India's National Zoo
We went to the Delhi Zoo yesterday, at the
invitation of the owners of the flat we're renting. Dev, from Manali, and his
wife, Chandra, originally from New York, have two daughters, Aditi and Asha. We
had a great time. More importantly, Claire made some new friends.
Before going to the zoo, we went to Dev and
Chandra's flat in Maharani Bagh. After lunch and a bit of play for the kids, we
all piled into a taxi--four adults and four kids, not a single car seat or seat
belt for anyone--for the ride to the
zoo.
Asha, Claire, and Aditi with mango and strawberry lollipops
The zoo, like the rest of Delhi, is a sprawling place. Luckily, upon entering, Chandra had the great idea of paying 25 Rs./person to get a ride around the zoo. Also like the rest of Delhi, there is not much logic to the zoo. Not knowing where paths dead-ended, or where enclosures were empty, we would have spent a couple hours wandering around the zoo on foot. Instead, our driver took us directly to all the best sites.
Asha and Claire making friends with the tram driver
The east edge of the zoo is defined by the 400-year old wall that once surrounded Old Delhi. This makes a visit to the zoo an archaeological adventure as well. The chimpanzees, for example, have a piece of the old fort wall in their enclosure. Next we saw three adult hippose and a baby hippo. Then we saw a male lion in an enclosure, and a female lion and three cubs separate in a cage. The big draw was the white tigers, in particular the three white tiger cubs.
On the way out of the zoo, there were more treats for the kids, this time in the form of popsicles. The last half an hour in the zoo, as Claire realized the day was winding down and she was not going back to Asha and Aditi's house, she became very sad. We promised her she'd see her new friends again, and indeed she did, the very next day, for some play at Lodhi Gardens. But that's another entry...
After the zoo, on the way back to the flat, our rickshaw almost hit a boy who looked to be about 12. He jumped into the road from in front of a parked bus. Even the rickshaw driver seemed to be shaken by the incident, and from our experience so far, little seems to shake rickshaw drivers.
Asha, Claire, and Aditi with mango and strawberry lollipops
The zoo, like the rest of Delhi, is a sprawling place. Luckily, upon entering, Chandra had the great idea of paying 25 Rs./person to get a ride around the zoo. Also like the rest of Delhi, there is not much logic to the zoo. Not knowing where paths dead-ended, or where enclosures were empty, we would have spent a couple hours wandering around the zoo on foot. Instead, our driver took us directly to all the best sites.
Asha and Claire making friends with the tram driver
The east edge of the zoo is defined by the 400-year old wall that once surrounded Old Delhi. This makes a visit to the zoo an archaeological adventure as well. The chimpanzees, for example, have a piece of the old fort wall in their enclosure. Next we saw three adult hippose and a baby hippo. Then we saw a male lion in an enclosure, and a female lion and three cubs separate in a cage. The big draw was the white tigers, in particular the three white tiger cubs.
On the way out of the zoo, there were more treats for the kids, this time in the form of popsicles. The last half an hour in the zoo, as Claire realized the day was winding down and she was not going back to Asha and Aditi's house, she became very sad. We promised her she'd see her new friends again, and indeed she did, the very next day, for some play at Lodhi Gardens. But that's another entry...
After the zoo, on the way back to the flat, our rickshaw almost hit a boy who looked to be about 12. He jumped into the road from in front of a parked bus. Even the rickshaw driver seemed to be shaken by the incident, and from our experience so far, little seems to shake rickshaw drivers.
Posted: Wed - December 7, 2005 at 06:24 AM
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The Zavelogue chronicles the travels and travails of Stephen, Marion, Claire and Luc during our six months in India on a Fulbright.
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Published On: Jul 15, 2006 12:54 AM
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Published On: Jul 15, 2006 12:54 AM