A day out at chandni chowk

Chandni chowk market
Chandni chowk top view

I stayed in Delhi for around three years and every time I visited Chandni chowk is because of shopping for college events. I will merge up all my experiences of Chandni chowk in this blog. Basically my experience at Chandni chowk can be described in two parts one is shopping stuff and the second is food (being a food lover I cannot miss this part).

So let us begin with the shopping part at Chandni chowk. Before you plan a visit at Chandni chowk here is a quick tip Chandni Chowk is a busy shopping area with lots of markets. Yes, you read that right there are a lot of markets in Chandni chowk separate sections for clothes, books, stationery, jewelry. Basically it is a wholesale market for all goods so you get everything in different markets in Chandni Chowk at very low prices. The second tip is to skip your one-day workout if you are going to Chandni chowk as you will be damn tired after that visit.

 

So, I visited Chandni chowk for the first time in my second year of college and stuff we were looking for is the farewell hats, craft material, and cloth for decoration. As described there are different markets for desired goods. We visited three markets – Nai sarak, Kinari bazaar, and katra neel market.

Nai sarak market is famous for textbooks and stationery material and we needed a lot of colored sheets that too in low budget and we were at the right place. We bought different colored sheets bundles at half rates from a normal nearby market but to find the correct shop you need to walk more go in small gali to find the perfect price for the quantity you require. If you have a day target for steps to walk in a day in your fitness app you can cover double by just visiting Chandni chowk. We bought stationery stuff from this market and then went to kinari bazaar.

Nai sarak market
Nai sarak market

Kinari Bazaar is famous for wedding shopping items like laces, borders, hangers, etc. So, why would we need to go to this market? The most important thing in a farewell is a farewell hat and you can only find those in this market. There are 3-4 shops in kinari bazaar where you can purchase farewell hats in bulk you have to bargain the price for those hats accordingly average price is around INR 33 which we got in 2019.

 

Now, we are loaded with a lot of stuff as well as we need to shop more and walk more that is why I suggested you skip a daily workout as you would need a lot of energy to shop at Chandni Chowk.

Next, we visited is Katra Neel market famous for cloths, readymade items. You can get clothes at very low rates in this market. we got the cloth for farewell sash in this market. As it was a college event and our budget was low still we managed to shop all the items needed and still saved some amount from the estimated amount.

 

These were the markets we visited for a specific purpose but Chandni Chowk has a lot more to explore, you can buy diaries at INR 30, Chandni Chowk is famous for wedding shopping. You need to find a place to place your feet in that market, it is very crowded.

Apart from these three markets, there are Dariba Kalan – a jewelry market, Khari baoli deals in all kinds of spices, herbs, nuts, dried fruits, Bhagirath Palace – It is Asia’s largest market for electronics and electrical goods, Moti Bazaar as the name suggests famous for pearls, Ballimaran market known for various opticians and footwear shops, Tilak Bazaar is known for chemical manufacturers and dealers, you can also get glass and plastic stuff here, Kucha Choudhary market famous for cameras and related stuff.

While going through these markets you get a sight of colorful banners, products hanging outside, you can find all the stuff you ever wanted or will need in the future. You see many hawkers and roadside food stalls as well so that if you feel like eating while shopping so you can find something to eat.

Chandni chowk experience is different for everyone, it depends upon the purpose of the visit, one can visit to have a look and get tired and say it is a waste of time and one who actually want to shop, explore and eat, it is a very adventurous place for you. Jumping over the stones to cross the draining water get in between the crowd to go to the destination shops, learning a few bargain tips as well.

Another motive to visit Chandni Chowk is the most famous parathe waali gali. How can we end without discussing this? People who have not visited parathe wali gali yet, this is for you. This place is a small street with just 4-5 shops with no place to sit as it is always crowded.

Parathe
Parathe wali gali

When you think of parathe waali gali, you imagine big plate-sized parathas, right? You are highly mistaken, I thought the same before visiting for the first time. There are small parathas which seems like puri with sabzi, but this does not mean it is not tasty. All the crowd visiting there are not stupid, the parathas are tasty and must be in everybody’s bucket list. Although, if you are looking for a traditional paratha image, it is a lot more different then that.

Old Delhi is famous for its spicy food and after spicy food, everyone wants to eat something sweet so here it comes ‘The old famous Jalebi shop’ in Chandni chowk, it is the oldest sweet shop in Old Delhi and if you are staying in Delhi this is the thing you are missing, people go to old Delhi fest to eat these as this place is very crowded but I suggest you to a paid visit and eat this tasty jalebi and feel like heaven in that crowded place.

 

Chaat Tikki of Chandni chowk is very famous, there is Natraj Bhale waala you can eat chaat at this shop. They serve the best chaat in Old Delhi. The rest is out of my department Aslam’s chicken and Karim’s is also very famous but being a vegetarian I cannot describe the taste.

Tikki
Natraj chat

Coming to the conclusion Chandni chowk is a full package for shopping and eateries. It is always tiring to walk in the crowd sweating all-around carrying bags but you get goods at very cheap rates and the quality is also good and I am sure you can rely on Old Delhi food, it is most famous in Delhi. Do not forget to grab Famous Old Delhi lassi as well. Also, people visit Chandni chowk to visit tourist attractions like Jama Masjid, Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, and Red Fort. These are the places that attract the tourists but being locals of Delhi you must visit Chandni chowk for its famous food stalls and of course shopping of fancy items at affordable rates.

So overall, after visiting Chandni chowk I need a day off from college as you have walked thrice you walk in a day. So this is tiring but it is fun at the same time.

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