Mosques and Hard Rock

Woke up from a great nights sleep in my comfy bed and went downstairs for my breakfast of a buffet with a choice
of cereals, fruit juices, pastries and a great selection of teas I may add, this was a far cry from all the veggie omelettes and fruit lassi's I would normally have and I took the advice of breakfast should be the biggest meal of the day literally! After I had a little list as per, of my plan of action for the day and decided to explore the world of the Delhi metro and managed to find an iPhone app which came in incredibly handy showing which trains I had to take, when to switch trains and exactly how much and it was bang on every time. The closest metro station was only round the corner so I walked over and bought my token (you state your destination and are given a blue plastic token for the exact amount needed to get to your destination no matter how many trains it takes you). I wish I had discovered the metro in Delhi before as I could have saved a fortune and a lot of time and hassle bargaining with auto rickshaw drivers (average rickshaw price across the city was about 70 Rs and metro for same journey if not further about 20 Rs) plus the metro is clean, air-conditioned and hassle free from touts and beggers.
I was on my way to a familiar place the Chadni Chowk market area to visit Jama Masjid, the largest Mosque in the whole of India, just as well it was so big as I could see it from a mile off which made finding it a lot easier as if you don't know where your going rickshaw drivers will always make sure wherever you want to go is within driving distance and not walking distance. When I reached the top of the steps to the temple I took off my shoes and bought my ticket and was ushered over to get "cover", the muslim mosque is still very much in use and all legs must be covered, so no shorts, and women have to cover their arms too and non muslim visitors are not encouraged to stay long and are not allowed in during prayer time, so I got to wear skirt things tied around my waste to the great amusement of well, everyone! I was not the only westerner there but one of the only ones who came ill prepared, most other male tourists had planned ahead and worn trousers but then again I only had to wear this thing once for 30mins and it was definitely an experience. As soon as I stepped through into the huge open courtyard like area everyone was staring at me and at one point I had an actual crowd of people around me taking pictures and not even asking but just standing next to me to pose for pictures, I thought this was all hilarious!
After I'd wandered around for a bit and everyone had got bored of my presence, I bought a separate ticket to climb up one of the giant minarets where there was a cramped and claustrophobic yet amazing 360 degree view over the whole of Old Dehli.
Next on my list was Delhi Zoo so I headed back to the metro station and arrived at the station nearest to the zoo to find it closed, apparently Monday is a holiday day and many things such as the red fort are closed, it's not like I was desperate to see the zoo but I thought it would be a nice way to spend the afternoon and I love a good zoo. Anyway next was to find the Delhi Hard Rock cafe which is something I really did want to visit before I left because I was looking forward to a big american style meal and also I had promised my Dad I'd get him a pin to add to his collection :-) Thanks to my app I had the directions to the nearest metro station to the Hard Rock Cafe but the problem with the underground is you emerge from below at your destination having no sense of bearings but I managed to read my free city map somehow and found myself at an enormous shopping complex and went inside, it was basically like Delhi's version of Union Square at home but 10 times bigger and full of many familiar shops such as zara and jack jones as well as tgi fridays etc and even had a marks and spencers! This place was so big I got completely lost several times but enjoyed wandering around browsing because although I would have loved to go wild shopping especially as the prices are way lower than at home I barely had any room in my suitcase. I eventually found the Hard Rock cafe, I only have the Dublin one to compare it to but it was huge with a big stage and lots of nice smiley staff. I ordered a fanta and I giant chicken burger with some veggies on the side (my first in ages). After the staff were very helpful in letting me get up on the stage to take a picture of the 'Hard Rock Cafe New Delhi' sign and then I headed through to the gift shop where I bought my Dad a pin and treated myself to a polo shirt, god knows how it was going to fit in my suitcase but I always found myself running out of short sleeve tops and when next am I going to be able to get a Hard Rock Cafe Delhi one, well that's how I tried to justify the purchase at least!
By this time I was tired, completely stuffed and it was almost 9pm, I had been wandering around since midday and my shoulders ached from carrying around my bag with my massive guidebook amongst a heap of other things. Back on the metro I swiftly returned to Nehru Place and back to the hotel where again the door man who was busy chatting raced to open the door for me and gave me his usual salute (don't know why but always gave me a full on military salute!)
I then showered and changed and went downstairs to the bar and ordered a dirty vodka martini, not as easy as it sounded because the one on the menu was a gin martini so I explained at great length that I wanted the same but with vodka instead of gin, I got there in the end and slowly sipped my drink and wrote up my journal until about 11pm when it was way past my bed time. I retired to my room and 2012 on HBO until I basically fell asleep. Was going to be time to say goodbye to India the following day!