*This is not a sponsored post*
Alright, so it's been a month since our India trip, but I've been soo lazy... Jacky and I are at the half-way mark of our big journey, and it's been amazing so far. I'll try my best to make frequent blog posts, but my netbook died last week :( Which means.... I won't be able to upload photos/blog until I either get it fixed, find an Internet cafe (like now), or return home. Anyway, the first official leg of our Asia trip began on June 29, 2011. We had a brief one-day stopover in Kuala Lumpur, but I'll talk more about it later. It was both of our first times in India, so we though it'd be wise to go with a tour. That was seriously a smart, smart decision. We booked with a company called Friends Travel Services, and they helped us arrange accommodation, transport, and guided services in New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.
We started off with a city tour of both old and new Delhi. I was really surprised at all the attention we attracted... There was constant staring and gawking. I thought that in a ginormous city like Delhi, there would obviously be many tourists and unfamiliar faces, but I guess not. After a couple of days, I got really tired of all the photos (most of the time without permission)... I felt like a total zoo animal. Well, not anyone's fault really.
Jacky and I at the India Gate. We used my tripod to take this photo, and at least 5-6 men were standing around my camera in some sort of trance... Seriously.
Us at the Lotus Temple (gorgeous!)... Same deal with the self-portrait.
Our driver took us to relatively "expensive" restaurants. Jacky and I (incorrectly) assumed that food would be cheap, but obviously there are different classes of eateries. Anyway, that was fine by us. It's always nice to know that your food is clean. I had butter chicken at least every other day... One of my favourite dishes ever!
After Delhi, we drove 6 hours to Jaipur city. The drive wasn't supposed to be so long, but traffic was horrendous. This is one of the attractions we visited, a beautiful mosque that is largely frequented by the locals.
As it was a mosque, it was very important to cover up your shoulders and everything below the knees. They gave me something to wear that looked like a kimono, very cute!
Jacky had never been on a camel before, so he was very excited to see rides being offered at nearly every tourist attraction.
I, on the other hand, was more interested in smaller, slithery animals ;) I always thought that snakes were attracted to the music, but apparently they just mimic the charmers' movements.
The following morning, we went on an elephant ride at Amber Fort and it was lovely. It was different from my experience of riding elephants in Thailand because some of the elephants in India are painted :) 
The Taj Mahal, simply put, is gorgeous. We left our hotel at about 7am, but it was still relatively busy. Apparently tripods are not allowed past the gate, but I didn't see any signs indicating that, so I spent a good 10 minutes arguing with security. I finally gave up when he showed me a teeeeny tiny sign with that as it's fine print. Lame.
Anyway, it was freakin' hot! We were boiling by the time it was 9am.. I don't think I could ever ever get used to 40+ weather. We tried to do some jump shot poses but got tired after 5 mins. Haha...
Wheee!
OMG, the McDonald's.... Hehehe. They had some cool items on their menu, like McSpicy Paneer and Chicken Maharaja Mac. Most Indians don't eat beef, so I was interested in what the McDonalds there had to offer..
Vegetarian Pizza McPuff! It tasted like a pizza pop.
On our fifth day in India, we flew to Leh Ladakh, an area in the region of Kashmir and Jammu. This province is one of the most controversial regions in India because of its conflicts with Pakistan. Leh is in the northernmost part of India, very close to Tibet. the whole area is very mountainous and beautiful, but it took a while to get used to the altitude.
Leh is popular place for backpackers. The region is full of culture and has an aura of mystique surrounding the whole town. We visited several monasteries and religious monuments... good way to soak in a lot of culture ;)
Leh is a town of many faiths, and it is a great example of how people can coexist peacefully despite differences in beliefs. Really lovely.
On our last day, we drove all the way up to Khardung la - the highest motorable pass in the world. In other words, the highest drive-able road... ever.
The views were amazing, but never ever again! The ride up was horrible.. At 18,000+ feet above sea level... Omg, some people can die up here.
We lived really close to the markets, and I bought a really nice pair of "alibaba" pants, as the storekeeper put it.
This is going to sound totally creepy, but the kids were soo cute! Leh is not only occupied by Indians, but also migrants from neighboring areas such as Nepal, Tibet... We got to see people of different ethnicities. Typically, I don't like to take photos of people looking directly at the camera, but upon arrival at the airport, I was told to ask for permission before taking anyone's photo.
People were very friendly and happy to pose for me :)
This kid was cute. I asked if I could take his photo (as if he understood what I meant... haha), and he immediately started sucking his thumb as a pose.. Hehe.
Cute Tibetan girl in a traditional costume :)
Overall, it was a fantastic trip. We were very grateful that we chose to do tours, because it would definitely be difficult to get around if it weren't for our awesome driver. I don't know when we will be in India again, but we'll definitely be back to check out southern India.
Next post... Singapore!
Next post... Singapore!
