We leave Amanbagh on a supposed 5 hour trip that turned into 8! 3 hours stuck in Dehli sharing the roads with camels, tractors, busses, cars packed with more ppl in their then I can count and the same with 4 passengers plus tv on a motorcycle. No it did not have a side thingy.
We pass the toll roads through Gurgaon which is where the 24hr offices of tech India reside. These offices see 3 shifts a day and never sleep. Oh and they have no running water or electricity. All running on generators. Back to the toll road! So after we finally pass and get closer to South Dehli, the guy handing the change acts really quickly and tells us to hurry off. A bit confused I ask our guru and he says that traffic has gotten so bad that a week prior a man shot the teller bc he took too long to give the change. Now I've been in Dehli for about 3 days and I'm starting to understand the meltdowns.Anyway, after the long drive we settle in to the beautiful Leela Palace and have our first very much needed western meal of salad and pizza. YUM! Note to future travelers. I ordered a G+T and when the bill came it was over $30. Not bc it was NYC but bc they charge 15 for 1mL of alcohol and 15 in tax and luxury tax. Awesome. Big fluffy white crisp bed please. Today I won't bore you but it was a much needed break from yesterdays traffic induced hell. Gym! Then a bit of sun on their new rooftop pool where all I could think of was "Oh perfection of a cloud less but smokey sky as I float through pools of heaven". Followed by sliders, Vogue magazine and a basket full of body misters, oils, menus, and Mexi style lemonade. A bit of retail therapy followed by a glass of wine and I was induced back into white fluffy crispbed from the heavens and I wasn't going anywhere! In bed by 7pm. See you mañana
Wake up for wedding day. In the morning I have a quick meeting with Natasha the Director of Sales & Marketing for Leela and after talking business I am introduced to a new concoction of Indian bfast. Yes I'm back to Hindi food.
My fave was Uttapam which is a pancake made of rice flour so its savoury with spice and oh so nice. I have learned that my spice tolerance has highly improved and I'm feeling quite empowered. 
After the yum the stress kicks in. We find out that for the wedding reception, we must wear a sari or a long dress. Mayday mayday! I've been traveling w/ 2 knee length dresses(and all accroutements) for no apparent reason. So I call Kanika a local "Dehlien" (thanks H) and we meet at the mall where fashionistas draped in Louis Vuitton and Gucci shop for saris way over my budget starting around a grand. We have 2 hrs before we need to be at the grooms house and we are still looking! Kanika suggests her favorite place called Roop and this wonderful man named Kailesh. He draped us in meters of saris while sipping some chai. It was fun for sure. Time for Henna. These kids were amazing! After we picked out our designs that they didn't follow they sit us down and get to work. Two guys working on me and 2 w/ Gigi sitting on benches in the middle of the sidewalk. 20 min later we are out and poor Vijay is now holding our purses and digging into our wallets to pay the hennistas. No shower. No time. Off to Damens wedding.
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