Monument which symbolizes Beauty and Eternal Love -the Taj Majal

     No photos or words can adequately describe the Taj Mahal. I was sceptic at first but I almost cried when i saw the beauty and grandeur of this famous  landmark. I felt the love and longing of the Mughal king for his beloved wife Mumtaz when she died. Oblivious to what Akmad, our Muslim-Indian guide, was saying. I took time taking photos to capture her beauty. 

     The  postcard pictures of Taj Mahal does not adequately convey the legend, the poetry and the romance that shroud what Rabindranath Tagore calls "a teardrop on the cheek of time." 

     Nor the English poet, Edwin Arnold  when he quoted,  "Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passions of an emperor’s love wrought in living stones" Its true, this building is a celebration of womanhood (according to an Indian 1994 Miss Universe,)

  

My Varanasi Preview

New Year in Delhi

                                        

Unforgettable 2011 New Year:

Hotel Imperial, New Delhi

Dinner buffet at 1911 Restaurant

(RP 5000/person)

Dazzling Punjabi performances by a Danish singer

backed up by Bollywood dancers

Raffle Draw-i won a dinner for 2 at 1911 restaurant

after dinner cocktail and all-you-can drinks

Rum cola is the best in India!

(RP 1500/person)

together with Indian dignitaries and hotel guests from all over the world!

what more you can ask...

One Night In Delhi

on the way to ND train station

      We arrived in a foggy and chilly Monday night. According to the morning newspaper, hundreds of flights were stranded in the past two days due to visibility problem. And this also includes train trips. I just hope ours is not included.

      I was shivering despite my three layers of clothing. We went to a prepaid taxi counter and paid for our tickets to bring us to Hotel Grand Godwin(HGG) situated in the Old Delhi which is a stone's throw away from the main train station that will bring us to our destination tomorrow morning. Decades old cars lining up the airport parking lot and there were several men trying to get your attention to hail you a cab. According to Lonely Planet (LP) you must ignore these kind of people they might be involved in a kind of a scam.

      We took our green and yellow cab and the driver can hardly utter an English word. I just contented myself with photographing the roads to our destination. It took us at least 30 minutes after we reached HGG. Theres a sign under it being recommended by LP. True enough, surprisingly at that, we were greeted by friendly young Indians who escorted us to our room after confirming our reservation. HGG is a boutique hotel, with a fine turn of the century British Indian feel to it. The wooden panels framing the doors, and the wooden beds were impeccable. The toilet is spacious and spotless. An extra bed and bedding was prepared. After a few minutes of rest, we aimed for the train station on foot to confirm our early morning reservation tomorrow morning.

     At 10 pm, we headed back to the hotel to look for some place to eat and we chose the restaurant of Hotel Ajanta. Our first Indian dinner comprised of soft chapati and some vague local chicken and vegetarian dishes. The food was unremarkable. Very spicy. We were very careful with our hands (to maintain cleanliness). Took some photos and praised the Indian chef and waiter for a lovely service.

A Passage to Varanasi

I didn't know Mark Twain travelled so much in the Far East during his time.

But this was one of the most famous lines he uttered  during his out of town lectures to the holiest city in India (Hindu's Mecca):

"Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together".

Two months of preparation,

Now i'm off to one of the most coveted vacations of all time.

After budget airline reservations amounting to only PhP30,000
     (airlines from manila to kuala lumpur and kuala lumpur to new delhi)

Seven travel books about India, New Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, and Kuala Lumpur
     (thanks to Nat Geo,Frommers and Lonely Planet),

Not to mention google's help about the abovementioned cities...

Three train resevations via internet
     (New Delhi-Agra, Agra-Varanasi, Varanasi- New Delhi) Thanks to Cleartrip!

Five hotel bookings from Agoda
     (KL, Agra, Varanasi, New Delhi and KL again)

One tour guide booking for varanasi
     (An Indian named Ajit-thanks to Frommer's recommendation)

I am now off to my "eat pray love" adventure

Three days to go..

I hope everything will turn out fine.

Thanks to Gibbs Cadiz' recommendations about India, "an assault to the senses!" in the optimistic point of view, of course.

Twelve hours in kuala lumpur

Ten hours in Agra

Two days in Varanasi

One day and a half in New Delhi

Not to mention the sleeper train adventures- its definitely the quintessential India!

Swagatam!