From the Sri Digambar Jain Temple we exit on the main road through Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk. It is probably one of the busiest streets in town and we are looking forward to exploring the shops and eateries that we assume we will find in this area. But first we have to get used on finding our way through the throngs of people, mostly walking on the road as the sidewalks are full of vendors.
We pass the Jain Temple that we just visited before getting lost in the mass of people. We try hard to keep an eye on each other so we don’t get separated as we make our way to the mosque at the other end of the road. Finding each other if we get lost might be a bit difficult….
Next we pass a Sikh Temple that we intended to visit initially. However it is very busy and we don’t want to get into all the issues with shoes and tips to shoeminders so we skip it and just admire it from the outside.
Probably in the middle between the Red Fort and Fatehpuri Masjid is Ghantaghar anchored by the Delhi Town Hall, we assume as it looks quite abandoned. Ghantaghar is an area where a British clock tower stood that ultimately collapsed killing people and then was demolished. Now it is a feeding ground for pigeons, cool for us!
Surprisingly, to us, there are zero souvenir shops on the way and no actual restaurants, just street food that we don’t dare eat. Given this we arrive faster than expected at the end of the street and Fatehpuri Masjid, a famous mosque. There is no one inside so we admire it from the entryway before starting our return walk.
Returning we are less stressed and observe more details. Like the monkeys watching from the electricity boxes and how all metal pillars are corroded at the base because of the street dogs, and hopefully only dogs, doing their business on them as we observe multiple times.
We continue picking a path of least resistance if it is at all possible through the throngs of people and soon are again in sight of the Red Fort. We decide to go the parking lot using the same path as we used initially as otherwise we would have to follow a very busy road with a multitude of tuk-tuks and people.
Also this way we can enjoy the Red Fort in better light and even see a few Red-naped ibises, a lifer for us, in the moat as we make our way back to the parking lot to go to the last attraction of the day, a famous baoli/stepwell.
