If you go to Delhi, do this.
No, really, do this. It’s one of the most unique ways to see Delhi.
I heard about this from the organizer of my Leh trip a few months back, who is also one of the bicycle tour guides. I reserved this tour a little less than two weeks before we went and got the time and tour I wanted no problem: the “Shah Jahan” tour. (I had to email them because their automatic site order gave me an error, but they were very responsive! Don’t be discouraged!)
The night before our bicycle tour, I reserved my EasyCabs cab driver for 5:15am, which was ridiculously early considering the meeting time was not until 6:30am. (The departure was at dawn – 6:45am sharp.) The drive that normally takes an hour takes barely half that in the wee hours in the morning. But I did not want to take any chances of either the taxi bailing or us being late.
Neither happened.
We were the earliest riders to arrive in the spooky pre-dawn Old Delhi neighborhood. It felt a little weird trying to follow the directions, simple as they were, in the dark, foggy streets, but soon enough we came to the row of orange bicycles.
The Bikes
Early as we were, our guide Akarsh was already there, preparing. (“Where the bikes are parked will be totally full by the time we get back,” he said.) We received some early hot chai, which warmed us up in the chilly air, and cookies. Or biscuits, as they call them here. A European couple and two others eventually arrived until we had a full party of eight riders, ready to take on the narrow, twisting streets of Old Delhi at dawn.
We had two orange-garbed guides, Akarsh in front and his helper in back to make sure we all stayed on the right route and didn’t get too far behind. No one had been injured yet on the bike tours, he assured us, “so don’t be the first!”
After a bit of time to practice riding the bikes up and down the side road to get used to them, and a quick safety presentation, off we went!
Bicycling Through Old Delhi
We made so many turns, I was quickly lost. The stores and shops along the tiny lanes were just starting to open for the day. I think the people we passed were just as interested in us as we were in them.
Street and Flower Market at Chawri Bazar
As the light became brighter, the traffic (foot, bicycle-drawn carts, scooters, motorcycles, cars, and narrow box trucks) gradually increased, often carrying goods.
One of our stops was near the spice market at an excellent location to view the sunrise, as long as we stayed out of the way of the workers.
Silhouette of the Mosque
Dawn in Old Delhi
(And a very photographed dog, at least by touring bicyclists)
Sunrise Over the Spice Market
His guidance became mandatory and our route became more residential as we crossed the traffic-choked streets. This was by far the scariest part – trusting that the guide was crossing in a good spot and that we wouldn’t get run over by the unpredictably-moving vehicles.
…Through Neighborhoods…
We had a chai stop (yay!), took a rest at some important building or other, then headed back along the edges of Old Delhi, by the Red Fort, and ended up at Karim’s, arguably the most famous restaurant in Delhi. I had known about it since before I’d come, but had never eaten there. I did once try to locate it and failed as it is particularly difficult to find. You have to go through a very narrow alley that, even if you happen to see the small sign pointing toward it, seems an unlikely path for a well-known restaurant. We could only get through one bike at a time.
It was just before 9am. Karim’s was just about to open. We were the first customers.
Breakfast at Karim’s
So how was it? Yum. Not normally what I’d have for breakfast – a thick, rich curry and poofy fried bread to soak it up with, not unlike chole bhature – and it probably had a million calories, but it was worthy of its reputation.
(And so far, so good, as far as everyone’s gastrointestinal system went. That’s a relief.)
The tour ended where it started not long after.
And survive, we had! Thanks to our awesome guide.
We still had a few hours to kill before we had to be back to my apartment to meet the taxi driver for our Golden Triangle trip, so stayed in central Delhi a bit longer. We had earlier passed the biggest mosque in Delhi, so decided to return to it so we could go inside. We hired ourselves an energetic bicycle rickshaw driver who managed to pedal all four of us the majority of the way, through the now-crowded streets of Old Delhi, until the slight up-slope of the approach to Jama Masjid, where it became impossible for him to pedal any further. Then he got out and pulled.
We felt bad for him, so we disembarked early and walked the rest of the way, but not before giving the surprised gentleman a big tip for his work.
South Entrance to Jama Masjid
This was my third time to Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, so my patience with the money-grubbing schemes here was almost completely annihilated by this point. (This is one of the most annoying places in Delhi in that regard, but still worth it for the climb up the minaret!)
I was short with everyone, from Captain Ladies-Have-To-Wear-This-Stupid-Robe regardless of how conservatively we were already dressed and then wanted a tip for it (!) to the random robed guy hanging out by the minaret trying to both charge people to go up (that’s a new one in the many schemes to separate tourists from their money here aside from the gargantuan entry fee) and had the nerve to tell me I had to wait after my family had already gone in and come back before I could go in. I gave him a huge, giant piece of my mind before paying him nothing and going up anyway. The man – legit or not – was patient with my antics, though that is typical of these kind of people in India. They will be as patient as it takes for your rupees. Or maybe he was just a random dude and I was entertaining him.
At least, when entering from the south side, we were able to carry our shoes, so we did not get stuck with the guy who wants a tip at the end for “watching your shoes” which, after almost a year in India, I know is even a bigger pile of bullcrap than the first time I heard it.
Inside Jama Masjid
The minaret was crowded, but just as awesome. The tight, spiral staircase and awesome view of Old Delhi and Red Fort with almost no tall buildings nearby to ruin the view is worth the trip.
Minaret!
We walked back out to the street and asked a nearby autorickshaw driver how much it would be to New Delhi (the equivalent of a metro stop or two away). When he quoted 400 rupees, even my newly-arrived family had to laugh. He looked abashed and we went with another driver, this one much cheaper, but who objected to someone riding shotgun, quoting “overloading a rickshaw” regulations. I had to question at any auto driver following regulations, but we had one of our party perch on the sidebar instead.
We wandered Connaught Place for a short while, the contrast with Old Delhi feeling particularly strong. The difference is stark. One member of our family was “the first customer of the day” to a street vendor selling cute elephants, though in this case, it could have actually been true since the guy looked like he was just setting up.
We headed back to my apartment where our taxi driver – my favorite taxi driver of the major’s, to my surprise – had arrived early and was waiting and ready to take us to Agra!