Hello and Goodbye, India

I know I'm lucky.  I got the most amazing fiance that a girl could have, my remaining family member is well(dad passed away of cancer last December, few days before Christmas) aside from me who is suffering from TB, I will be cleared in the next two weeks though plus I can still do the thing I'm most passionate about, travelling.  I have a lot of things to be thankful for.

Luke and I embarked on our final holiday or honeymoon as I call it in India.  I was a bit nervous about this trip because I'll be meeting his relatives on his mum's side of the family.  They are well-off although I don't think Luke will want me to write about them being rich.  Growing up surrounded by relatives who are devoted to telenovelas, I had a horrible perception on how they will react towards me but thankfully I was wrong.  :)

Our first 3 days were spent in Delhi.  We stayed overnight at her cousin's apartment that looked more like a building to me.  Not wanting to sound inosente o mangyanin,  they had a touch screen lift on their house, their walls are covered in painting resembling an exhibit and all the rooms in the house have an ensuite bathroom and a small walk-in closet.  Luke also commented that our flat in Reading is as big as their living and dining area.  That's not an apartment to me.  :P  All the riches aside, they were humble, down to earth people.  Totally changed the idea of rich people on my mind.  I'm glad I met them and I was more talkative this time.  :P  In Delhi, we went to Qutub Minar, Red Fort and India Gate.  We shopped at Cottage Industries, I wanna take the whole place home and Janpath.  I love walking but I realise Luke doesn't enjoy walking aimlessly.  :P

Thank God he wore his jeans!  It feels spring in New Delhi.

From Delhi, we went to Agra where Taj Mahal is.  The trip, of course, won't be complete without my usual craziness.  We arrived in Agra in the morning but we didn't leave until 3PM for Taj Mahal.  It was all because I wanted to start planning the wedding with Luke.  This was wayyyy before we decided to have a civil wedding this year then church next year.  Both weddings will happen in the UK to avoid family drama.  :P

You can't tell that we fought here.  We had the camera mode on.  Kidding aside, we finally patched things up.  I can't get annoyed with him for a long period of time.  

Everyone was commenting how photoshopped we looked.  Well, this was the best one from the bunch.  We had to try from different angles, different time and different people.  Thank you white lady for taking a good photo of us.  This will definitely go to the family album.

We left Agra the next day for Bhopal. It was the longest train ride of my life.  I was comfortable but the toilet is horrible.  It was stainless steel.  I hate my skin touching accidentally on the steel.  It was cold and I felt dirty.  No exaggeration.  On top of that, I had to go several times. Curse you Indian curry!  Hehehe.

Bhopal is Auntie Truli's residence.  Auntie Truli is Carol's, Luke's mum's older sister.  In short, Luke's aunt.  Luke loved me so much.  Luke wanted to go to an animal reserve but I wanted to go to Goa so he completely changed his plans.  Thank you babu!  

In Bhopal, I saw a white tiger for the first time and cave paintings hundreds of years old.

Auntie was supposed to go with us in Bhimbetka but left Luke and I alone when she found out that we were in a long distance relationship.  The drive from the entrance from the actual cave paintings was very reminiscent of Karratha according to Luke.  

I purchased my first sari in Bhopal too, thanks to Auntie's haggling skills.  Auntie also showed me how to wear a sari.  It was 7 meters long and you have to wrap it around yourself.  Auntie Truli wears hers everyday without any difficulty.   Luke bought his traditional relaxing clothes aka kurta.  Wait til I get to the UK for photos. :)

We flew to Goa from Bhopal.  I was disappointed at first of Goa because the sand isn't what I'm used to.  I like my white sand.  Hehehe.  I realised that it's not about the whiteness of the sand but who you shared the experience with. GAY!  We went around Goa by motorbike.  At the end of the day, I had my usual we don't have photos together enough drama, we got lost looking for the suggested tour from the book only to stumble the street the minute we decided to give up, had a fantastic KFC meal that made me crave the whole trip and burnt Luke's ass.  He was a trooper, he drove again the next day cause I wanted him to show me around.  I'm a bit self-centered sometimes.

I thought Luke loved tanning himself.  He told me that he liked going in the beach but staying in the shade.  We had to share one big umbrella between us in Goa so we switched when I felt the need to.  Hahaha!  

The Arabian Sea's waves are strong.  We played in the waves until I hit my face and right arm in the sand.  It worried Luke so we left and stayed in our sunbeds.  Hehehe.

This photo was taken whilst ordering dinner at Noodle Republic.  

Me:  Do you want Tom Yum?

Luke:  Hmm, no.

Me:  Fuckkkkk!

Luke:  Actually, I'm gonna have Tom Yum.

Me:  Are you sure?

Luke made fun of this scene the whole trip.  He had an exaggerated version of this story.

From Goa, we flew to Jaipur.  Our trip to Jaipur was amazing!  Mr.Khan, Aunt Truli's supplier/ friend arranged a driver for us to take us everywhere in the city.  He was such a head shaker.  You know, the stereo typical Indian who shakes their heads constantly.  Well, he surpassed my Indian head shaking expectations.  LOL!  He had difficulty speaking English which was a bit of struggle for me and Luke.  

In Jaipur we went to Hawa Mahal , the building that I wanted to visit initially because I was intrigued with the honey combe design, Jantar Mantar, Amber Fort and Chowki Dhani.  Chowki Dhani offers you a taste of India.  You will be treated to Rajasthani food, you can have your photo taken in costume, ride an elephant or camel which Luke and I mostly did.  It was such a joy experiencing all this with my bestfriend and lover.  I have to avoid this gay route on my blog.  Hahaha!

Thank you for the fantastic holiday babu!  We'll definitely be together this year.  I love you!  xxx

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