Travelog: Heat under the Indian sun

I've never imagined I would be under such a scorching heat, and when I say the word, I really mean it's scorching, freaking, awfully hot. Really. Okay, 45 degress, mind you.

As the summer approaches here in the middle east so as the temperature. But it's different in India. I dunno but just the moment we got out of the airport, my make-up was being erased by my sweat right away. I swear, it's like we were inside an oven and we're set to be cooked.

The hotel is fabulous. Totally a 5-star. Hotels in India are way way better compared to Europe. Perhaps its cheaper in India that's why they give the best for us. Lol!

When I lay here in my bed

I whisper to myself, "This is life!" Lol!

Le Meridien, India

Such a pretty and huge hotel.

I'm flying with a Filipina again, so lucky me! :) We decided to eat dinner outside and to go to the infamous night market of Janpath. It is near to the hotel so we just walked until we reached the place. It's like Divisoria in our country where they sell clothes, souvenirs, accessories and many beautiful and colorful items. It's India's trademark, the prints and colors. Shopping in India is actually cheap but the vendors are smart. Once they see you're a foreigner they double or triple the price. Well you gotta outsmart them by using your bargaining skills and charm of course! The second picture below was a very pretty dress priced for 700rupees, but to my stinginess, I got it for... 300 rupees. Ha!

Too much bling bling :)

The print is prettier in person!

After the tiring shopping Roda and I went to a nearby Pizza hut and ordered pasta and pizza. We tried the spicy dishes because we believed we were in India and spices are their specialty. To our disappointment, the spiciness of the food did not go well with our taste buds. I like spicy foods but when the spicy flavor overpowers the original flavor of the food and you barely can't taste it, it's no good at all.

Soo spicy! I was full from drinking too much water!

The next day, Roda, Mish (our steward) and I got off early from the hotel to see one of the world's wonders. :)

Goodness, I think I did 4 legs prior to Taj Mahal. We didn't expect that it was too far from the hotel! It was 5 hours away because it is located in Agra and it was like 200 kilometers away from Delhi! I kept on sleeping and waking up from my slumber during the travel. At some point, I can feel the heat outside going inside the car. Geez.

Some random pictures from the looong travel. :)

We still look sleepy don't we?

The nth accident that day. Too much road accidents in India!

Yes! Most tuktuk do this! Lol! Siksikan!

The gang on the way to Taj mahal

They ask too much from foreigners. Around 800 rupees

but for the locals only 300!

The entrance we had to endure under the hot hot sun.

I can't even understand at times what the tour guide is saying. Lol!

The gate to the palace of love

Namaste, Taj Mahal!

Mid shot

And a close-up shot

The tour was refreshing. It's like a trip down memory lane back in my history class. Before I would just gaze lovingly at the Taj mahal pictures in my books but now I'm actually in front of it. It's standing big right before me. It's amazing. Beautiful.

Touching the marbles and the stones intricately constructed by 22,000 laborers, speculating the monument of love which King Shah Jahan waited for 22 years to complete for his love Mumtaz Mahal, and climbing the 22 stairs up the chosen palace, all the heat is definitely worth the wait. It's worth it.

Goodbye the Chosen one.

I didn't buy any replicas of the Taj Mahal. They say the palace has become a tomb for the lovers and if you buy a replica of it, it's as if you bought a tomb for yourself too. They say it'll bring bad luck so I never thought of buying one anyway.

After the tour at the Taj Mahal we went to an Indian restaurant to eat. Sorry not too much pictures as I feel so messy and sticky from the heat. At least we had a decent food to eat and not overly spiced! What I liked most of what we ate was the sweet potato balls, an Indian dessert! Yum yum!

Tastes like embutido, nothing special.

After that we went to some interesting shops...

Beautiful marbles with precious stones

Impeccably done by the descendants of the Taj Mahal laborers

Beautiful finished products

This is a royal carpet once used before in the palace.

It is embroidered with precious real stones, and, is NOT FOR SALE!

These are pretty. Sigh.

All in all I enj0yed the tour. Though I have to experience again the grueling 5 hours travel back to the hotel. It's an experience that doesn't happen everyday anyway!

I gotta love Delhi! :)

Travelog: Namaste India!

For the first week of the love month, I’ve been to Lucknow, India.

Lucknow is a small and humble province in India but not too much away from civilization. However, as compared from its tourist capital in Delhi, only a few people here can speak English, yes they all speak Hindi, making conversations with the locals a bit of problem.

If you plan to travel here, just take the tour from the hotel because exploring the town on your own can be difficult, like what happened to us. J

We stayed at Vivanta by Taj, 30-minute drive from the airport and the hotel was nice.

Check out my room. It feels majestic with those colorful pillows and curtains!

Oh, and did I say that the people at Vivanta were so warm and welcoming? Like everything they say came from their hearts and not because they were obliged to do so!

Before we went out for dinner, we saw a pictorial of an Indian wedding. The groom’s outfit was extravagant with all the accessories and colorful clothing. I wasn’t able to see the bride but my colleague told me that the bride was wearing a beautiful silk saree that night.

Sorry for a not so clear picture J

For our first night, the whole crew went out to eat, wherelse but in an Indian restaurant. We wouldn’t have been to India if we will not try their spicy Indian foods. We went to Barbeque nation, starved, tired, and ready to eat those chilis. J

Here’s a picture of us having a gastronomic fun.

The food was okay. What I liked most is the barbecued chicken and shrimp, twas both crunchy but tender inside and the spiciness is just right. I also liked chicken briyani and I’ve never eaten chicken briyani anywhere in KSA. But the most favorite that night even the whole crew loved it is the vanilla ice cream. I don’t know if there’s something special with the ice cream or we just ate too much spicy, but it is really friggin’ good. J

After we pigged out we roam around a nearby mall and here we found, sarees, sarees, and sarees!

The next day my Egyptian friend Mona and I went out to explore Lucknow. We just grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel and we’re off to go. But it took me some time to finish the most delicious yoghurt my taste buds have ever savored. I’d love to go to India again to buy some of it.

After that, we went to the zoo because Mona wanted to ride an elephant. Elephants in India are considered sacred and holy. Unfortunately, we did not see any and there’s like nothing too interesting in the zoo. Good thing I’ve seen elephants before in Manila. J

The main means of transportation in India is the ‘tuk-tuk’. It’s a small three-wheeled cart and also a three-wheeled cabin.

It’s the same as the tricyle in our country.

There is another one but I forgot to ask what it’s called. It’s like the same as pedicab in Manila except for the the seating cabin is attached at the back of the bicycle and the driver has to pull all the weight for us. It’s really hard work considering that it’s only worth measly rupees. By the way the currency in India is of the same worth as ours in peso. So back to the pedicab, it’s like kalesa for us without the horse.

Well, Mona and I wanted to go to a bazaar where we could buy some souvenir and other Indian stuff. We were talking to almost everyone but they could not speak English. That’s why it could have been better if we took the hotel tour. After some hard negotiation, an Indian man agreed to bring us to a bazaar because he quite understood the 'bazaar' word. And so we took his pedicab and geez, it’s the most dangerous ride I’ve ever been. I swear I could have died on that ride, no seatbelts, no safety or anything. And the traffic in India was mad, each vehicle is trying to cross over every street not paying attention on the traffic lights. Oh, good thing nothing bad happened to us. But, the Indian man did not bring us to a market or a souk or a place like Divisoria. Yes he cheated on us and he brought us to a boutique full of clothes. We could have been not mad if he brought us to a store full of sarees but no, it’s all yards of linens ready to be sewn. And then I just remembered a friend of mine telling me a story that when she went to India, but not Lucknow, the cab driver brought them to a store of his friend and asked them to buy anything from it. It’s like they bring tourist to their friend’s store and they will get commission in return.

Disappointed, we hailed a tuk-tuk and asked to bring us to Imam Bara. Imam bara is a shrine built for employment in Lucknow. It's one of the grandest building in the town. The entrance at the historic site was nice. I always marvel at ancient buildings or anything that were preserved for its historical value. It’s like you’ll be able to relive the prehistoric era when you experience or visit ancient sites.

Mona and I went inside the building that was behind me in the picture above. It is the Indian’s ancestral and cultural heritage. Upon entering, one should remove their shoes as a symbol of respect. It is quite weird because the weather was sunny and bright but when we removed our shoes, the floor of the temple was very cold. There was nothing very special inside the mosque, just some old pictures of their past. But the architecture was beautiful. People before were so artsy and good in architecture even without technology.

We only had a short tour because of our short layover. After that we just bought some souvenir outside the site (yes, we found something to buy, hee) and then we went back to the hotel.

For just 24 hours I’ve almost visited the popular spots in Lucknow. I could say that I quite enjoyed the town, the food and the people but I’m not interested to come back again. Perhaps Delhi will be on my next list because I’d like to see the Taj Mahal and buy authentic pashmina! J

Namaste, India!