We spent the majority of the day flying to Delhi, India. It was late afternoon by the time we arrived at our hotel, so after a short time relaxing in the room, we headed out to find some grub. We weren't able to take 2 steps without a tuk tuk/rickshaw driver asking if we needed a ride. I don't understand why people can't just take NO for an answer! It was even worse as we stood on a corner waiting to cross a busy street. Guys would pull up, and after a few adamant "no's", they'd be replaced by yet another. One guy was more persistent than others, and he put out his hand in the gesture of a hand shake. I'm typically a friendly person, and I decided to go ahead and shake his hand. He took it and kissed the back of my hand, and as I chuckled and looked at Sita, he decided to take me off guard. He grabbed me, pulled me to him, and kissed me. I jerked back and he continued trying to kiss me. Another driver next to us started yelling at the guy as I shoved him away from me. The idiot was just laughing and thought he was the funniest thing ever. Instead of waiting for traffic to clear, I ended up pulling a "local" and just crossing in front of cars. I couldn't wait to get away from the guy.
On the other side of the street, we ducked into a tiny local restaurant. The owner didn't speak much English, but was able to help me pick something that wouldn't be spicy. Lucky for me, he was right! The chicken dish he chose was delicious. After eating way too much, we headed back towards the hotel. Along the way, we saw a sign for a local henna artist. Sita wanted to check out the prices, and before I knew it, we were sitting down having brown goo squeezed out into elaborate patterns on our hands. I only got one hand done, but Sita decided to do both.
The husband of the henna artist told us that the Holi festival was starting outside, so as soon as we were finished, we headed outside to watch the festivities. Apparently, the beginning of the festival includes dancing around a burning tree before finally pulling it down. A group of young girls invited us to come across the street the following morning to celebrate the 2nd day of Holi... The day of color! Before they let us go back to our hotel, we had to promise that we'd be there.
For our first day in Delhi, I believe it was quite eventful! And here we were thinking we'd have a quiet night to relax.. This area is unlike anywhere I've been so far. I'm like a fish out water, unsure which way to flop next... like a lion out of the jungle, hunting for an adventure!
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