Firstly we visited the twelfth century ruins of Qutb Minar. They were quite interesting, but very surprisingly they were not the most extraordinary sight there. As we began to leave I suddenly noticed that there was a dog standing inside a hollowed out tree. It appeared to be gnawing at itself. As we stood about picturing the bizarre sight, things got stranger; it suddenly appeared to eat something large and black. Raj then clocked what was going on; the dog was giving birth in the tree, and had just eaten the placenta. As we carefully closed in we noticed that he was right, the dog was licking numerous tiny puppies. What I found even more bizarre though was that no-one else around us either noticed or seemed to care!
After our trip to Qutb Minar the three of us visited Humayun's Tomb before going for an evening meal. We chose to eat at Kake Da Hotel; apparently somewhat of a 'Delhi institution' according to my guidebook! The place looked extremely grubby, but almost all of India's restaurants do, and back in Burma I had eaten in similar establishments. Raj was flying the next day and decided to not risk the food (he already was feeling dodgy), but I chose a chicken curry and Chris, despite flying back to Poland the following day, also chose chicken. The curry was delicious; my first taste of India outside of my hotel tourist restaurant.The following night I woke up in the early hours. I didn't feel good. All of Tuesday was spent in a semi delirious state within my hotel, and I remained close to my toilet all of Wednesday too. There is much to experience in India, and unfortunately Delhi Belly is one that few miss out on.
Despite not being completely better, I braved the great outdoors on Thursday and ventured into the hectic streets of Old Delhi. Firstly I took a ride to see The Red Fort, and I followed this by entering Jama Masjid - the largest mosque in India. The outside courtyard of the mosque was packed with brightly dressed people relaxing and chatting in the sun, and it looked particularly cheerful from the views at the top of the west tower. The views of Delhi from the tower were also impressive.On Friday I began the difficult task of trying to work out where to go next. However, unlike in other countries, it was very hard booking a plane or train to somewhere with just one day's notice, especially with the weekend approaching. I therefore booked a flight to Leh for Tuesday with the intention of heading back towards Delhi overland (assuming the mountainous road from Leh to Manali did not close in the winter weather). As I waited for Tuesday to come, I decided to take the opportunity to travel to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.
I am now in Agra. Tomorrow I will attempt to wake up early and see one of the world's most famous buildings in the early hours.
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