My First Hostel Friend!

On my way out this morning, I met BM who was checking in. I asked her if she had any plans for the day and then invited her to come join me in exploring New Delhi. Thankfully she said yes because today turned out to be so much better with company. She's a couple years older than me and from England. She's been traveling for a little while through Nepal and India so she's slightly more seasoned than I am at this (though... who isn't, amirite?).

Jama Masjid, New Delhi

We walked a few kilometers to to Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India (it can hold up to 25,000 people!), which was built in the mid-1600s. It was a beautiful mosque and I said my afternoon prayers while we were there. Being white and obviously a foreigner, BM had to pay a Rs. 200 entry fee but I didn't say anything (so they wouldn't hear my accent) and just walked inside without being bothered. I'm pretty sure everyone there thought I was her guide, which is fine by me.

Red Fort, New Delhi

After that we walked down the road to the Red Fort, which was also enormous. This time, I wasn't able to get away with pretending I was a local and had to pay for a foreigner ticket. In fact, I was even plucked out of line and told to go to the foreigner ticket line. How did they know??? The Red Fort was originally constructed as a palace and it showed: the place kept going on and on, it was enormous.

Chicken Maharaja Mac Meal

After the Red Fort, we started making our way back to the hostel. We both hadn't eaten yet that day and earlier we had been talking about McDonald's and out of nowhere, these iconic golden arches appeared! Naturally, we HAD to eat there and of course, I had the Maharaja Mac. It's was actually pretty good - it's like a big mac in structure, but made with chicken and Indian spices. Also, the fries taste the same. Also, the ketchup taste the same! I've finally found good ketchup on this continent, and of course it's at a McDonald's.

View from Club India Rooftop Restaurant

Later that night we went out to dinner at a place called Club India, which... let's be honest, when you find a place called Club India, you have to eat there. It also turned out to be surprisingly nice. We ate on the roof and the food was surprisingly good. I had chicken tikka masala, but BM had a Japanese dish, which I was skeptical about at first but when I tasted it, it really did taste like Japanese food! Well done, chefs.

Today was definitely the most enjoyable day I've had in India yet.