Sorry for the hiatus but been back from a 7-day trip from:
INDIA!
Here’s the highlights and lowlights:
LOW LIGHTS: Gained 3 freaking kilos!
After hearing my friends warn me about the dangers of drinking water in India and haunting stories of tourists suffering from malaria and L.B.M., it’s surprising that I still managed to gain 3 kilos within 6-7 days!
What can I say?
With food THIS good, how can I refuse having a serving, or two, or three? Nan totally rocks!
HIGH LIGHTS: Ahem, did I mention the food was just to die for?
Goodbye diet… hello regret… NOT!
Every single bit of food was worth it. And though I know the dallops of oil are so sinful, I just couldn’t help myself. Heck, am on vacation! I’ll just lose the weight when I get back.
LOW LIGHTS: Found out that some Indians can be extremely frustrating!
Bargaining was such a chore and I’ve almost been cheated out of a opal ring I bought from a gift shop! That darn man thought I was stupid and replaced the stone with a sub-par one after we made a deal! Grrrrrr….!
They would also coerce you to enter your shop with “USD 1 scarves, shoes, etc.” but then try to sell you their products at higher 200 rupee prices! At one point, I got so frustrated at the vendor and said, “Do NOT waste my time. The price is 150 rupee and I know you are making a profit ot 50 rupee. So either you accept the price or I’ll walk away.“
Sometimes, you have to be stern with them to get somewhere.
HIGHLIGHTS: Got 2 marriage proposals
Not kidding — it must be that way in India where immediate proposals and weddings are quite common. Sheesh, I can’t really count how many times I’ve been said to be beautiful, and had my picture taken with locals.
You can’t help but feel like a celebrity!
Or a weird Asian that looks totally out of place in India.
Anywho, now I can really say I am single by choice. 🙂
I was at this store that sold scarves when the owner said, “You’re very beautiful. Will you marry me?”
Me: “Huh?”
Owner: “I like you very much. If you want, we can get married tomorrow.”
Me (in disbelief): “You gotta be joking. You don’t even know me.”
Owner: “Give me 30 minutes of your time and let’s have coffee and get to know each other. Or I can go to your hotel tonight and we can have a drink. The wedding can be prepared in 2-3 days.“
Me: “How much is that scarf again?”
Owner: “It’s USD 100. But if you agree to meet me, I will give you 5 of them for free. I really like you. Will you marry me?”
Me: “Ah no, I don’t even know you.”
Owner: “You can get to know me. Why not go for Indians? We are very strong.”
Me: -_-
And I will not elaborate on my second proposal where the guy asked me if he can kiss me.
So forward la, but all you can do is rebuff their advances and go your merry way.
At least, you can’t fault a guy for trying.
Low Lights: It was extremely hot in India with very long travel times
To get to India, we had to fly 6 hours on a cramped China Airlines plane, leaving at 11:45 pm. Sleep in the bus AND the train and arriving at noon. Some of the traveling between cities took 5-7 hours by bus!
Thank God I fall asleep very easily otherwise I would be so tired by now.
However, the highlights are the sights themselves.
They make every second in an uncomfortable bus oh so worth it.
*thumbs up*
Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:
The Red Fort in Jaipur
My roommate screamed and shouted as we lolled up the red fort in a huge, stinking elephant but the sights up ahead was so worth it. The photo does no justice but all the architecture, history and heritage in India was eye-popping amazing.
Rode a camel in the scorching heat.
It’s official — my skin is now as dark as an Indian.
A lot of the structures are made out of marble and red stone. It’s quite incredible how people of hundreds of years old can create such intricate buildings and structures, and contain high roofs only to house a couple of tombs.
Believe it or not, most of these structures are mausoleums or empty temples, but they are beautiful just the same:
This houses one of the 2nd sultans’ tombs, and is the structure of which the Taj Mahal was based:
And of course, the newly-minted one of the seven wonders of the world — the Taj Mahal.
Just the sight of it takes your breath away, and you gotta be there to actually take in the diverse culture that lies amongs its walls and see for yourself what is myth and not.
See all the colors of India? Going to India is just like a rainbow of cultures! Indians don’t really hesitate to wear bold, bright colors that scream, “Look at me!”
Anyway, it was a thoroughly enjoyable trip to go to Jaipur, Agra and New Delhi. And tomorrow, it’s back to the daily grind!
Nevertheless, had a lot of fun in India and I’ll see if I can post new updates soon!
