Thieves Markets in India, also known as Chor Bazaar, is probably the wildest type of market you can go to! This market is spread out over a huge plot of land where people spread out their blankets on the ground like a picnic and display whatever they are selling! And I mean WHATEVER they can sell. Everything from used phones, shoes, shirts you name it. I even bought a 3-pack of (new) spray deodorant. This market is good for traditional Indian knick-knacks as well as colognes, perfumes and India garb!

It seems like you can get just about anything you want at the Thieves Market.

Clothing

Since so many clothing manufacturers make their products around Asia, some items discarded for not being perfect end up at the Chor Bazaar for a fraction of its retail price. So you can find a lot of popular clothing and accessory brands here, including Louis Vuitton, Zara, etc.

Electronics

Many tourists and locals look in the Chor Bazaar first when they are looking for a new camera, camera supplies, laptops, phones, tablets, and all of their accessories. A pro tip is to check everything more than once before you let the price tag makes you reach for the pocket immediately. There are many, many very close duplicates that will confuse even an expert.

Local items, tourist gifts

India has a long tradition of handcrafted items. You can find some amazing pieces of traditional clothing in bright colors, embroidery, inlay, and much more. It is the perfect spot in Delhi to buy souvenirs at a fraction of what you would spend in any shop outside the Chor Bazaar.

Other items

Visiting the Chor Bazaar on a Sunday allows you to buy used books by weight at the famous and adjacent Daryaganj Book Market. Offers start as low as 50 rupees and you can choose from a very wide variety of books of all kinds. Also, you can buy stationery, leather items, antiques, food, shoes, and much more.

There are many options for accommodation near the Thieves Market because it is in a popular touristy area of the city, Old Delhi.

• Traditional hotel – There are plenty of traditional hotels to book in the area. For those who like comfort, relaxing and even a little luxury, hotels in India offer much of the features you would expect anywhere else in the world. For example, you can check into the MGM Club Residency and enjoy a covered pool, or the much more modest Hotel Al-Haram just next to Jama Masjid if on a budget.

• The Hostel Experience – If you really are on a budget, you won´t find accommodation cheaper than a hostel or guest house. Besides being cheaper, hostels offer common areas to meet people. On occasion I enjoy staying in hostels because even though they are more basic, you´ll pay less and have a more immersive experience & meet some great people. A good example of this is Joey´s hostel which is a little far away but with good proximity with the metro and shared dorms from $4 including breakfast it is a definite winner.

Old Delhi

Where the Chor Bazzar or “Thieves Market” is located is right in the heart of historic Old Delhi. This is a popular area that’s a must visit for anyone traveling to New Delhi because if the history, traditional buildings and overall vibe of the district. There are many tourists sites in this area as well. 

Paharganj

Once the center of backpacking activity, this neighborhood holds famous monuments like, for example, the Qadam Sharif dargah built in the 14th century to honor the footprint of Prophet Mohammed. With time, the backpacker crowd moved to the more modern southern part of Delhi for more comfort and safety. Paharganj became a great place to visit during the day.

Connaught Place

This neighborhood is very close to the Thieves Market and yet far enough to be very different. It is very easily recognizable in any map because it has a circle in the center with eight streets coming out in different directions. The epicenter of the fun is called Central Park and hosts various events such as Awam Ki Awaz, the Youth Festival. Also, Central Park is where the first three-color flag was raised.

For the non-vegetarian audience, Delhi´s very own butter chicken is a must to try before leaving town.

Another great dish to try in Delhi is chola bhatura, a tasteful combination of spicy chickpeas and inflated maida flour bread. It is not only tasty but also fun to eat.

Finally, that sweet touch can be jalebis, a spiral of flour fried and then submerged into a syrup which makes it utterly sweet and orange/golden looking.

Popular Street Foods to Try in Delhi

If sitting down in a restaurant for a meal is not your thing, there are plenty of dishes you can eat while walking. A classic from Delhi is chaat; for many the go-to option in terms of street food. If you love a bit of spicy and a spongey body, chaat will blow your mind.

If you are not ready to go full-on with the flavorful dishes India offers, then your best way to enter Indian food is through momos. These are steamed dough pieces with different fillings that are easy on the palate and good for the stomach.

Finally, a good taste of classical street Indian food is paranthas. Parantha is basically deep-fried stuffed bread offered with a wide variety of fillings that you can devour as you walk.

For something to drink, try some of the poplar sweet-tasting lassie or traditional chai tea.

Starting out in 1942, the Chor Bazaar was only a handful of sellers with discarded, worn-out clothes for sale. This was in Ajmeri Gate, but since then, the market has moved at least ten times. The next destinations following were Shaaz ka Talab, Chawri Bazaar, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Subhash Park, and Delhi Secretariat.

Location wasn´t the only thing that changed; in that time it also grew exponentially with a current headcount of over 1,200 sellers. The reason why sellers and buyers grew with the years is that among all of the flea markets in Delhi, this is one of the oldest and most diverse ones. Also, the prices are among the lowest in the country; there are even discarded pieces from big brands waiting for customers with the tags still on.

Every Sunday, a horde of travelers and locals line up to shop, bargain and have a good time.

Trading in India can be traced back all the way to over 5,000 years ago but had its golden era between the 12th and 18th Centuries. During those close to six hundred years, prosperity was everywhere. In fact, it is reported by historians that India would get 3,000 ships for trading a year in some ports. This speaks of a great volume of trading done with other countries during the Sultanate centuries (12th to 14th centuries) as well as the Mughal ruling (16th to 18th centuries). The well-managed currency system and the proliferation of multiple, large trading cities connected by usable roads, lead to exponential growth and prosperity in the entire country.

India´s reputation in trading, though, was not only due to the good connection between trading points, but the quality of the craftsmanship. Delicate pieces coexisted with fine spices and precious stones on every market in the country. As much as Indians were buying luxurious items overseas, they were also exporting finely-crafted pieces. India´s prosperity, though, came to an abrupt end when the British East India Company raised taxes to asphyxiating levels. Also, importing items from England exclusively sent the entire system to bankruptcy shortly after. With only the internal market available, the flourishing of trading that made India prosperous was something from a bright past. Beautiful craftsmanship, though, can still be found today. The heritage of India´s rich history shines through in every piece.

India (the territory now known as) was one of the major economic powers for most of the last three millenniums. Experts and historians traced back the beginning of this tale of prosperity and growth all the way back to 3300 BCE. From that moment and until 1750, India grew prosperously and relentlessly population-wise and production-wise.

By the time it became a British colony, India alone represented 25% of the global GDP. By the year 1900, after exponential Western growth and severely restrictive policies leading to deindustrialization and recession, India represented only 2% of that GDP.

After the British left England, by 1947, the protective measures and the extensive public ownership lead to a new breath of hope for the country. Nowadays it is considered to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.