India 2011

(SO… we all know I’m terribly AWESOME at keeping up these travelogues… *shifty eyes*

*sweeps unfinished Japan trip posts under a gigantic rug*

Wish me luck…)

I never thought I would travel to India. Not that I was ever actively against the premise, but to be honest the idea never crossed my mind!

So when my mum told me that her best friend’s daughter, Tina was going to marry her Indian fiancé in a traditional ceremony in India and we were invited, I said yes immediately, knowing this was the opportunity of a lifetime.

…and then when I found out the wedding was going to be held on the lake palace of Jag Mandir, I made sure my mum was really sure how positive my “yes” response really was (ie. very positive. VERY VERY positive).

Jag Mandir island, the wedding location.
…I KNOW!

So that’s how I ended up on a plane to Delhi in February, with my mum, my aunt, and my good friend Fi (who happens to be Tina’s bestie since forever, and who has known me since I was in nappies!)

I can’t say any of us knew what to expect. We were only there for 9 days – an incredibly short time, and half of that was dedicated to attending wedding ceremonies (plural of course… this is an Indian wedding after all!)

Me taking part in Tina’s wedding ceremonies! (Ao Dai rprsnt.)

The plan was to fly in early and hang out in Delhi for a few days, take a trip to Agra and see the Taj Mahal and do all that touristy stuff – before taking a short flight to the northern part of India into Udaipur, Rajasthan – where the wedding was to be held. What followed was definitely the most amazing and intense trip I’ve ever been on. Intense in colour, emotion, flavour and every other sense of the word.

Beautiful Rajasthani girls welcoming us to Udaipur in their native dress

But firstly I feel like I have to make a disclaimer – as part of a wedding party – we were in no way slumming it for this trip. Tina, her fiancé, and her mother did a crazy amazing job making sure our trip was as smooth and easy as possible – recommending nice places to stay and eat, and even organising a driver to look after us for the time we were there. I appreciate that I was definitely experiencing the country from a extremely privileged position.

… now onto the posts!

01 – Delhi – Delhi Girls
02 – Delhi – Gandhi Smriti
03 – Delhi – Jama Masjid
04 – Delhi – Red Fort
06 – Delhi – Saravana Bhavan
07 – Delhi – Cha Bar Oxford Bookstore

Coming soon…..
Delhi – Humayun’s Tomb
Agra – Taj Mahal
Udaipur
Wedding Ceremonies!
Jagmandir

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