Want a nice place to visit and that can possibly change your life? Well India is that place.
We went to the Golden Triangle. New Delhi, Japar and Agra. It really interesting to see how others live. I traveled with Culture Holidays which is an India based Travel Supplier. We stayed in 3 different hotels over the 7 days. The first hotel was decent. It was like the stopover hotel. No matter who you ask, they always say don’t drink the water. Well, the first day I was in the shower and there was a rain shower head. A drop of water got my lip. I jumped out of the shower with my lip poked out and got some soap and bottled water and rubbed it across my lips. I was terrified cause I didn’t want to get sick. Had also been told not to eat raw veggies or fruits. What do I see when I get downstairs? Folks in my party eating raw veggies and fruits. I was really giving them the side eye, for real. We were traveling by 50 passenger bus with 4-6 hours in between cities and it could have been a shytty situation.
I tell you what…they will ride a horse, donkey, bicycle, motorbike, car, truck etc. If it will move, they will ride it. They also don’t care anything about traffic laws. I’m not sure if they even have traffic laws. The way our bus driver would just turn out in traffic and everyone would just veer around him was truly amazing. So amazing that I had to close my curtains and keep taking Nikki Naps. If I was gonna be in an accident or died, I wanted to be surprised, didn’t want to see it coming. And guess what? Someone ended up getting sick. Could have been me if I didn’t get that drop of water off of my lip.
We were able to get a custom Saris made to visit the Taj Mahal. My friend Anita had the fabric that I wanted which was a silver. She wouldn’t give it up. So, I ended up with the pink fabric. Which actually ended up being perfect because I had pink shoes and pink earrings with me. Everything happens for a reason. They made and delivered the Saris before breakfast the next day. Talk about service.
We went very earlier in the morning before it got really hot and the crowds came so we were able to get the pictures we wanted and get in and get out. We went there during a special time. Don’t quite remember what it was but we actually were able to go down into the tomb and see their final resting place. No pictures were allowed but the memory will live on through me. Went to Ghandi’s burial place and also got to ride an elephant during this week long journey. It’s like we were famous over there. Everywhere we went, people were taking our pictures or wanted to take pictures with us. People were so kind. When some ladies saw my sari wasn’t on correctly, they took pins out of their garments to make sure I was good and properly covered.
I was really concerned about the food. Because I know Indian Food can be really spicy and I’m not a curry fan. But they dumbed it down for us. It was really good. Some of the best lamb I have ever had. Now I love naan, butter chicken, lentils and lamb. The funny part is we had been eating Indian food for days and we spotted a McDonalds. They asked did we want to stop. Ummm hell yh. I could tell by how big their eyes got when we walked in that they weren’t expecting 30 people to come in at one time. But they handled it like champs. Everything was fresh and delicious. They don’t serve beef so it was Chicken Big Macs and Filet a Fishes all over the place. And they had FRIED APPLE PIES. If you didn’t know. Those are not sold in the US. We only get the baked.
Since I worked for the Sheraton at the time as a bartender, I was eligible for hotel discounts. Before we left the US, I asked my friends did they want to stay some place fancy for the last night in New Delhi. Only one of them took me up on it. OMG it was amazing. White glove service as soon as you step out of the car. We stayed where the Presidents and Diplomats stay at ITC Maurya. All of their pictures are on the wall. Obama and Putin to name a few. It was great. Dupioni silk pillows and curtains. So nice and put together. Really nice spa experience as well, needed to relax after our journey.
We also had to eat at the world famous Bukara. Tommy Hilfiger’s picture was on the wall in there. They have this large that was for like 16 people. We didn’t care that it was just the two us. We were in India and we were going to eat it anyway. That meal was amazing but the company was even better. Boy, did we laugh and laugh and laugh.
We hired a driver to take us shopping at a market. We bought some skirts, blankets and other trinkets. You know Indian clothes have a lot of beading. So they are heavy. I was able to fit everything into my luggage. But babayyy…When I got to the airport, they were’t having it. They made me buy an extra suitcase and pay for an extra bag because I was so much overweight. But you know what…I wouldn’t change a thing.
I got my 5th Wonder of the World checked off Whoop Whoop
