We left right after Thanksgiving lunch to the airport. There, our plane was delayed first by 30 minutes, then an hour, then over two hours. I was convinced we'd miss our connection but in the end we had about 15 minutes to haul ass across JFK and get on our plane. We made it! We also had an upgrade to business class thanks to my friend. It was the sweetest ride ever. We had the normal perks- champagne when you get on, nicer meals (with a damn MENU to pick from), sweet TVs, but the nicest part- our chairs laid 180 degrees FLAT. It was amazing and I never want to fly economy again. So my SO needs to start racking up frequent flyer miles so we can start traveling in style!
At the airport in Delhi we met my friend's friend who we spent the next week traveling with. Our driver was late to pick us up, but it really wasn't a big deal. We got to the hotel around 5 am, took a power nap and then we were out for the day.
Our driver took us to all the normal tourist attractions. Our first stop was the Red Fort. As we were walking in this guy came up to my SO and said "one picture please?" We were all sort of confused like did he want us to take a picture of him and his family? Turns out the guy wanted a picture of his wife and baby with my SO! And this continued throughout the entire damn trip! (though mostly people wanted pictures with me) It was entertaining at first, and then it got hella annoying. Sometimes it was okay and cute like these old ladies would stand close to me and sneak a picture and I'd say "do you want a picture?" and they'd get all excited and call over all their friends. But at one point there were a whole bunch of teenager boys trying to get pictures and it was frustrating as hell. Out of all the research I did on India never once did I come across something that said they'll want pictures with white people.
Our favorite place in Delhi was Humayun's Tomb. It was just beautiful and really well preserved. We also went in the late afternoon and the lighting was simply gorgeous.
After a day in Delhi we drove to Jaipur. I liked Jaipur much more than the hustle bustle of Delhi. (Random side note- I always thought I could be happy living anywhere for a certain amount of time. Being in Delhi changed my mind about that! I'd hate it there! Way too big of a city!!) Jaipur is mostly known for its shopping, so that's what we did!!! I have to say I am really good at bargaining, I didn't live for three years in Latin America for nuttin! I'd go into a store and be like...
me: "How much is this scarf?"
guy: "500 ruppees"
me: "No, that's too much"
guy: "But this is good quality"
me: "I bought the same thing in another store for much cheaper. Thanks anyways"
guy: "No no! Name your price!"
me: "Two for 400 ruppes"
guy: "This is impossible! How can I give you a discount of over 50%? Take two for 900 ruppees"
me: "No, two for 400"
guy: "Okay, two for 800"
me: "Never mind, goodbye. Thanks"
guy: screaming after me "Okay, two for 600!" me still walking "Okay! Your price!"
me: "Thanks!"
We also saw a few forts and a bunch of elephants! I didn't end up riding one because I don't know about the humane aspect of it all. But they were nice to see for sure. I also got a shirt tailor made. It's beautiful, I just love it. The tailor guy totally felt me up while taking my measurements. But I got a sweet shirt, so it's totally worth it.
My SO picking out fabric for his shirt.
Elephants! And my tailor made shirt.
After Jaipur we went to Agra. The first day we went to Fatehpur Sikri, a fortress. It was nice but there were so many really annoying guides there. This one guy followed us for about 10 minutes. Geeze!
(My cheap ass prescription sunglasses I ordered online were the bomb diggity!)
Of course the highlight of Agra was the Taj Mahal! (Side note- on the way in they check your bags and such. While the lady was going through my bag this monkey jumped down. Now I am no monkey novice. Most tourists would be like "oh cute monkey!" but I know better. That mother fucker was trying to steal my shit! So I grabbed up all my shit the lady had taken out of my purse and hissed at the monkey. It growled at me and I hissed back. It eventually went away but later I saw it take stuff from someone else's bag. I've got good monkey reflexes!) It was so beautiful it's hard to describe. We went early and there weren't too many people. The morning light was stunning and the sprinklers weren't turned on yet so the reflecting pool was doing some damn good reflecting.
Reflecting the shit out of that Mahal!
We had to wear shoe protectors while walking around the marble. Sexy.
After Agra we drove back to Delhi and took a plane to Dehra Dun where my friend was getting married!! The night we got there we went over to her house to get mehndi done, but the guys had left already. We were talking to my friend when her mom comes up and says "now it's time for the Americans to dance!" I laughed, but it was not a joke. Within five minutes me and the other two friends from the USA were up on the stage in front of everyone dancing! haha!
The next day was a lot of fun. There was a short ceremony in the morning and then a sweet party that night. The whole weekend was a combination of North and South Indian traditions, clothing and ceremonies. The party was for officially bringing the groom to the house. It was supposed to be his side of the family parading down the street and dancing. But since he didn't have too much family there ("only" about 50 people) me and the other USA friends went as well. And it's a good thing too since we were the only ones dancing the whole way!! It was a lot of fun. We were also sneak drinking (both sets of families are pretty conservative and do NOT drink) it was hilarious. There was an amazing party with superb food. I'll mention this now- I probably gained 15+ lbs on this trip. During the wedding weekend we must have eaten every two hours. At the end of this big party after eating the entire time, we had a sit down dinner. I was so damn full I sat to be nice, but people kept giving me food. So I ate! It was a running joke between the foreigners the entire time- "I'm sooo fulll... Time for second breakfast!" "I can't eat anymore... wait, is there coffee? Is there gulab jamun? Okay, I'll have some!"
Part of the morning ceremony. The guy dresses like a wanderer and the girl's family tries to convince him to marry the girl. Very cool.
With the groom ready for the bharat!
Dance!
The third wedding day was long and drawn out. I wore a lengha sari (half sari) and I didn't love it. But this lady had made matching lenghas for the family so I was thrilled to be included. The ceremonies on this day were cool, but hella long. By far the worst part was the ceremonies were indoors and the priest had smoke/fire going the entire time. I already had a sore throat and cough and it was damn near unbearable to be around that smoke for so long. I eventually went and sat by the door away from the smoke. That night I felt like shit. I also smelled like smoke which I can't stand and had to take a cold ass shower (it got to around 40F [4C] in this area so the cold showers did blow). Woe is me, right?
Matching lenghas!
The last day of ceremonies was not a ceremony but a reception. Since the reception was at night we went on a day trip up to Mussoorie, a nearby mountain town. It was gorgeous and I got my first glimpse ever at the Himalayas!!! The trip was almost hard to enjoy for me because of the twisty turny small ass roads on the side of a cliff with barely a guardrail we had to take to get up there. I was so certain of falling to my doom at one point I started getting teary thinking about how sad my SO would be if I died. I need to get my imagination in check!
The reception was nothing short of luxurious. My friend had told me 2000 people would come, I'd be surprised if there weren't 4,000 people there. It was like being at a damn concert! There was food and a DJ and these two HUGE tents put up. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Of course, so was the bride! Unfortunately the party didn't last nearly as long as the other party, but we still had a great time. And of course after the party guests (basically the entire damn village) had left and all of us were stuffed on party food- we had a sit down dinner! Haha!
After lots of people had left, this is one of the two giant tents set up.
My SO and I with the lovely bride and groom. My SO was really feeling himself in his new purple coat (the real name I forgot) and new camel leather shoes that were handmade in front of him in Jaipur.
The day we left was very emotional for the family. Everyone was crying, it made me cry a little too. They were sad because my friend was leaving the country, but also because she left the family (since she was married now). I know that's technically bullshit, especially since she's going to live 15 minutes from her parent's house, but I guess it was still pretty symbolic for them.
We got back to Delhi around 1pm on Monday and hired a driver to take us around a bit. We wanted to see Akshardham which is a really nice temple, but of course it was CLOSED. Closed every Monday. Dammit. We saw a few other things and got back to the airport around 10pm. Our flights left at 3am the next morning so we hung out and spent the last of our rupees. We had a 9 hour flight to Heathrow where we had a beer at 7am (London time!) and changed our shirts and underwear and brushed our teeth, then a 9 hour flight back home on a shitty ass plane that didn't have those personal TVs. (Woe is me again, right?) Luckily that second flight was fairly empty and I managed to get an entire row to myself and stretch out. Unfortunately I had finished my book and didn't have shit to do except stare at the ceiling. At least they kept us really well fed! haha
My mom came to pick us up and I started showing them some of the stuff we bought when I went to take a shower and a nap around 4pm. I woke up from that nap at 5am this morning. HAHA!
So yeah, great fucking trip. I think my favorite part was when my homebody SO turned to me on the flight home and said "so where are we going next year?"
TL;DR--
-Getting there- almost missed plane, made it anyways. Flew business class, it was sweet.
-Delhi- where everyone wanted a picture with me. Cute at first, annoying by the end.
-Jaipur- lots of shopping, some nice sites, I am the queen of bargaining.
-Agra- TAJ MAHAL!!!
-Dehra Dun- amazing wedding. First day not much, second day great ceremony with tons of dancing at night, third day long with lots of smoke, fourth day amazing reception, fifth day lots of tears leaving.
-Getting home- long ass plane rides, got home and took a nap that ended up lasting 13 hours.
-My SO wants to travel more!!
Read the whole blog, but then read the cliffnotes anyway, you're hilarious. (In case you didn't already know.)