and bought myself a box of them.

Dates are a very popular food with Muslim people, so if you see a market area outside of a Mosque, then for sure you'll be able to buy them there.

I then bought another useless toy. This time it was a plastic helicopter, that looked fun, but I couldn't get it to fly like the vendor had demonstrated. The local people crowded around me. Most, just to stare, but some tried to help me. Regardless, my helicopter didn't make it up into the air. I gave the toy away to a local kid, so hopefully she has more success with it than me.

I wasn't looking for a meal in Meena Bazaar but one vendor insisted I try his food. I couldn't resist having a munch of his beef biryani. What they call "beef" in India is actually buffalo meat and not cow, so it's legal. You'll only find beef in the Muslim areas.

Usually I'm not one for buying random things in markets. I tend to just buy things that are useful to me. However, when I saw a market stall with many random items at just 10 rupees ($0.12 USD / £0.10 GBP) I just had to buy a handful of random nonsense, including a squishy ball and a Rubik's Cube keychain.

There was a whole other section of the market that I didn't see last time, called the Tibetan Refugee Market. The vendors were mostly selling winter jackets. I spoke to some of the vendors and they told me that the market only runs for about 4 months per year.

After escaping the chaotic Chor Bazaar, which was no easy feat, I wandered around Old Delhi for a bit and was trying some of the local snacks such as Shahi Sheermal and Jalebi. The owner of the Rehmatullah Hotel proudly told me about how his prices are the lowest, with meals available for 50 rupees.

Many poor people sit outside his restaurant, because they will be fed for free. People can donate money and it will be used to give free meals to those who can't afford to eat. And if nobody donates, then the restaurant owner will pay for the meals by himself. Very nice.

I enjoyed some tasty Chicken Malai (chicken cooked in cream) and seekh kebab at Rehmatullah Hotel, then after a lot of searching I washed it down with a fresh pomegranate juice.

Thankfully I still had enough of an appetite to enjoy the butter chicken at Karim's hotel, which was the main reason I visited Old Delhi in the first place.

0:00 Bargaining for a Rickshaw
5:16 Thieves Market
8:42 Bargaining for a Doraemon
13:02 Buying Dates
16:42 Indian Helicopter
23:04 Beef Biryani
28:06 10 Rupee Vendor
31:39 Tibetan Refugee Market
37:02 Indian Chai
43:46 Escaping Thieves Market
46:32 Shahi Sheermal (Sweet Bread)
48:23 Mawa Jalebi
52:26 Cheap Price Indian Restaurant
57:36 Chicken Seekh Kebab
1:01:47 Poor People Eat For Free
1:04:11 Juice Vendor Hunt
1:09:42 Fresh Pomegranate Juice
1:15:10 Karim's Butter Chicken


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