Written by myself & Zoë on June 5th 2023

Connaught Place, Delhi, India

Twenty-two hours of travelling from Los Angeles to Delhi via Paris we touched down in a daze. The conveyor belt slowly emptied but Michael’s backpack was nowhere to be found. The meek Air France lady informed us and several other passengers that the bags were taking an extended Parisian vacation. For Michael, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and running shoes would have to suffice the dangerous Delhi heat for a couple of days.

Waking up at the crack of dawn after 4 hours of “sleep”, we were greeted by an ensemble of delicious smells and tastes at our hotel's buffet breakfast, with made-to-order masala dosas being the pinnacle. We lazed around breakfast for a couple of hours before we took our first venture out of the tranquil hotel to see what friends and family were talking about when they warned us that we might be overwhelmed in Delhi. Our hotel was located in the Connaught Place district, well known as a business centre but also a major tourist destination. There was a cacophony of honking and distinct engine whine from buzzing by tuk tuk rickshaws, cars and mopeds. Within our first few hours exploring the neighbourhood, seriously sleep-deprived, we were nearly scammed twice, being offered too-good-to-be-true tours for the entire 12 days at a small price of $600, including hotels and all transport, for the both of us. The overly confident travel agent who totally worked for the Indian government was very convincing. After multiple hours planning a fictitious trip, we thankfully did not end up coughing up any money, and had the savviness to trust our guttural instinct to walk away to do some research before we committed to anything. We found that people wanted to talk to us, and sometimes even take our photo, at all times of the day and in many different locations. You’d think we were movie stars, honestly. Occasionally though, little children would be sent to harass us for money, sometimes pulling on our clothes and at one point even dangling onto Michael’s arm for several minutes until a passerby yelled in Hindi. It truly was certainly a lot to take in.

As a result of being more than slightly overwhelmed with our first outing, we mostly resorted to either tuk tuks or Ubers to get around for the rest of our time in Delhi. A notable exception to this rule was an incredible day walking around Old Delhi with our newfound friend, Jd, who showed us Jain, Sikh, and Muslim temples, and taught us something new about each religion. He also showed us Asia’s (self proclaimed) largest spice market which had smells so pungent they made everyone cough and sneeze. Jd took us on various culinary delights, getting us samples of sweet jalebi, deep fried potato samosa, northern India special chole bhature, spicy kachori, and finally refreshing mango lassi, all from local food stands which had been around for 20, 30, or even 60 years.

Another highlight of our four days in Delhi was a walk around the Lodhi Gardens. We lucked out with a clear and sunny morning that was definitely hot but not scorching. We explored the gardens for a couple of hours as we walked around a stunning tomb before discovering a river that led to a “duck house” that radiated the deafening din of a hundred or so ducks in surprising unison. The final act of the gardens was the rose garden that was full of monkeys both young and old! 

After working up an appetite, we treated ourselves to some dosas, which we found were surprisingly common in Delhi despite actually being more of a southern Indian cuisine. The waiter graciously selected several dosas for us from the myriad of options (there were at least 20 different kinds of dosa). Mid meal, the sky turned dark and an unexpected downpour erupted. Thinking it might pass after twenty or so minutes, we went to the ice cream shop two doors down - we wanted to explore the arts district down the road - but the rain failed to subside throughout both meals. By the time we called a tuk tuk to take us back to the hotel, the road was flooding, and in a spontaneous moment Michael offered a piggy back ride into the tuk tuk so that Zoe wouldn’t ruin her Birkenstocks!

Finally, another highlight of Delhi for us was Humuyuns tomb. It had stunning 16th Century architecture with intricate details and carvings that left us in awe. Other Delhi attractions we enjoyed were the Baha’i lotus temple, Khan Market, and many more.

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Everyone said four nights in Jaipur would be too much but we really enjoyed the city’s vibrant pink buildings, energy levels, and food. In particular, with the afternoons peaking well north of 38*C / 100*F, we had to lay low so taking it slow was overall a good strategy. Thankfully our hotel had a small pool that allowed us to cool down for an hour at a time, and a restaurant where we enjoyed some chips (“French fries”) one hot afternoon.

The highlight of Jaipur was for sure the day that Nassir, a driver associated with the hotel, drove us around a few common attractions that included the Monkey Temple, Amber Palace, Jal Mahal, and a local textiles factory. He was a great driver, of similar age to ourselves, and explained to us that he was not into the incessant honking culture present in India. He introduced us to a tour guide aptly named “the monkey man” at the Monkey Temple, a tour guide at Amber Palace who did a great job walking us around and explaining architectural and historical details about the huge palace that is surrounded by the third longest wall in the world, and a savvy businessman at the textile factory that “wouldn’t pressure us to buy anything” but yet we still walked away spending nearly £80 / $100 on custom fitted clothes. Yes, Nassir was clearly in cahoots with all these people, and the hotel was in cahoots with Nassir.  All that to say, we really enjoyed our conversations with him, especially his perspective on local life in Jaipur. He was particularly interested in cars and in cricket, it seemed, and gleefully showed us the WhatsApp message thread with his cricket team that he plays for every “funday” aka Sunday.

We also really enjoyed getting to know Shahid, who became our tuk tuk driver. Yes, it was incredibly awkward when Nassir and Shahid met outside our hotel, but being on a budget meant that despite how much we enjoyed the day prior, taking Nassir’s services wouldn’t be possible again. Though his Tuk Tuk did not offer AC, Shahid was so gracious and friendly, and very eager to learn English as well as French and Spanish. He learned these languages completely by word of mouth. He told us about his Muslim religion, how he didn’t drink, how he prayed at the mosque at 5am, and about Ramadan, and also told us about his family life — his wife was pregnant for the second time, though the first time the baby died the day it was due, so he was very excited and hopeful for this one. He didn’t have AC at home but rather relied on a fan, and lived about 15-20 mins drive from the hotel we stayed at. He also had a cow, a young water buffalo, and a baby goat, amongst other animals. When we were closing out the trip, he asked us to sign his book, where other travellers from around the world had signed and told us about their experiences riding with him. On the way he gave us good recommendations for things to do and places to eat, including one lunch spot (Tapri central) which was quite local and one of the best meals we had in Jaipur, consisting of pesto maggi and aloo tikki. Yum!

Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

We caught an 8 am train from Jaipur to Agra, which meant that we got into Agra Fort train station around noon with temperatures already approaching 38*C / 100*F. We lumbered our heavy backpacks off the train and out to the station steps only to find that the promised taxi station did not exist. What did exist was a chaotic mess of people and blaring horns. Thankfully there was a little nook that we could hide in while ordering an Uber. We waded through the hot crowd to find our AC ride which whisked us away to our hotel, the Coral Tree Homestay. The place was cute with nice green gardens and a friendly tortoise cat named Wasabi. And of course, more monkeys. After we dropped our bags and explored the hotel grounds, we went to a delicious lunch at a unique restaurant called Sheroes, which is a non-profit run by survivors of acid attacks. The heat was beginning to get to Zoe but after a little coercion from a restless Michael we found ourselves in a car on our way to yet another tourist attraction, Agra Fort.

Agra Fort was stunning, partially due to the centuries old lavish architecture and partially due to the orange haze of the setting sun. As the fort was closing in an hour and we were borderline heat stroked, we aimlessly walked through archway after archway. Eventually we walked through an opulent white marble courtyard and glimpsed one of the wonders of the world.. the Taj Mahal. It glistened in the setting sun on the horizon, only a mile or so away. Due to the relative lack of tourists at this time of year our vantage point was a perfect introduction to this architectural beauty. We were thankful that we had mustered the energy to go to Agra Fort that evening. We both left the fort feeling that it is underrated among Agra attractions. 

At dinner that eve, we opted for the family style dinner put on by our homestay. We were joined by one other guest, a seasoned Italian traveller named Eduardo or Edo. He aimed to spend every dollar he earned before he died. He had already hitchhiked his way from Mumbai to Agra. The food and chat at dinner were both excellent. We went to bed early that eve, equally excited and nervous about what to expect the next morning.

The main day of Agra had finally come. We awoke at 5 am to catch the sunrise at the Taj Mahal. Thankfully our homestay was only a 15 minute walk to “the Taj”.  There are no words to describe the Taj Mahal: sleepy eyes turned to teary eyes as we stood in silence just trying to take it all in.

After wandering around the Taj for nearly two hours, we went back to the homestay excited for a home cooked breakfast. This time we were joined by an older French couple and a French family, and all had similarly just witnessed the stunning sunrise over the Taj Mahal. It is safe to assume the dining table conversation topic.

Post breakfast, we used Uber to find ourselves a tuk tuk to Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah aka the “Baby Taj”. The Baby Taj is often regarded as a draft of the Taj Mahal. Our driver was a 24 year old local named Aslam. We had a good conversation with Aslam through somewhat broken English but it was enough for us to get along, and he offered to be our tuk tuk driver for the rest of the day which we graciously accepted. 

Our checkout was at 11am but our train to Delhi was 6 hours later so we had a lot of time to kill while trying our best to avoid the scorching heat of Agra without AC or a pool. Thankfully, the homestay let us leave our backpacks at reception and head out for a day of exploring. Our first stop was a cafè called Bread and Mime cafe which was run by hard of hearing folks and served delicious coffees and teas but was oddly located in a partially abandoned shopping centre. Some hours later we headed for lunch at a highly rated restaurant, only to find it was on the ground floor of a housing complex high rise. The “restaurant”, Chetan’s Kitchen, turned out to be in Chetan’s home. We sat on the couch while the family prepared us incredible food: butter paneer masala, dal makhani, raita, butter chapati, and an array of chutneys. The food was excellent, possibly the best we had so far.

For our final stop, we went to one of the best hotels in Agra, a 5 star place called the Oberoi, a stunning place overlooking the Taj Mahal. For context, Aslam told us that this is the hotel where presidents and prime ministers stay in Agra, and he was unsure if we would even be let inside. We rolled up in the tuk tuk and the security did initially decline us, but once we told them Zoë’s name they went away for a few minutes and suddenly allowed us in. Suspicious. Once in, we had a couple of cocktails while enjoying the view of the Taj for a couple of hours. It felt like an extravagant luxury, but cocktails were still a smidge below San Francisco prices. I wish we had used one of the many pools as they were inviting and completely unused aside from a couple of bored staffers. 

Leaving the temporary lavish lifestyle behind, we headed back to our homestay to collect our bags then headed to the Agra Contt train station for our express train (90 mins!) to Delhi.

Hauz Khas, Delhi, India

The train ride was fast, air conditioned, and unremarkable. Stepping off the train at Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi we were enveloped by a mass of tuk tuk drivers offering their services, singling us out with striking accuracy among the hoard of people departing the train. We sought temporary respite from the hustle and bustle by heading down a narrow lane just across from the train station exit. It is fair to say we attracted more than a few looks walking down this innocuous lane with our bulky front and rear backpacks. Unfortunately, this futile effort yielded no rides and eventually we bit the bullet, saddled up our backpacks and trudged back towards the chaotic mass of people to once again seek a ride to our accommodation. Drivers would turn up, happily help lift our heavy backpacks into their tuk tuk, drive 50 metres down the street then immediately demand an unspecified amount of cash for the journey even though we had paid a fixed amount via card on the Uber app. This dance was repeated more times than we care to remember. Thankfully a good samaritan eventually pulled up and whisked us away to our Airbnb in Hauz Khas after well over an hour of trying our luck on multiple drivers. Our endeavour from the train station to our accommodation was longer than the entire train from Agra to Delhi.

Hauz Khas is an affluent suburb in southern Delhi. It had a younger energetic vibe, something that we had not yet encountered on our trip. Our highlight in Hauz Khas was on our second evening there, just as the sun was setting and the temperature finally dipped below 38*C / 100*F.  We started the evening with a short run around Deer Park, where of course we saw deer, but also many stray dogs, several peacocks, and finally hundreds of bats. Running around a pretty lake there, the sun having just set, the bats were stretching their wings for the first time that day.

One of our friends recommended a bar that was just in the neighbourhood so after showering and getting ready for the evening, we headed up to its rooftop and could see Delhi glittering around us. We ordered delicious cocktails, including one with dragon fruit!, and hung out for a few hours while taking it all in. We ate samosa chaat, an Indian take on nachos, and a lemon paneer dish that was all scrumptious and left us feeling quite full. The next day we would head to Nepal, so this trendy bar overlooking the city felt like a great way to absorb all we’d seen in India so far.

All too quickly our time in India was up. We woke up early and headed to the airport for a quick hop to our next destination.. Kathmandu, Nepal.