India/Istanbul Trip Day 3: India gate and clubbing the night away (2/27)

After a long day past 2 days, we slept in and got a late start to the day. Everyone meets in lobby and gets to the shuttles where we go to lunch. The place we go is under renovations so we go across the street to Lutyen's which has a large expat clientele which was par for the course on many of the places we went for food. Have some interesting looking cocktails and some good food and then we head out to India Gate which is their Arc de Triomphe (has names of people in different military divisions who I guess died in battle carved all over the gate) on the mall opposite the Parliament house.

Lots of people gathered around the India Gate.

Cool structure behind the india Gate.

Thats the parliament building in the far background.

You can start seeing the definition of the gate.

See the Parliament building there in the distance?

I guess this is kinda like the eternal flame in Arlington?

View from the other side.

Cool people hanging out at the Gate :)

Drive around the parliament house entry a few times (cool building which we will come back to later in the trip to explore but there is no where to park today so we dont stop) so people can look at it and then park at the india gate lot so we can explore a little bit. Walk around a little bit and I leave the group as I wanted to go look at other things and this older lady pins a little Indian flag on me (no asking just comes up and does it) and then asks for 100rs. I said no and told her to take it back as I am not paying and start walking in and she then says the 100rs is an entrance fee. Entrance fee to a public space???? I think not my friend. So then she says its for a donation for the kids she teaches, where I wondered why she was out at 2pm during the day hustling foreigners instead of teaching her kids; so naturally I say no and just walk away no longer listening (when we were leaving these ladies were no longer around which makes me think the cops shooed them away). Take some pics around the gate and the group catches up so we hang out for a bit and then go check out a nearby fountain real fast before getting on the vans to go check out the Lodi garden area.

Sign in Lodi garden.

The Tomb. Cool looking building.

Another side with a little better lighting.

Pretty flowers in the park.

Going up into the tomb.

Tombs and look out the other side.

Actual garden in the garden :)

Another cool looking tomb.

Front view.

This tomb is much bigger and more intricate than the first.

Liking the carvings/stone work all around this building.

Dre also approves of the stonework.

So beautiful!

Little carving to the side of the window.

Amazed at the preservation of the detail.

People chilling on the footsteps of the tomb enjoying the weather.

Explore a few of the tombs in the park and one of the guys talks his way into a pick up game of cricket saying he plays/can hit (gets smoked). Leave the gardens and go to Kahn market for drinks to pass the time until it is time to go to Ritika's mom's place for dinner. Go into parallel where they have an Indian craft beer (white rhino) and some smokey old fashions which were both extremely delicious and a cool spectacle to open. Gets dark so we head to mom's place for dinner; lots of people in a small place but loads of fun. She doesnt drink much and has tons of booze so she opens her liquor cabinet and had some Henny (this was a recurring thing we saw on this trip - places had Henny for the group :) ) as well as other options that everyone enjoys as the night goes on. Dinner time and its family style serving with 4-5 delicious dishes; everyone was concentrating on the meat dishes, but I thought the lentil (Daal) dish was by far the best (absolutely phenomenal - I had a couple plates of just it :) ). My roomies and 2 other people then go with one of Ritikas "brothers" to a bar. Turns out to be a club just like you would find elsewhere in the world. Stay for a bit and then we all are tired so head home. Driving there is crazy as laws seem merely like a suggestion; on the way home, our ride ran a few red lights and was swerving all through the "lanes". Was pretty impressive to watch as it just embodied the organized chaos seen throughout the trip thus far. We get back to the hotel and head up to the room and as we were settling in our neighbors were just getting back so we hopped over the balcony and joined them for some drinks. Had some Swedish candy, one was a black licorice COVERED in salt; yes you read that right, they consider the combination of salt and hard black licorice as candy. Had one as I had to try it and I did not like it; I do not typically like much salt on things but I do enjoy licorice so it was a toss up. Hit a wall and head to bed as they are still going.

Ever seen a smoky old fashion?

Tasty drink.

Srish wants in on the smoky old fashion drink

Pre dinner drink party in la casa. Everyone just hanging out.

The usual suspects.

India/Istanbul Trip Day 2: Party bus to the Taj (2/26)

After hanging out in the rooms the previous night, we got a little bit of sleep and then get up and ready to hit the road to go down to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Was told we should have cash so I head to Kahn market, while we wait for stragglers to come down, to hit up one of the ATMs there. Check 3 ATMs and all of them are out of money. Didnt really look into the reason behind this but apparently it is not an uncommon thing so I guess I will either have to use my card or figure out how to get cash later. Get back to the group and we load up the vans and head out. Our bus has bottles of liquor and snacks and music going the whole way down (4 hr drive or so) so the party rages on.

Leaving the city with some cool domes in the distance.

There are quite a few of those temples all around.

Thats one way to get around. 

Some of the brick making chimneys that we saw; a few of them are in operation as you can see the smoke billowing out.

A hut in the field with a family working the land next to it.

As we drive out of town, we pass some beautiful architecture and then get into the countryside. Get on the toll road and they have different speed limits for different vehicles (buses are 60km/h whereas cars can go 100km/h - drive can be half the time if you dont go in a bus). As we are going slow enough, have plenty of time to check out the beautiful area around us. The farms have straw huts dispersed all over the place and tons of tall brick-making chimneys littering the vista. Highway has trees all long the sides which makes taking good pics from the van somewhat difficult. There are also universities every 5 miles it seems all along the highway. After a couple hours in the van, we take a pit stop at one of the highway turnoffs so people can go to the bathroom and get some snacks. Get back in the vans and head down to the taj. Park and get electric golf carts to the ticket window (had to pay a little for the ride). I see a sign for a bathroom and so while they wait to get tickets, I run to the bathroom (not knowing there are bathrooms inside) but the bathroom is actually like a mile away which is very misleading and annoying as I am just walking and walking and eventually I find it; not clean in the least and glad all I had to do was pee. Hurry back to the group and since I was gone so long, they are all in except the guide and Ritika, so they give me my ticket and get me in (I felt horrible for being gone so long). We gather up, he starts telling us some of the history and the buildings are beautiful.

Carting to the Taj.

We made it!

Beautiful, but I feel like it looks a little different than the pics.

That looks a little more accurate. Now just gotta get to the other side of that wall. 

Very symmetrical and beautiful of a building.

Close up of the artwork on the building.

Lower part.

Front view just as nice. Next stop, through the entrance gate.

Part of the wall and another entrance gate.

There it is in all its glory.

Because you cant go to the Taj and just take one picture.

Gotta take a couple

Because it is beautiful.

The reason for the season.

There was a museum of types about the Taj that was roped off for some reason.

Whole area so beautiful.

Different perspective.

Getting out of the sun a little bit as it is hot.

One of the towers of the Taj.

Beautiful grounds from the front of the Taj.

Throughout the tours, he would stop and try and sell stuff, even though R and her mom kept telling him no. We go through the Taj and we are all wondering around taking pictures and guide gets more and more upset. We finish our tour, get on the vans to go grab a late lunch and on the way, we drop the guide off where he insults us, tells us we act like a bunch of animals and that he gave The Oprah a tour before so he didnt appreciate our group. We all were just looking at each other and laughing as none of us quite knew what just happened. Get to lunch, were told there was a pre-negotiated rates for dinner. It is a 3-4 hour lunch as the service was once again slow (guess large groups arent a thing or something) and we were halfway done paying when I noticed our discounts werent on there. They have to go back and refund people money (I finally got cash :) ) and get new receipts for those who hadnt paid - was a huge mess. Get back on the road eventually to go back to the hotel and the way back the shuttle was dead; everyone was sleeping as the sun just tore everyone up. We just chill for a little bit once we get back and then people decide to get a good night's sleep, which I agree with wholeheartedly :)

Lobby of the hotel where we ate lunch.

A bar in the hotel.

India/Istanbul Trip Day 1: McSpicy Paneer? Gotta try it. (2/25)

After getting caught up on sleep, woke up early (~6am or so) for breakfast and then to get some reading done while I waited for time to meet everyone for our daily excursion. People congregate and then we get in our shuttles to head out to do some shopping. We get to our stop and start walking until coming up to a seemingly random tailor shop on this side street; turns out the owner is R's aunt or something like that. Bridesmaids get fitted/measured and then we go to a sari shop for ladies to get anything they may want to wear.

Us walking down the side street to our first stop. Trying not to lose people.

Ladies looking at the different patterns/colors for their saris. 

So much fabric. Look at all the different color/pattern combinations. 

What are these menu options in front of us?

Just one of the free roaming cows in the streets. 

After there, we continue walking around a little bit getting people their outfits at other clothing stores and then we end up grabbing lunch at a McDonalds where I got to try their mcspicy paneer sandwhich and their maharaja mac; both tasted like fast food burgers in terms of quality but the taste was definitely different from the burgers back home. After lunch, we go back out to do some more shopping (some guys get suits tailor made, some girls stop to get accessories for their dresses, etc.) before winding up in the Hauz Khas Social club and restaurant. Get dinner and drinks which had good food and drinks but the waiter was horribly slow and just bad at his job (never brought one round of drinks and tried charging us for them because we went to the bar and got drinks due to him being soooo slow). Their long island iced teas come in graduated cylinders so we had a few of those and then the girls go dance on the dance floor for a while until it is time to head out. Get back on the shuttles, head back to the hotel and then we chill in the rooms before heading to bed.

Drink until you pee? Interesting gimmick. 

Drinking the Ts out of graduated cylinders cause why not?

Damage being done.

India/Istanbul Trip Day 0: 2 overnight flights to get this trip started (2/22-2/24)

Time to get this trip started! I head to the airport early to avoid traffic. Figure I would check in and cozy up to a bar and find the group and have a drink before flying out. I didnt plan this too well as the counter didnt open for an hour after I got there and there was only a starbucks before security. Womp womp! I made some phone calls and reached out to the fly group to see where everyone was at (they were all getting there later). Baggage check opens, get checked in, and then head over to security. No one in line so breeze right on through and then walk around the airport a bit before taking a seat and waiting for people to join. People start arriving so we go grab a quick bite and a beer or 2 at Hugo's. As our plane is starting to board, we head over and meet the rest of the group. Board the flight and Turkish airlines is nice, everyone gets a travel bag to help make the trip more enjoyable (night mask, socks, earplugs, etc.), a pillow, and a blanket. Get to my seat and there are headphones for you to use and a dedicated screen for each seat that allows you to start watching movies as soon as you get on the flight (it gets interrupted for crew announcements like one would expect). Start watching one of many movies I watched on the flight over (watched Logan, King Arthur, Hitman's bodyguard, Kingsman 2, Baby Driver, and Spider Man Homecoming in all), and waiting for the food/drink service to start. The service was awesome and the range/quality of the drinks that were available for steerage class were phenomenal (15yr Glenlivet, Hennessy, etc.). Get into Istanbul Airport for the layover and not nearly as security-rich as it was hyped up to be. Walk around a little bit and we eventually post up at a cafe with beers and snacks while we wait for our next flight. More of the same on the second flight, however I actually napped for a little bit on flight 2. Was weird that each flight took off at night. Arrive in Delhi and get to customs early, but realize we werent given the customs forms and by the time we get out of line, get the form, fill it out, and get back in line, the line has snaked back and forth; so now we wait. Get through customs (people trying to cut on the side and have to be told multiple times no and still dont listen) and walk into duty free store where we are told to max our allowance out as alcohol is expensive in Delhi (turns out it is more expensive than even I  expected - 20% tax on alcohol). We get our bottles, go to baggage claim and meet everyone there before getting out to meet R who is waiting with her mom to get us to the hotel. We walk outside and the air quality hits you like a ton of bricks; this aspect was not over hyped.

Right next to our hotel is a nursery. This was one of the last things I expected to see in the city, but considering the drive to the hotel with all the flowers everywhere, I shouldnt have been surprised.

The Kahn Market before it opens. This is the front row of shops. Theres a middle row (where mamagoto's is) and a back side with sides.

Nice touch in the lobby of the hotel. Fresh Flowers.

Closer look at the flowers.

We walk over and meet our shuttle (first exposure to the stray dogs that are everywhere as we walk to the meeting spot) and then head to the hotel. As we are driving, notice a few things right off the bat; 1) the roads are shared with bikes, scooters, cars, buses, animals, people walking, etc. in a organized chaos I havent really seen since Vietnam (though just as much honking if not more); 2) all along the highway there are flowers and plants providing a break from the asphalt and grime that plagues much of the roads (though I did enjoy the fact that the city placed urinals randomly off the road near bus stops); 3) as we drive, there are many dilapidated houses all along the way, some are huge mansions, while there are also big hotels, nice houses, and other well kept buildings in the mix - made it hard to understand the dynamic of the areas we were driving through. As we come to stop lights, we eventually see stray cow herds walking through traffic, laying on medians, and what have you. Eventually we get to our hotel (Vivanta by Taj) and check in real quick before heading to the breakfast area for some non-airport food! Their breakfast was a good mix of Western comfort breakfast (cereal, pastries, fruit, etc.) and indian food (random assortment every day) with some able to order options in both camps (Omelet and Dosa) and tons of liquids (coffees, smoothies, juices, etc.). After eating, we head to our rooms to get showered and a nap before heading to Kahn market for some shopping/lunch. First try Town hall, which is crowded and not ideal for a group of 12-14 people (biggest table is 6-8 people). We get some tasty drinks at the bar while we wait for a table to open up, but they keep having people join them as others leave. Girls sit at a table and eat while guys wait their turn, we decide to check out our other options in the market as there are plenty of places and wind up at Mamagoto which had space for all of us at one table. We sit order some more delicious cocktails and some awesome food (I had my first khao soi in forever which was amazing!). As we wait to pay (eating out with groups was a pain the whole trip - always took an extra 45 mins at least for them to figure their stuff out) everyone was fading (everyone essentially got in from long international flights early that morning) so we head back to the hotel where everyone goes back to their room before the sun even set. I thought I could stay awake a bit so I try and watch some netflix in bed, but turns out I passed out from exhaustion less than 30 minutes into whatever I tried to watch.

Mamagoto has some beautiful wall art.

We are cheersing the start of what shall be a great trip with old and new friends alike.

Photobombing like a champ.