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/