You may have heard of Paharganj, the backpackers almost favourite hangout in Delhi. As it happens, also the pickpockets favoured place to prey on backpackers and other unsuspecting tourists and new arrivals in the big smoke.
“Don’t go there”, is often what you will hear from people in the know when you mention your plans to go there.
So naturally I went there… because stupid is as stupid does, and because I wanted to see for myself if its reputation is at all justified.
One thing I can say for certain - it’s not quiet. It’s a long way from quiet.
Well I’m over 50 and I’ve been around, I’ve seen things, surely I can handle Paharganj.. right?
Right!
So I booked a hotel on booking.com and set forth. Arriving late at night, in the transport provided by the hotel from the airport, I found the hotel to be on a very narrow back street, and I was wondering if perhaps this was wise.
But I needn’t have worried. I checked in and was shown to my room, which turned out to be quite decent, and quiet.
I am on a limited budget but I still need my comforts - AC, private bathroom, no strangers sharing the room, a mattress that doesn’t feel like a wooden plank.. and some other requirements which I will cover in a future post.
Here’s a couple of views of the room:
Not bad, right? Also not expensive.
After a what remained of the night had passed, and I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, I set about planning my exploration of Paharganj. The beating heart is Main Bazar Rd, so that’s where I had to go. It’s also on the way to Connaught Place, the fancypants heart of Delhi, which I was also considering checking out.
I unpacked my new camera, attached it to my chest for POV recording, grabbed a bottle of water, and ventured out from the safe space of the hotel.
I had planned ahead and intended to use the backtrack feature on my Apple watch to ensure I can find my way back to the hotel, but then I couldn’t get the damn thing working.. 🤦♂️ So I just had to rely on my built-in Mark 1 brain satnav as usual.
I probably should have tested that watch feature before leaving the hotel - I’ve had the watch for years but never bothered using that functionality. Decided that since now I am to be a proper travel vlogger, this is my moment to use it! But it wasn’t. Ah well, next time.
Off I went on my merry way, turning onto ever more busy streets, the chaos enveloping me with a 3D wall of sound.
Beep beep beeeeeep beep beep beeeeeeeeeeep beeeeeeep beep etc etc…
The noise is just relentless, but not unexpected. This was not my first time in India, just my first time in Paharganj, and constant beeping is par for the course in many (but not all) parts of India. So I soldiered on, weaving through the tuktuks and cars and crowds and street dogs.
Sometimes the dogs in Delhi are kinda scary… they know their territory, they know who lives there, they know who doesn’t belong, and they sometimes let you know that you shall not pass!
But today was not one of those days. Today, in the heat and humidity of the monsoon, the dogs just could not be bothered with any of that shit.. it was a free pass for all, while the dogs snoozed away the day.
Score one for Tourist vs Paharganj.
I passed a row of street food places, which looked and smelled pretty good, but I know the sensible traveller’s rules, and I’m determined to avoid the dreaded Delhi Belly, so I kept going.
A friendly chap started chatting as we walked, and suggested I go to Connaught Place, rather than Paharganj. That’s a very different vibe, a lot more upmarket, but not my target for this trip. Soon after that, as I reached the start of Main Bazar, someone else said pretty much the same - go to Connaught Place, but he explained further - he warned me of the pickpockets, he said it’s not safe here. I thanked him and headed into Main Bazar anyway.
It crossed my mind that all these people advising me to go to Connaught Place perhaps have a business there catering to tourists and so they were just trying to steer me in that direction.. who knows? Maybe I’m just overly suspicious.
Anyway, back to Main Bazar. Along the way there were many hotels, spas, travel agents, shops and businesses of one kind or another, and plenty of people milling around. But my pockets remained stubbornly unpicked. Nobody bothered me in the slightest.
There were hardly any foreign tourists around that day, I saw just one foreign couple. There may have been plenty of Indian tourists or travellers, heading to and from the budget hotels in the area, and among them I presumably stood out like a sore thumb - an easy target, one would think.
Perhaps the riffraff took the day off? Who knows.
The heat was wearing me down though, and my chest mounted camera, filming in 4K the whole time, was becoming too hot to touch and I was concerned it would soon melt. So I started making my way back to my hotel, longing for the cool breeze from the AC with the fan on max.
I survived my first walk around Paharganj. It wasn’t nearly as bad as many have claimed. Sure the traffic was noisy, there were plenty of people milling around, but mostly nobody paid any attention to me, in fact far less hassle than at the big tourist sites in India.
Score another one for Tourist vs Paharganj.
Back in the comfort of my hotel room, after cooling down, it was time to eat. Would this be the part of Paharganj that gets me? I ordered a veg thali, masala chai, and a refreshing glass of lassi.
That hit the spot, and no ill effects were suffered.
Score yet another one for Tourist vs Paharganj - that’s a hattrick! Tourist wins.
Or perhaps Paharganj was the real winner - it was an interesting place to visit, interactions with locals were always friendly, nobody hassled me, nobody tried to sell me anything (other than an occasional tuktuk offering a lift), no problems at all besides the heat.. and even though it was monsoon season, it didn’t even rain while I was there!
Perhaps in peak season, things are different there. Wandering around alone at night time may also be inadvisable, as it is in many cities of the world for a tourist (or even a local). Will I be back? Quite likely yes. There is still more to see and explore in that part of Delhi, and another couple of days there would be good, perhaps before my next flight out of India.
As I checked out of my hotel, they gave me two bottles of water for my journey, and then their driver took me to the airport for the next leg of my trip. It’s a very different place next!
The Details
Hotel: Hotel City Pride
Cost per night: 2242 inr ($23)
Transport: Hotel provided free airport pickup. In the area I just walked. Note though that Uber is very popular and useful in Delhi, so even if a hotel doesn’t provide transport, it’s easy to get around without getting ripped off.
Food: I just ate in the hotel.. food there was pretty good.
Got any questions, comments, feedback? Let me know!
