Delhi daze...

Wake up. Run out the door. Hassled on the street. Passed the good restaurant. No breakfast for Cindy. Fight to get to the metro. Peace and calm in the tube...

Took the metro to Central Secretariat which is a massive complex of government buildings. The entire thing looks very imperial and pretty impressive. We tried to follow the walking tour from one of our guide books but got lost in the back streets in the estates behind and were not impressed so we took an autorikshaw to the India Gate. From there we walked to Purana Qila, a huge set of ruins with a serene garden in the middle. The calm within the monument walls is totally amazing compared to the hell of the city. Next to the Purana Quila is the zoo. We debated going in but then decided to. On the way, a beggar woman grabbed my shirt and tried to pin a paper Indian flag on me for "only one rupee, ma'am." She had my shirt pretty firmly so I grabbed her hand and pushed it away which ended up ripping her little flag. Simultaneously, a strange transvestite ran up in a sari and grabbed Justin asking for money. It was a whirlwind of activity and definitely a very strange experience. There were monkeys wandering around the zoo stealing ice cream cones and entertaining people. I wasn't about to get close since Indian monkeys have been known to be very dangerous. The elephants and tigers were very interesting because they were much more active in their natural habitat than we are used to seeing. After that we were very hot and tired and went back to our hotel for dinner. We went to Diamond, a place recommended by the Lonely Planet. It has a huge menu, cheap prices, and pretty good food. I got a falafel platter which satisfied the craving that I had had for awhile! I went to bed very happy!