Day One

Let me start by saying that cobras are terrifying. I have no idea how often they actually bite people. Or maybe they just spit poison into our eyes or something. Either way, I feel no shame in posting these pictures where I’m clearly uncomfortable. When I handed back the cobra, one of the indian onlookers asked me if I’d been drinking. I wonder what he meant by that.

Holding the cobra was the emotional highlight of my first day here in Delhi, but it was a tight race between that, petting an elephant and shaking hands with a monkey. If I’d ridden a tiger, I could head back to the US completely satisfied (not to mention die having lead a full and productive life). The elephant felt amazing. Like an incredibly old shoe. The monkey’s hand felt like sandpaper.

I should say that I’m not a fan of animal servitude. It’s abomination. But it also exposes people to animals they’d never see otherwise, which fosters an appreciation and hopefully inspires us to support conversation. For my part, I give enough to World Wildlife Fund to appease my guilt.

Speaking of WWF, here’s our last tuktuk driver of the day who wanted to talk about american wrestling. I wish my uncle Bill was there. Except then we never would have fit in the tuktuk. They only sit three and there were four of us. That meant that I, apparently the most adventurous (no one else held the cobra) sat up front with the driver. Or rather, half sat, half held onto the roof and leaned back everytime a car passed us too close.

Getting around was pretty easy. Tuktuks are pletiful and don’t get bogged down in traffic. The most stressful part is from being unfamiliar with the people and customs. It’s hard to tell those being helpful from those trying to sell you hashish. Some people do both.