Sayonara India

Seven days I am in India, all I could say it is a tremendous experience I had. The people here are so nice and welcome. The foods.. hmmm… needless to say.. it’s always finger licking good to me!

Seven days also I and my children spent time with hubby 24/7. This evening all of us will leave India. Hubby will be going to Oman and me back to Malaysia.

I am sure besides hubby, the children would also miss the time we had here. The morning breakfast we had at the hotel, the morning greets that we had from the people in the hotel and also the ‘auto’ or trishaw that they love to ride.

Every morning when I woke up and pulled the curtain, from the hotel view I could see the setinggan house down there. I also could see many many people carrying a bottle of mineral water finding spots for their ‘busines’. There is a large compound at the opposite of the hotel. I could see all of them squads at different spots in the bush. Nampak kepala and kaler baju je ok… :P

Along my journey at any time, seeing people standing and pee by the roadside is a norm thing here. At first menjerit2 nengok.. After that tak heran dah.. I even tertengok a guy was squatting nak berak tepi jalan.. cit.. immediately I asked the children to turn and not to look at it!

My shoes were always dusty. Walking on the street here was sometimes adventurous too. Takut terpijak hasil2 mereka waktu pagi tu… Along the streets either in the town itself – New Delhi or small regions that we passed by going to Agra, we could see many setinggan house. This setinggan houses are build using any unwanted plastics or banner. They cook, eat and sleep there.

The whole India is dirty as the roads here always full with rubbish and dusty. I wonder where is the place or area that I watched in any of hindi movies. I feel pity and sorry looking at the people here. There are of course rich people here but the poor people here are just so poor. The country is so big with high populations of people. This is where you should have a good leader to lead the people.

Nevertheless… the beauty and modern of India could also be found here. The shopping malls here who of course for the rich and famous sell many international brands in market. I still could find clean toilets, good hotels and restaurants in here. This is of course for the people who have money.

Anyway, being in India is truly an experience. I have a mixture of feelings now – HAPPY spending time here with hubby and just can’t wait to be home but at the same time SAD as hubby is not following us back to Malaysia.

May I arrive home safely and hubby reaches Muscat safely too. Sayonara Delhi. Sayonara India.

No matter what, I’m still a big fan of bollywood movies!!

The Incredible Taj Mahal

It took us about four hours journey from Gugraon to Agra which located one of the seven wonders in the world – Taj Mahal. Once reached at the gate, we were greeted by the tourist guide and he brought us to the main gate/entrance. At that point I still couldn’t see the Taj Mahal and just couldn’t wait and was really thrilled about it.

There was a very long queue at the West gate and we had to walk about 5 minutes to take another gate which was the South gate. This is actually the entrance for the workers but the guide belasah je bawa masuk.. After passed the security check we were already in the area but still I couldn’t see the Taj Mahal. After brief explanations from the guide, we walked to the arch and where I stood there I saw the Taj Mahal.

Once my eyes set upon this beautiful palace, all I could feel and say was it is such a spectacular and breathtaking view. How lucky Mumtaz Mahal to have a loving husband that build him this beautiful castle. Sadly she was not alive to see this beautiful monument of loves.

I guess everybody knows the story of Taj Mahal. Taj Mahal was build by Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife. It took 22 years and the labor of 22,000 workers to construct the monument, which is also said to be the last wish of Mumtaz Mahal. Taj Mahal architecture is a kind of fusion of Persian, Central Asian and Islamic architecture.

When I walked closer to the palace, I was amazed again. Amaze of how people thousands years ago could build such a huge and beautiful things like this. The whole Taj Mahal was made from marble. It has beautiful calligraphic work which mainly consists of the verses and passages from Quran.

The view inside the Taj Mahal is as magnificent as its exterior. Sadly photos were not allowed to take inside here. It says that Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal original grave were actually down at the central of the Taj Mahal. Publics can get to visit the original’s grave only during the day death anniversary of Shah Jahan. As for the normal days we could see the replicas tomb at the same position at the central of the palace.

After about two hours spent there, all I could say.. Taj Mahal is so beautiful. People say it is even more beautiful during night time. As what Shah Jahan's own composition in praise of the Taj Mahal is found in Badshah Nama:

"The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs and makes sun and moon shed tears from their eyes. In this world this edifice has been made to display thereby the Creator's glory."

I told hubby.. if you were to build this beautiful castle for me – do it why I am still alive! Hahahahahaha.. Anyway.. the trip was such a worth trip to all of us. I am here with hubby and children to witness this incredible of Taj Mahal. One thing is for sure that if you visit Taj Mahal once, its memories will remain etched in your memory forever.

Foods in India

If I were to stay here another week, I will come back to Malaysia with a new shape of body.. perut boroi and kembang sana sini!! Hahahahahaha.. Foods over here are just so super duper yummy. I just couldn’t stop myself not to taste or eat.

Since the day I arrived, my breakfasts were Indian’s breakfast. It would be poori, idli, naan bread or whatever that you called Indian’s food. I just love to try it all one by one. Hubby said I won’t be suffering for hunger if we were to stay in India. Hahahahahaha.. indeed it’s true coz I just love Indian foods.

As for my lunch it would be briyani and briyani.. Since we were here we had turned to vegetarian. We doubted that meats or chickens here are halal. Vegeterian pun makan sampai tak ingat dunia. Be it either briyani vege or naan/poratha vege it’s just tastes so yummy and you don’t even notice that it is actually vege.

Hakeem is more adventurous in foods compare to Nabila. Nabila already complained about the foods here and wanted to eat chicken or food back in Malaysia. She hardly ate or reluctant to try. Yesterday I forced her to try out the briyani. After having it, she said.. “If I know it taste this good, I had eaten it from the day one!” Then she also tried Hakeem’s poratha and liked it immediately. Huh.. hari ke-3 baru nak rasa sedap…

So last night we walked to the nearby vegetarian restaurant to have our dinner. The place are always crowded as it’s one of the famous place in town. We had a set of Thali which consists of naan/paratha, paneer subzi, pulao, dal, papadom, salad, pickle and sweets. They really enjoyed the food.

Today hubby brought to the famous restaurant nearby to taste the briyani. Ni mmg 5 star restaurant kut.. We were greeted by 5 or 6 people at the door. They were wearing smart uniforms and the customers inside the restaurant too muka India2 kaya….

We ordered Vege Briyani and yes!.. finally ikan tenggiri goreng. Nabila loved it most as she missed so much to eat fish. The briyani was superb.. seriously I ate like a horse which later on sampai nak termuntah!! We had two sets of briyani, paneer curry and fried king fish. We even packed another king fish to eat for our dinner tonight.

At the end of our meal, they gave each of us a bowl of water with lime in it. I told the kids… jangan minum k.. these are not deserts but water for you to wash your hands! Cool kan… ye lah.. makan restaurant mahal… but still after converted to our money it was not that expensive.

So I have another two days to pulun makan briyani… Balik Malaysia kena kerja keras diet balik!!

Dilli Haat

Today I took my children out to Dilli Haat. Read in the internet, Dilli Haat is the place that I want to be. It’s is a beautiful marketplace of indian crafts. Dilli haat has number of shops within it of indian handicrafts which attracts a lot to tourists and local visitors of Delhi and all over India. Huh.. excited ni nak gi…

We took a hotel taxi to go there as it is located in the central of Delhi. It took about 30minutes to reach the place. Along the journey, the driver proudly told me name of the places and temples that we passed by. Yang paling tak tahan tu.. everytime we passed by the 5 star hotels, he would say “Madam.. this is Hyat our 5 star hotel”. This went on and on each 5 stars hotel we passed by. Bangga giler dia. Layan je lah… J

The traffic in Delhi is so a headache to me. It was not the jam but it’s the way they drive. My God.. they just keep squashing their car, auto or trishaw in between others though they know they couldn’t get thru plus the sudden break and stop. AND also they love to honk and honk for no particular reasons. Kalau sakit jantung mmg dah gugur mati waktu tu. Sikit2 hon… sikit2 hon.. suka betul deorg.

Anyway after 30minutes went thru the trauma we arrived at the place. When I saw the place, I already knew this was not the one I’ve seen on the web. Aduuhhh…. Frust betul!! He brought me to a place which of course sells all the handicrafts, textiles and souvenirs items but all these sold in one shop – fully a/c and definitely mahal ah ni…

I was expecting it’s gonna be an open market or probably like a bazaar or souk. Well.. anyway since I am already here and with no choice.. masuk je lah…I was greeted and welcomed (dlm hati.. habis ah kena ketuk aku..) once stepped out from the taxi.

The first section of the shop sells a wide range of saree, scarf, table clothes, cushion cover, garments, and bed covers. I was called to sit and looked at all the things that they thought might interest me. The prices all were not so bad but all are fixed price. When I asked why I couldn’t bargain he told me that the price are already cheap as it’s already subsidized by the government. Ye lah tu.. mcm ah betul!!

Then there were also sections for shoes, handicrafts, jewelry and carpets. I bought a few souvenirs and gifts. There were not many choices but still I shopped till I dropped.. hahahhahaha.. After about two hours there we headed back to the hotel.

On the way back we passed by a few historical places, government offices and of course 5 stars hotels around Delhi. Suddenly the driver pointed at one building and told me “Madam.. that is Amir Khan’s house” Huh…excitedly berpusing kepala nak nengok Amir Khan’s house. I asked him.. are you sure? With full confidence and proudly he nodded (which actually geleng kepala) said Yes.. Yes.. that is Amir Khan’s house.

Sorry ye.. no pictures taken as it was not really Amir Khan’s house. It was actually AMAN HOTEL. Huh.. setelah edisi siasat dibuat, the driver is actually from Jaipur and Delhi is quite a new place to him. So the excitement he had probably as much as me who are first time here.. Hahahahahahha.. Kalau ah Amir Khan pelakon suam-suam kuku rumah dah besar hotel.. mcm mana ah Sharukh Khan pulak!!