Tough day

It's was a pretty arduous day yesterday, fending off con merchants and beggars. I had some breakfast on the hotel terrace restaurant. I say restaurant in the loosest sense of the word as I got to the roof and there was a load of Indian guys who worked in the hotel sat round one plastic table. When I got up there one of the guys got up and rapid looked around then told all the others to get up and pulled there table away and prepared it for me! I subsequently found a lot more cafes out front of the hotel and something tells me they don't get much custom on the roof.

After I had my lemon tea (my current drink of choice) and cheese and egg toastie. I thought it would be a good idea to wonder in to town. Within seconds of leaving the hotel I had a new friend a young Indian man called Annie(?!) I thought he may well have ulterior motives, but as it turned out he was by far the best of the bunch I was going to meet that day and although his goal was to get me to go and look at some shops and buy some Indian clothes, his advise was generally sound and probably if I had of bought the clothes and looked a little lest like I had just rolled off the boat I wouldn't of got hassled quite as much as I did. He also told me about his girlfriend that he was not going to marry as she got hit by a bus and has a withered arm, therefore his parents won't let him. Like I said this guy was the best of the bunch and that was just general chit chat and no scams afoot. I didn't buy any clothes and I parted ways with Annie by getting a tok tok (that's what they call them in Thailand I think it's just Rickshaw here, but there are also bicycle rickshaws to so what do I call them?)

I was trying to get to the main shopping area, god knows why I didn't want to buy anything, but I thought there was probably some cafes there and things to look at. The tok tok driver had other ideas and wanted me to go to some clothes shops. I had all this in Thailand and I am prepared to pay double the price if they just take me directly where I want to go. Anyway after a bloody age I get to where I'm going. After getting hassled a couple more times I go to the park to chill out a bit. Bad mistake.

I was only yards in to the park when a geriatric looking 15 year old shoe shiner was trying to get some business and followed me to the grass where I sat down. I'm wearing trainers and had no need for shining (perhaps he could have done my bald head!) He had some other methods of cleaning and gluing, I wasn't having any of it, but before I knew it some old guy was massaging my legs and the shoe urchin was trying to take off my trainers. Business had obviously been slow in the park and as new flesh I was surrounded, some f**ker was even trying to clean my ears, that was the last straw for me even thought the ear guy insisted "just looking", like I need a report on the wax content of my ears! I got up and hastily tried to pay the shoe and leg chaps, the urchin demanded 250 rupees, he quite frankly was taking the piss. Ok so it's only about 3 pounds 50p, but in India that's a night it a basic hotel. I gave him and the leg man 30 rupees each and got out of there as quickly as possible. I found a bench and sat down to read my book. The urchin followed me and sat down on the bench he now wanted me to go to a shop with him. I left the park.

I wondered round and had some hot sweet potato with spices and lemon served on a plate made of leaves for about 10p, quite tasty I managed to sit down and read my book for a bit hassled by a couple of beggars and a guy selling me postcards, I did buy some and who knows I might actually send some! After a metro ride that was probably un-required and a rickshaw ride that was overpriced and took the scenic route I got back to Paharganj and went to a cafe. I had some curry and bread and a lemon tea. Before I knew it a nutter was sat on the table next to me.

He looked like an Indian holi man and wore robes, but he is a Swiss apparently and goes by the name of Juan (Hwan spelling??) apparently that was one of his many names?! He had been drugged it turned out and all his money and passport and visas were stolen, he showed me the police report and was not after money, he now had some from the embassy, so this I can believe. He had been in India for 10 years and was drugged about 18 months ago spending 3 months completely insane. I don't think he was fully recovered to be honest, but I didn't tell him so. He has been abducted by aliens on more than one occasion he tells me. I took a photo of Juan. I left the cafe.

Off to meet the travelling party now, should be interesting.