what to wear Part 2- recommended shopping spots..

There a couple places in Noida which serves as a one stop for everything you'd require for a Bollywood wedding event.

Google the following websites for more info:
-The Great India Place
-Shipra Mall (also known as Shipra World. The Noida branch is known as Centrestage Mall)

There is another place in the heart of Delhi. If you are a fan of markets, extremely crowded places and bargaining as a sport, Connaught Place is recommended.

That's all ! :) We are about to catch our flight to India in an an hour. Bon voyage and safe journey ahead to everyone traveling. And to those still waiting for their visa we also hope you receive it in time. See you all very soon!

P/S: by the way, Mehndi (henna) will not be applied on the 8th December, but we will organize for someone (or a few) to do this on the afternoon-early evening on the 7th December at the Orange Pie Hotel. We will communicate more details via hotel reception regarding this.

If you can't be bothered with getting a local sim card, you can now book car rentals via hotel reception at the Orange Pie Hotel :)

a story on taj mahal...and agra trip details!

If you still have time to pick this up from the local book store and looking to squeeze in a bit of bed time (or upcoming plane ride) reading, I highly recommend A Teardrop on the Cheek of Time by Diana and Michael Preston. This book not only portrays an immense love story(and loss) that gave rise to the mesmerizing Taj Mahal, but it also provides a multi-faceted view of the rise and fall of the Mughal (Moghul) empire. It is definitely one of the more engrossing history books I have ever read. The authors have beautifully woven first-hand accounts in to a series of captivating chronicles. At the same time, it gives the reader the ability from their own perspectives of the different tales presented. Or if you prefer to be creative, it gives the readers plenty of room to use their imagination to envision what may have taken place based on the time.

I have once visited the Taj Mahal before reading this book, my memory has preserved it to be the breathtaking masterpiece. I wonder if it will still remain as beguiling as it is on postcards and as when I saw it for the first time. I also wonder if the comprehension of my newly acquired knowledge would have changed my impression of the monument if I were to visit it again. My admiration towards Shah Jahan's expression of love for Mumtaz Mahal has certainly grown. He was one of the only emperors that has depicted marriage as something more meaningful than simply a social obligation of the time. I agreed with the way he chose to overcome his loss with his indulgence in grand architecture but not so sure about the exhibition of his excessive behaviour that had increasingly magnified after the loss of his true love.

I believe perhaps the grotesque combination of it all had led to an abhorrent tragedy that had sparked from an unrequited love of Shah Jahan's son (Aurangzeb) for his father, eventually leading to the fall of the empire that was once dominant in India, with Aurangzeb as the last Mughal emperor.

That’s just my take on the book. I won't reveal any further so you can curl up with this book and form your own views about the stories presented. In fact I am somewhat more inclined to paying another visit to the Taj Mahal as it would now be more interesting to imagine the prominent characters that have once graced the site and its great surroundings.

I hope you are all looking forward to the upcoming Taj Mahal trip.

Event: Taj Mahal (Agra) Trip

Date: 8^th December, 2012 (early morning start) – same day as Sangeet

Details about the trip:

We have now organized a tour bus for about 35 people (pick up from Orange Pie Hotel in Noida). The journey to Agra will take approximately two hours one-way (perhaps a great time to read this book too). And possibly squeeze in the Red Fort since it is nearby.

Entrance fees for Taj Mahal: approximately 750 INR (about 15 AUD or USD)

Entrance fees for Red Fort (if time permits): 250 INR(about 5 AUD or USD) per person.

The fees go to the Archaelogical Society of India and the Agra Development Authority for maintenance of the monuments.

Lunch Stop: There will also be a stop at a nearby hotel to break for a lunch buffet.This will cost approximately 500 INR(10 AUD or USD) per person. All you can eat!

Clean food and water guaranteed here, I highly recommend the overseas guests to avoid getting a Delhi Belly by refraining street food indulgences, no matter how tempting they may appear…

Start time of the trip will be provided when the date draws nearer. We will most likely be communicating this through the Orange Pie hotel reception.

Thanks to all for your understanding regarding the date change of the trip(due to closure on Taj Mahal on the 7^th which had been the original date) to the same day as our Sangeet event. We wished (as some of you) we could have scheduled it earlier to the 6th instead but this would have affected a few keen Taj Mahal visitors who wouldn't have arrived in Delhi yet. We will be postponing the Sangeet by an hour anyway so there will be ample time to get ready for the event after returning from the Taj Mahal trip. It will be a jam-packed day but it will be possible and the sights will be worth it. Abhishek and I regret that we won't be joining the Taj Mahal trip as we will be busy with wedding preparations. 

I’ll stop right here to give you all a bit of time to sink in all of this information if you’ve made it this far in to the blog post… before I return with a shopping post shortly. We hope that preparations for your upcoming trip are going smoothly.

hailing a taxi in delhi...

...that's one way of getting around Delhi, but Abhishek's dad has come back with a more convenient and comfortable suggestion. Now that Abhishek's previous blog post has perhaps sparked your interests in exploring Delhi, you are probably wondering what the best way is to get around all the different hot spots.

The taxi charges for the day will work out as follows:

1. Indigo Car - 4 passengers with driver

80 km for 8 hrs, Price: 1350 INR

additional KM are charged @13.5 km and additional time @60/hr

A rough estimate for a day's travel is about 120 km for 12 hrs. Accordingly estimated outgo can be worked out.

2. INNOVA Car - 5-6 passengers with driver

80 km for 8 hrs, Price: 1850 INR

additional KM are charged @18.5 km and additional time @70/hr

Feel free to use the Currency Converter by clicking here if you wish to convert the price to your local currency. 

In a nutshell, it's an awesome deal and I think it's one of the more comfortable ways of exploring Delhi.

Abhishek's dad will come back with a contact number for these cabs which you can call while you are in India.

Also for the technology savvy people who can't live without their mobile phones but wish to minimize expensive global roaming costs, getting a local sim card in India may be a viable option. Click the following link from TripAdvisor it will take you to a forum with FAQ regarding sim cards in India. Apparently these are readily available to at the international airport upon arrival. Otherwise you should also be able to purchase these in shopping malls and convenient stores.

Back to transportation, the best way to get from the airport to your hotel in Noida (i.e. Orange Pie or Radisson) is to use the Meru Cab service. Meru Cabs is a privately operated pre-paid taxi company, there should be a booth at the airport where you can book your taxi upon arrival. 

Click on the following link from Meru Cabs website to check out what the fare structure would look like. It would cost approximately 1000-1500 INR from the Delhi airport to your hotel in Noida, it varies depending on whether you are travelling during the day or night. You can read more about the company on the given link, but you do not have to book online. It should be easy enough to obtain a Meru cab from the airport booth.

Will be back shortly with the contact numbers for the rental car options above. And a shopping blog post by Abhishek too...this weekend, we hope. Not long to go now :)  we are amazed at a couple of people who is also able to attend at the last minute. Please let us know if you have any questions about anything. We are excitedly counting down the days till we see all of our wedding attendees :) 

Places to visit in Delhi

Oh Delhi J just thinking of the city brings a smile to my face.…dilli, delhi, new delhi, old delhi…just a few names my ‘hometown’ is known by….the names are enough to conjure up a million memories for me….the foliage of the gulmohar trees, the central part of the city with regal political buildings and the corrupt politicians and babus, parking and shopping around the huge roundabouts and even huger gardens, little serene corners in one of the busiest place in the world, the evenings spent around an inviting war memorial, as what could be more inviting than an open gate.

The places I end up recommending to people visiting dilli are not necessarily those which the guides would have picked...most of them are close to my heart because of the memories attached to them, because of the small incidents I remember about them…nostalgia can be misleading sometimes, but I’ll be amiss in not including it in my judgement. So my list would be:

 When I first moved to Delhi (a 5 year old brat from Mumbai), we lived in a really tall apartment building (8 floors felt very tall then!). My first memories of Delhi, of the world outside my gated apartment complex, were formed from the view of the city from our roof. One of the few things of note that we could make out from the roof through the murky (and sometimes foggy) air was the tip of a huge white lotus, which was infact the Bahá'í place of worship, Lotus temple. See if you can spot it in this picture.

Visiting the lotus temple was special, and it looked a lot more impressive than it did from our roof J I highly recommend a visit to bask in the architectural splendour of this building.

It’s my family which draws me back to Delhi every year. I have an extremely close knit extended family and numerous evenings were spent with my parents, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in the summers relaxing in the gardens around India Gate. My mum and my aunts used to bring awesome home cooked dishes (chhole poori, pao bhaji, etc) and then all of used to converge onto India gate for big monthly reunions, hours of cricket (of course!), dinner under the stars and the customary India gate ice cream. There is no dearth of vendors around India Gate and ice cream vendors abound.


 One would say that this commercialism and feeling of fun might somewhat desecrate what is essentially a war memorial, a resting place for the memories of those who fought our wars. But I think what is far worse is forgetting them, and never visiting.

       Trip to South Delhi: Gladys, ND (my sister) and I visited Hauz Khas last time I was in Delhi. It’s the ruins of the resting place of a Tughlaq emperor, set amidst a peaceful garden. I found it to be really calming to be able to get away from all the traffic and noise while still being in the middle of the city. And we got nice snaps J

Just outside the gardens is a hidden Tibetan restaurant called Yeti. The Tingmo’s (authentic indian dumplings, the chinese copied them) and beers here make for a nice combo J

After a nice lunch, we had gone to Qutb Minar, a historic minaret. Fans of the Amazing Race Australia show might remember it from the second season.

And the last stop in south delhi, Dilli haat. For those who love marketing, it’s hard to go past Dilli haat. You get to see the best handicrafts from the different states of india (and there are about 30 of them on last count) in one place…and the food from all states too J

For those with strong stomachs, don’t forget to try the chuski, or gola. Crushed ice, doused in flavoured syrup…quintessential part of the day out in delhi…dodgier the outlet, tastier the chuski normally is…and this also stands true for all the chaats, aaloo tikki and ofcourse pani puri J

Other places which I have enjoyed visiting in the past are Connaught place, red fort, purana Qila (old fort with a nice light and sound show at night. Delhi also has some really nice malls for those looking to do a spot of shopping….but that’s for a different blog post.

put your bhangra dancing shoes on...

Now that your flights to India are booked, hotels booked and your visa is all sorted (or in progress), hopefully!  Some may have an idea of what to wear, but that's fine if you haven't...I'm partly to blame as I still have yet to come back with a listing of recommended shopping places in India. But what about your Bollywood grooves? Here are a few Youtube videos to get you started if you plan on stealing the limelight on the dance floors of Radisson and at the Sangeet event.  These are quite easy to follow. But it doesn't matter if these videos end up looking too complicated because you have two left feet... you could do whatever you wish and the idea is to simply dance like there is nobody else watching. The sound of Bhangra beats could naturally add some sort of spring in your dancing shoes that you never knew you've had before anyway...

For the gentlemen...

More videos can be found by searching Just Bhangra on Youtube...

And for the ladies...

life is like a box of chocolates...

Life is like a box of chocolates. You just never know what to expect. Just as I had least expected a box of Max Brenner truffles from him last week. There is a famous saying that suggests if you expect nothing from anybody, you will never be disappointed. I suppose the happier relationships are somewhat built on a box of chocolates. The assorted kind in a box that are sometimes tied with a ribbon...

Continue reading the full article by clicking here... that is my view of our story, which I finally got a chance to write about. Maybe one day we will get to read about his view of our story. It had taken me awhile because I had so often cringed at the thought of writing about ourselves. Revealing a bit too much tends to make me feel kind of vulnerable. But I think it's only fair for every wedding website to shed some light on the couple. Enjoy.

what should i wear?

A frequently asked question by our wedding guests so I thought I'd write something about this. Will keep it generic for now..

The rule of thumb is you could wear anything appropriate that you'd wear to a semi-formal/formal function for both events.

Ladies attending the Mehndi/Sangeet event are often involved the application of Henna (natural body dye) on the hands. If you wish to have Henna applied, it is usually recommended to wear something that enables your sleeves to be rolled up (or sleeveless if you like) to avoid possible staining on you clothes.

Also bear in mind that December is the first month of winter in Delhi. The Mehndi/Sangeet will be held in an outdoors venue so you may want to consider bringing a jacket or an evening stoll for the ladies etc. Men could get away quite easily from the chills by wearing a suit (whether it's Western or an Indian styled one). Click here to read more about the Delhi weather in December. It is seen as one of the best months for sightseeing in Northern India as rain is more unlikely and cooling. The winter is considered to be mild (depending which country you compare to I suppose!).

The wedding ceremony on the other hand will be held indoors at Radisson-Blu.

For those wishing to pull of some of Bollywood glitz and glamourous trends, there are a few good hot-spots for shopping in Delhi to help complete your look. However I highly recommend that you bring a back-up semi-formal/formal attire when coming to India just in case. If you arrive early enough (i.e. a week or so), Delhi is also a great place for obtaining tailor-made outfits at a reasonable price (much more affordable in comparison to Australia anyway).

I will soon post a list of shopping hot-spots in Delhi for the shopping/fashion enthusiasts. I'd first have to consult this list with my sister-in-law to be, whose been very wonderful with helping plan the whole wedding affair. And she knows Delhi like the back of her palm since she lives there.

Meanwhile, for the ladies, feel free to hop over to this link for some inspiration for those who is keen on indulging in the whole Bollywood scene..
http://www.highheelconfidential.com/marchesa-spring-2013/

taj mahal trip postponed to the 8th

Sorry guys, we have just been advised by some that the Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays for prayers. We weren't aware of this previously. Unfortunately this means that the 7th of December will not be suitable for the original group tour that we were planning for our wedding guests! The Taj Mahal group tour will now be moved to the 8th of December. We will aim for an early start as the Sangeet/Mehndi event will be held later in the evening on the same day. Thanks to those keen researchers who brought this to our attention. Hopefully this doesn't interfere with any of your plans in Delhi for those who were planning to come along on the group tour!

It's just less than 3 months away from the big day now :) For those who will be attending, feel free to check out Qantas's travelling checklist which is quite handy. At this time you should probably start thinking about your visa application if you haven't already (after purchasing your tickets off course).

Handy Travelling Checklist by Qantas

The following website is beneficial for all things related to applying for an Indian Visa (doesn't matter where you live):
http://india.visahq.com/

I am about to start applying for mine in the coming weeks.

And don't forget to RSVP if you haven't already :) Click here to email myself if you haven't already or simply write on the Facebook group wall or you could even use the Comment button in any of the blog entries. Once again, of course feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions!

a year on from aug 14th, 2011...

"An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow. ~Author Unknown"

We are celebrating the joys of today. We embrace the warm ambience and scrumptious meals at Malt Dining which has become one of our favorite restaurants in Brisbane. And each other's company of course !

We reminisce the memories of yesterday, especially when Abhishek pulled off his "courageous" act on one knee in the middle of the Ortiga restaurant to which I also courageously agreed to!!

We then talk about our dreams and hopes of tomorrow. To own the grand piano that exists in Malt Dining and perhaps a wine cellar that looks like theirs too someday ? To find another couple to go traveling with in Spain? And to wander in the little streets of Italy?

And to look forward to the big day in Delhi with all our friends and loved ones is also up for discussion of course :) Thanks once again to those who will be able (and attempting) to come celebrate with us!

another flight option for the aussie guests

Mrs. Anyta Zabidi (one of our wedding guests coming from Adelaide) has shared her wonderful flight deal with us and I thought I’ll past it on to everyone.

The flight deal is with Malaysian Airlines (MAS) in the range of AUD1200+, but may vary depending on the travel dates and city of origin. Also, please bear in mind it may incur +/- minor penalty if changes to the ticket are involved. She has done lots of bookings with the MAS office in Adelaide so they have given her a good deal which can be used by the group as well :) This deal can be applied to anyone planning to travel to Delhi (via Kuala Lumpur) departing from any state in Australia.

If you would like to access this flight option, please contact Anyta at her email: minahatyna@hotmail.com and she will direct you to the designated MAS officer.

Thanks aunty Anyta!

Looking forward to seeing you all at the wedding :)

cheap flights to india from brisbane

If you haven't already booked your flights, there is a relatively cheaper option available. This only applies to travellers departing on their journey from Gold Coast or Sydney. But I must forewarn that the following deal is only for those with an appetite for budget travel! If you like, feel free to read more about the pros and cons of budget airlines travel by clicking here. Book at your own risk!

One of our friends have managed to book her flights with the following airlines departing on the 5th of December and returning on the 11th of December.

1. Scoot Airline

Gold Coast to Singapore (return)

2. IndiGo Airline

Singapore to Delhi (return)

The total combined airfare per person is relatively cheaper than fares advertised by premium airlines if you have to purchase flighs to Delhi today.

Tip: For the Brisbane dwellers, if you are thinking about how you would get to Gold Coast, a cost effective option would be to rent a car in Brisbane and drop it off at the Gold Coast airport. This website serves as good tool in comparing prices between different car rental companies.

Also, for the Australian travellers, we recommend the following travel agent as she had booked our tickets for us:

Elisse Lloyd
International Travel Consultant| Escape Travel Tweed City
Shop 32, 54 Minjungbal Drive| Tweed Heads South NSW 2486| Ph: (07) 5524 1281 | Fax: (07) 5523 1147 | Email: elisse.lloyd@escapetravel.com.au

Feel free to drop a comment or ask questions if you have any. Or even if you have a good deal that you would like to share with the rest of us! :)

turn that dream in to an adventure

Some work has finally been started on the Travel bugs page! Please check it out and feel free to let us know your ideas/thoughts. It currently consists of a general travel plans checklist, along with a few useful links. Will keep adding to the list as we discover new ones. We'd appreciate if you could also share your discovery if you find anything worthy!

In the coming days we are also thinking of adding another mini section on the page to describe a bit more about things to see and do in Delhi. Meanwhile, hopefully the few links that we have on the Travel bugs page will be enough to inspire you to draw out your Indian adventure!

a wedding and a reunion with one stone

The lightbulb appeared to Abhishek today. It is a Google map covered with red placemarks. The red placemark represents our wedding guest's country of origin/where they reside. This amazingly puts in to perspective how weddings can make great reunions too. Click to view Wedding Guests in a larger map.

Nothing beats pulling everyone from different parts of the world in a single place, dancing, eating and building on conversations from the last time we met. :)

from india with love

The wedding invitations have finally arrived! Just need some stamps, ink and a little bit of effort to get it all out to the guests next week hopefully! It's quite exciting to receive a couple of 20kg boxes of cards in the mail :) They look quite grand and heavier than the usual X'mas greeting card. I suppose this is also the first time I've ever seen an Indian wedding card, who would've thought it would be my own! I will attempt to capture and share a higher resolution photo of the wedding invitation (cover-to-cover) when I can. Meanwhile the following will have to do..

On another note, I am also glad to be able to finally launch this website. The idea is to use this to share as much information possible relating to travelling to India, especially for those planning to attend our wedding.

Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post if you have any burning questions or ideas on improving this website. Or even if you just want to say hello. Keep in touch!