My India trip - 2013

I made a short 3D 2N working trip to New Delhi last week as my company is setting up 2 new subsidiaries there. The meeting was only from 10am to 5pm for one day though.  The other two days were for travel time.

Timing wise, Malaysia is 2.5 hours ahead of New Delhi. After a 6 hour morning flight, we arrived around lunch time.

Bad traffic from the airport to the hotel

During the 1 hour journey, a lot of  kids knocked on the taxi window either peddling stuff or asking for money.  Some were no older than Elyssa.  Sad sight indeed.

During the ride, I discovered something else - Indian drivers honk a LOT!  Can hear honking practically every 10 seconds. Everyone jostles to get their way.  Driving in New Delhi is definitely not for the faint hearted.

When we (my boss and I)  checked into the hotel, I had to request for a room change as my original room faced the main road.  No way I could sleep with all the honking noise. Freshened up a a bit then we went for lunch at the hotel restaurant.

 Free Appetizer

I was rather surprised with this huge plate of raw onions! Discovered later this raw onion dish is a norm.

My (half eaten) Butter Chicken and Plain Naan 

OMG......it was sooooooo good!

 I was rather tired from the whole journey, but after taking a few bites, I perked up immediately.  Happy, Happy  :-)

After lunch, workaholic boss went back to his room to work while lazy employee went out shopping. Wheeeeee!

Negative point - Most of the markets are closed every Monday.  And yup...we arrived on a Monday.  Bummer.

I asked the van driver to bring me to Khan Market, one of the few markets open on Monday.  (but it's a more upscale market for their expats)

Some photos from Khan Market:

Variety of Necklaces

Handmade Paper and Notebooks

Magnets

Little trinkets

Nothing really that interesting. (but I did a elderly guy squatting down to poo at the carpark!). After less than 2 hours, I asked the van driver to bring me back to the hotel.

Plenty of these 3 wheelers on the road

For dinner, we joined our other colleagues for dinner at the upmarket Hauz Khas Village.

Trendy restaurants and bars 

 

We went to  roof top restaurant called "Out of the Box" (pic from the net)

Food was excellent again! Discovered that Indian Rum + Coke was very good as well  :-)

Day 2 -  We had our meeting from 9am to 5+ pm. 
Then it was time to go shopping again.  Yay!

One of the external consultants drove us to the nearby Lajpat Nagar market. When we went into his car, he rolled down the windows a little to let in the cool air. But remember the kid peddlers? I got a shock when a girl put her hands through the window gap asking for money when the car stopped at the traffic lights. We couldn't drive off with her hands in the car!!  The consultant patiently explained to her that we were tourists and she shouldn't give a bad impression.  After a while, she made a face and then left.  Phew. My heart was beating so fast throughout the incident.

The consultant suggested a dining place for us and then dropped us off at the market.

I was so glad we made the trip there! We walked around absorbing the sights and sounds of the market. So interesting!

Some photos :

Freshly made bread

Smelt so good!  But dare not try in case our tummys can't take it. (the seller handles the bread with bare hands and wraps it in newspapers for takeaway)

"Kitchen area" just behind the bread stand

Everything made fresh on the spot. The oven is basically a huge pot embedded into the ground. 

Another bread stall

This one had a more modern kitchen

Local spice shop

Me, at one of the market streets  :-)

The weather was really nice.  Cool, but not too cold

 

 

After walking around for a while, we went for dinner at at Indian restaurant called Pind Balluchi.

 

Our Drinks

Being adventurous, we ordered the most exotic sounding drinks on the menu.

They were absolutely AWFUL !!! Salty and milky and with plenty of  spices. We just couldn't finish them.

Appetizers - can't remember the name but one was paneer cheese and the other was stuffed tofu. 

They were both very good. (cheese was oh, so light and creamy inside)

Our main meal

Err....chicken dish, vege dish, spinach naan and another type of bread. (must remember to take photo of menu next time. hehe)

Again, they were excellent!!!  Definitely over-ordered.  Burp!

After the very filling and yummy dinner, we walked the streets of the marketplace again-

Roadside stalls - fried potato wedges

Roasted corn, sweet potatoes and lime

Random stalls

 

 

My haul from Lajpat Nagar Market

Dried figs, pistachios, walnuts and organic tea

The next morning, we checked out after breakfast and headed straight for the airport.  Traffic was surprisingly clear so we had plenty time to shop around the airport.  Got myself a nice Pashmina shawl :-)

Bye Bye New Delhi!