These elephants greet you upon entering the Garden of Five Senses in Delhi

Not a typical tourist stop, the Garden of Five Senses is a whimsical sculpture park worth visiting. It's also popular with local couples escaping societal judgment against PDA.

Congestion does not begin to describe traffic in Delhi. It follows its own logic, and yet somehow, miraculously, it works — blowing horns and all. A red light means you might want to consider stopping. Or not.

Driver: Obama came for visit. Business relationship is very good. China is very jealous.

“This was clearly a spot favored by amorous young couples.”

Wally noticed a sign for the Garden of Five Senses and we asked our driver to take us there. He referred to it as Honeymoon Park. He thought we were crazy to want to go there.

Young couples were aggressively pushing past us to purchase tickets to gain admission. In addition to admission fees for sites in India, many have an additional photography fee that you have to pay if you want to take pictures inside the site. We were not permitted to enter the park without a photography permit.

This was clearly a spot favored by amorous young couples to spend time away from the public eye, tucked into the privacy of shadowed archways or behind a curved wall, locked in an embrace and kissing. I felt that we had entered a subworld, as Indian society is generally conservative, especially in regards to public displays of affection. Ironically, there's a sign on the ticket kiosk exclaiming in capital letters, PLEASE MAINTAIN DECENCY.

Duke in the Garden of Five Senses. Note the couple(s) hidden in the nook below

A random highlight was a colorfully decorated camel, which is apparently available for rides.

Overall, the park is fun to explore, with a variety of styles of statues. You feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland, never knowing what lies ahead.

Children of the Street

Back in the car, two children performed on a narrow packed dirt median while our car was paused at a light. The young boy beat a tabla drum, while the young girl proceeded to execute three perfect back flips. Wally rolled down the window and gave her 4 rupees, which she took and ran ahead.

Our driver smiled and looked at Wally in the rearview mirror. He explained that the government pays for two children to go to school, but since families often end up having more than two children, the others are forced to beg for money. –Duke