Agra Day #10

After a long wedding night and 3 hours of sleep we embark on a 4 1/2 hour journey to see the Taj Mahal. Half way in we stop at a diner fool of tourist, nik' nacks and a much needed Kingfisher beer with a side of paneer bashahi.
Revived and excited we get back in the car and hit traffic on Shwarzengger style steroids.  Little did we know that its a weekend and World Heritage Day which means everyone (busses, cows, bikes, tractors, camels, motorcycles, buffalo, tuk tuks, hijaras ( get to them in a bit) is on the road and entrance to the Taj is free. Mayhem turned into a flight from San Diego to London ( 8 hrs) and we got there an hour before closing! We meet our guide giving us as much info as he can in such a short period. Gigi and I trying to take that perfect picture playing with lighting, angles and flashes. ( We just got off an intl flight remember). Phew we did it.

Let's go to Amarvilas for a drink and tell you about enuks. Hijaras are ppl who are born with deformities in the genitalia department. Basically they look like transvestites with very slender bodies, broad backs and massive adams apple. They prefer to be outcasts of society but believe to have special powers. They would be invited to weddings or births bc of their good luck. Like any good corrupt genre, they also scam people into giving them money if not they will put a curse on you. They believe there are about a million roaming around the 18 million Dehlians today.

Anyway, we take the high speed train back to Dehli and in 2 hrs we are there. We arrive and our now friend Raman ( works for Quo Vadis) picks us up and tells us to get ready, he's taking us out on the town. Um, we just spent 15 hrs on the road but OK!  You can't say no to that face.
We dazzle our frazzled state and he takes us to modern 2011 life. Just like any big city, we arrive, cool handshake to the bouncer and we are in the Blue Bar. Hip music, full bar, baccarat style chandeliers and local women and men dancing and drinking together. This concept is actually pretty new in society. Women were never seen "out" with guy friends drinking, wearing skirts and...flats? (They'll get the hang of it soon enough).
Through conversation our Seikh friend tells us how he will marry for love because he doesn't believe in arranged but for his sister he wants an arranged marriage. Interesting?Double standard? Yes! Reminds me of Mexico.hmm Speaking of our great country we teach him our mexican tequila of "arriba, abajo, al centro" and call it a night.
Of course we now invite eye candy to the wedding.

Dehli Day 7 & 8 " Good Horn, Good Brakes and Good Luck"

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. 

Bliss Dehli Day 2
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

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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.