From Delhi to Noida to Delhi to Punchkula to Delhi to Lucknow to Delhi.
Then the final leg of the trip is Delhi, India to New Jersey, USA.
The two lines above summarize my recent trip to India which I fondly refer to as Back2BackWeddings. How does that sound for a hashtag? Let’s do it!
#Back2BackWeddingsIndia2018
South Asian weddings in a few words are: colorful, bright and lively! And sometimes long. Many weddings span multiple days, consisting of a myriad of celebrations, events and traditions. As a guest, you get to experience it all.
I had the good fortune of attending not just one wedding but two weddings in my recent trip. It was hectic. But fun and exciting. If you’re more of an introvert like me, it can be quite draining to go from event to event, meeting many relatives you haven’t met in decade, meeting some that you can’t recall meeting ever and then meeting strangers you’ve never met. But the introvert in me still enjoys the other aspects of weddings – dressing up, dancing with family and friends and eating delicious food! Speaking of food, I tried to be as good as possible before the wedding – eating healthy food, drinking lots of water, working out regularly and trying to get at least seven hours of sleep. I can’t say I was very successful with the last one thanks to job related stress. But let’s not get into that. This is supposed to be about vacation, travel and adventure. Attending “two weddings back to back as a guest” sort of adventure.
So let’s break down my trip into the three parts, starting with the first leg of my trip.
The first leg of my trip, the pre-wedding festivities one, was definitely the most relaxing one. First it involved getting over some jet lag which wasn’t too bad and lasted just a day or two. Getting up naturally at 3.30am isn’t normal but I managed to not crash for most of the day. Besides jet lag, the first leg of the trip also catching up with relatives and family, eating out and also involved some “preparatory” work. “Preparatory” basically translates to shopping and buying new outfits for the wedding festivities! This was the first Indian wedding I attended in India in over a decade.
I wanted to experiment with some new styles and trends like the sharara (long wide skirt worn with a long top) and gharara (long wide pants that are tighter in the middle and more fitted) styles. Buying ethnic clothing attire in India is more affordable than buying it in thestates. You also have more firsthand selection of a variety of styles, fabrics, colors and prints. So I planned to have day or two for browsing, shopping and buying. I did most of my shopping in the Rajouri Garden neighborhood in New Delhi. It gets quite crowded over the weekend and in the afternoon. It was nice to see the hustle and bustle of the shopping market though the crowds and rush make it hard to get around at times. The car traffic especially makes it hard and getting stuck in traffic is extremely normal. One of my favorite parts of shopping in India is watching everyone bargain with store owners and try to get the best price for their favorite prices. I like to pretend I’m good at it but the truth is I’m not. It’s a skill like anything else and one that takes a lot of practice and persistence.
One of the cons of shopping is the committment. Exchanging and returning isn’t as easy as in the states so you need to be 110% sure you like, no love, what you’re paying for. There’s no going back really once you pay and walk out the door.
One thing that stood out in my trip is how big ride sharing applications are in India. They weren’t even a thing back in 2008, the last time I was in Delhi. My ride sharing app trips ranged from less than a dollar to about $7-8 dollars with most of the trips’ costs closer to the lower bound. Very affordable and an easy way to get around the city.
I’ll be back with part 2 soon which will highlight the first wedding of two in Noida.
Stay tuned for more stories of my new favorite hashtag. I’d love to hear your stories about wedding related travel on the go.