India - Day 3

Sorri, lame tak update cite ... bizi aar. Okay here goes >>>>



24/11 – Delhi

~ Today’s agenda is to venture around the city of Old Delhi. Kuar umah at 10am. 1^st on the list is Indian Gate… Went tru morning traffic … again, then the driver started asking around for the route to the gate… even though there’s a signboard showing the way. Then, we found out that he is actually from Chennai, ( bru start keje, b4 this, bawak treller across the expressway throughout India, and he’s never driven within the city of Delhi … cannot read properly lak tu…sikit2 jer … Bengang betoii la  *%@!!) Pagi2 lagi da buat papa pissed off !! Now, we r the one guiding him wif our GPS kat hp … lepas pusing2, sampai gak kat Indian Gate. The place is something like our Tugu Peringatan la…

The Indian Gate is the national monument of India. India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Originally known as All India War Memorial, commemorates the 90,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who lost their lives while fighting for the British Indian Empire, or more correctly the British Raj in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War. It is composed of red sand stone and granite. Burning in a shrine under the arch of India Gate since 1971 is the Amar Jawan Jyoti (the flame of the immortal soldier) which marks the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The shrine itself is a black marblecenotaph with a rifle placed on its barrel, crested by a soldier's helmet. Each face of the cenotaph has inscribed in gold the words "Amar Jawan" (Immortal Warrior). Standing right behind the gate is an empty canopy made out of sandstone, also designed by Lutyens, and inspired by a 18th century Mahabalipuram pavilion.

Me .. in front of  India Gate

Ni org2 yg jual tepi2 jalan tu .. Jual air panas..kopi o tea .. x yah bukak gerai ape pun

Ni lak jual some sort of salad. Macam timun + tomato + sos ape ntah and kacang buh dlam cawan ... macam our corn in cup tuu.

 ~ Pas ni, we headed to Connaught Place, shopping place (which is supposed to be just around the corner) .. lepas pusing2 and rounds of heated conversations between papa n driver, sampai la jugaak .. We walked alround the Rajiv Chowk, (something like dataran merdeka, wif shopping area kat bawah), ade pasar malam kat situ, and surrounded by shopping malls around the chowk. Tengah jalan tu we saw this guy  (pic kat bawh ...) macam ni pun ade!! Tidur kat tgh padang tuu.... Ape kes ni....???

ni pun adaaaaa.... ?@#$%??

~ Time now is already 3pm, we wanted to squeeze in Jama’ Masjid or Red Fort to our list … but wif our ‘kayu” driver ( as papa called him), I doubt that we can reach either one in time, … coz malam nti, his frenz ajak out for dinner…Esok na

~ I was quite upset, we did not get to visit the Red Fort, Jama’ Masjid, Humayyum Tomb, Qutub Minar, Jantar Mantar ….

·         The Red Fort was the palace for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's new capital, Shahjahanabad, the seventh city in the Delhi site. He moved his capital here from Agra in a move designed to bring prestige to his reign, and to provide ample opportunity to apply his ambitious building schemes and interests.

·       The Jama Masjid of Delhi is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, and completed in the year 1656 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India. The mosque was the result of the efforts of over 5,000 workers, over a period of six years.^[2]. The cost incurred on the construction in those times was 10 lakh (1 million) Rupees, and it was same Emperor who also built theTaj Mahal, at Agra and the Red Fort, which stands across the Jama Masjid, which was finally ready in 1656 AD, complete with three great gates, four towers and two 40 m-high minarets constructed of strips of red sandstone and white marble.

·         The Humayyum Tomb is the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Humayun, was built by the orders of Hamida Banu Begum, Humayun's widow, and begun in 1565, nine years after his death,and completed in 1572 AD at a cost of 15 lakh rupees (1.5 million) at the time.

·         The Qutub Minar is a tower located in Delhi, India. It is the world's tallest brick minaret with a height of 72.5 meters (237.8 ft). Construction commenced by Qutubuddin Aibak who won Delhi from the Prithviraj under Mohammed Ghori as his commander in chief,and finished by Iltutmish, The Qutub Minar is notable for being one of the earliest and most prominent examples of Indo-Islamic architecture.

·         The Jantar Mantar primary purpose of the observatory was to compile astronomical tables, and to predict the times and movements of the sun, moon and planets. Some of these purposes nowadays would be classified as astrology.  It consists of 13 architectural astronomy instruments, built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur, from 1724 onwards, and is one of five built by him,

~ so we headed home …. Stopped for lunch @ kat Ansal Plaza, shopping mall near umah, makan piza @ Piza Hut… vege of course!!

~ Malam , 8.00pm, we (Papa, Izam, Sani, Danny & me, sorang jer bunga d celah kumbang2 ni…) had dinner at Karim’s Place. Kelakar dengar Izam cakap Hindustan stail melayu...  Tp, ok la tu …We had Ciken Tikka, Butter nan wif gravy, ciken briyani, and one whole lamb leg & plain water… mak aai… sebelah kaki kambing selambak ateh pinggan … Izam n Sani were shoving down the lamb cam cannibal … macam flinstone!! Doesn’fancy much bout the lamb, though.The yogurt was sedaaap... Tak sama la their briyani wif the one in Mesia... To me sedap lagi our briyani...

 END of DAY 3 v

Next entry ... Kerala ...

Hmmmph .... *sighh*

Sori ... no update for a few days. Quite bizi wif work. nak kejo month end...  Lagi pun tgh heart sick ni ... Well biasela.. its 'thaat' time of the year agaain... Apa lagi, Kalau bukan >>>>>>>

Appraisal !!! 

  

Where all your hard work is not counted ... yng diingat is semua yg x betul ... (which was done on 'their' instructions gak!!) and the days u are late which is not even frequent... Whatever la kannn... If theres any of u readers out there who are H.O.D (Head of department ...konon), please remember that u pun makan gaji gak, Uols pun human which are prone to mistakes ... Whateverlaa ...I know 'Life is unfair... theres no Fair n Square ... BUT, ... the world is round!!

Okla... enough of this sad stories...

Picnic @ Tmn Bukit Jalil

Not long ago .. tertiba yang kecik ni cakap ... " Mama, kita pernah x pegi picnic?" Aiik... x pernah ke kita g picnic .... hmmm??  so sambil g jogging, trus picnic la ... X  bawak ape pun ... macaroni goreng & ayam goreng  + water ... tuu ajew

Sempat lagi ... The Romantics ni ... ??#@%??

India ~ Day 2

23/11 – Jaipur

~ Today, we plan bagus nye… start the day early, kuar umah at 8.30am (after b/fast with Izam n Danny {hari2 Danny stopped kat umah Izam minum kopi dulu.. then 2gether-gether nek keta g ofc} , had nasi goreng... again). Went thru Delhi morning jam … (Gila la they all nye driving … ngeri tul!) Reached Gurgaeon tol @ 10am!! After that hiway, this time the road is much better … (in terms of x byk keta lembu /kuda/keldai/unta… ade, tp x byk like yesterday..) We saw a lot of ladang sayur along the way, but x de org working in the fields… Where r they… gf*?? We humans can only plan …, it rained … so this slows us down. @2pm , we stopped for lunch (we had fried rice – vege la… Ciken? A bit sceptical on the halal status) n for bladder release… (One thing about travelling foreign places is >> bladder control … if only u could put on a stainless steel bladder…). Reached Jaipur at almost 3.15pm. We looked for the famous Pink City.

Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. During the British rule in India, Jaipur was the capital of the princely state of Jaipur. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber. Jaipur is the first planned city of India, located in the semi-desert lands of Rajasthan. The city which once had been the capital of the royalty now is the capital city of Rajasthan. The very structure of Jaipur resembles the taste of the Rajputs and the Royal families.

~ Its not really pink la, from near its, like maroon tp cerah sket. 1^st, we went to City Palace. Its huge! It’s still raining, so lagi la sejuk. Ketar2 tangan papa amek gambo …

Kat City Palace ... ujan renyai .. sejukkk

Kat dalam courtyard  City Palace

Eh eh ... ade lak yg interframe ni ... 

Cantik pintu untuk masuk ke dalam palace ... Pintu hijau ni khas untuk para gundik aje ...

The romantics ....

Papa kat tengah courtyard ...

~ Then, we went to Hawa Mahal, which is a short distance away. We took a tut-tut there (merasala naek although less then 10 minutes ride..) Nothing much .. Its actually a wall with lots of small windows…

The Hawa Mahal Palace is a part of the Royal Palace including the women’s chambers. The literal meaning of Hawa Mahal is Palace of Winds. Hawa Mahal was built by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799. Hawa Mahal is believed to build for the women of the Royal Families, since they had to observe strict "purdah" (cover). The small windows and screened balconies serve the women to watch processions and different activities taking place on the streets. In this manner, the women could enjoy a sense of freedom without showing themselves. The Hawa Mahal palace has 953 windows, which faces towards the street outside the palace. A huge amount of breeze circulates through these windows even in summer, due to this reason the name was kept as Hawa (breeze) Mahal. 

~ Along the road at Hawa Mahal, there’s a lot of kedai (small ones), so we took a stroll along it. 

Kalau tengok closely .... ade keta lembu kat jalan tu ..

Sampai pokok pun kena cat kuning ... sacred agaknye pokok tuuu.

Gajah pun ade .....

Yang canteek skali kat situ ... hahahah

~ Tgh syok jenjalan ... trtiba, our driver told us, its already 4.45pm…whaaat.. laaa, dah kena balik, as we don’t want to be late like yesterday. So our plan to visit Amber Fort, Jantar Mahal, Jai Mahal …. Tak kesampaian… hmmmmm.  Upset la L.

·         Amber Fort is usually pronounced as Amer Fort. In 1592, construction of the Fort was started by Raja Man Singh I. It took around two centuries for the whole fort to be built. 

·         Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is the largest stone observatory in the world, located near the gate of the illustrious City Palace of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. The name is derived from yantra, instrument, and mantra, for chanting; hence the "The Chanting Instrument". The Jantar Mantar of Jaipur is a part of the five astronomical observatories in west central India, which was build by Sawai Raja Jai Singh II of Jaipur between 1727 and 1734. The Jaipur observatory was built in 1728 and was the biggest of all his observatories and the only one built of stone.

·         The Jai Mahal palace was built for the purpose of recreation and pleasure. This reflects the royal taste of the Rajputs during that era. This palace was primarily used for arranging local duck shooting parties.

~ On the way back …. U wanna know wat happen…??? 

              K

              K

              K

                                  Tayar pancit la pulak!!! Aaargh!! 

Tp, x pe… nasib baik pancit langit still cerah, still in town … depan kedai taya pulak … Soo, Alhamdulillah … amiin...

Jadi, lepak dulu, tepi jalan, makan kacang, tengok orang lalu lalang. Sempat tengok orang kawen berarak ateh kuda, dengan brass band.. gojet2 tgh jalan (macam dalm cite endustan tu .... sebijik cam tu!!) … sampai jam la jalan!!! Kelakar…

Keta yg pancit

Ni rombongan org kawen, pengantin laki ateh kuda ... otw ke kuil diaorng, siap ngan band lagi ... joget joget kat jalanraya...

Baru kul 5, tapi da macam maghrib

 ~ By 7.30pm we head back to Delhi … tp stop jap for coffee. Seeejuk tau!! We found a coffee shop (ala2 starbuck la) in front of the Mansagar Lake where Jai Mahal is situated.. Had capucinos and muffin.
~ On the way back, we passed by Amber Fort …. Hmm tengok ajela dr dlam keta… Jalan was  jam with lorries again. Reached Delhi +/- 11pm. 

END of DAY 2 v

Next entry .... Old Delhi 

INDIA

ndThis trip was done Nov last year ... da create blog ni, baru leh cite ....
my 1st ever trip to o-be-si uuu... g In D ya..!! G sana pun, sebab my asben was working there ... so tu yg pegi ... klu x ... x merasela. ok... so here goes...

21/11/2010, KL - Delhi

~ Board flight @ 4.40pm fr LCCT,KLIA. Seat # 46F, tengah …sebelah kanan, nyonya cina with her travelling group … belah kanan lak, an Indian auntie travelling with her 3 families (I think). I sorang dok kat tengah… nasib baik bawak buku cerita (as advised by my sis). Penuk ngan kaplam ya nga!! Betul kate papa, dlam flight mesti `diaorang' ni x duk diam..kejap bangun amek bag, kejap jalan ke depan/blakang … hiiish rimas tengok…

~ Finally, touchdown @ 7.26pm, Indian time (kebas bontot i.., macamanalah yg duk dlam flight sampai 10 hours ++). Suddenly, rase so alone. Evrybody has somebody wif them on foreign soil … Takut gak nk go thru immigration ni… Hopefully papa is already outside waiting for me. On jer hp, 2/3 sms masuk, laaaa, papa’s flight delayed till 9.45pm. Nasib baik, dia da arrange Izam (kawan dia) to pick me up … Alamak,! Ingat lagi ke mamat ni rupa i? We met last raya when he visited us…. Went tru immigration, byk tya lak >>> nk nama otel, I said dono, my husband is arranging. Where’s ur husband? On the way frm Chennai. Working here? Yes. How long ? Contract till February 2011. Last skali dia mintak no hp papa … daaah!! Lega… Gi amek bag … apsal beg x kuar2 lagi ni … org laen dah dapat beg da ni … last2 br kuar … Got 1 missed cal, Izam kut …Tried calling 2/3 kali, x dapat …. Macamana ni … Sampai kt luar x nampak pun muka dia … alahai … Cari tpt duduk kat tepi pintu… Tunggu ajela dia call back (hopefully..), Toleh kiri kanan, sambil cuci mate tengok org endustan …. Lawa2 & ecem2 gitu, idung pacak! Tertiba, nampak ade org lambai2 kat luar .. Sampai pun Izam… Legaaa!! Baru rase darah naik kat muka… Oooo, dia x leh masuk dalam … nak masuk kena bayo 80rupeee (x mcm kat KLIA, sesiape pun boleh masuk…).

~ Now waiting for papa, he arrived @ 10.30pm… mase tunggu kat luar tu .., punyala sejuk.. Izam kate, ni x sejuk sangat nti bulan 12 o 1, nti bru sejuk betul2. Pastu, we headed straight to umah Izam @ Greater Noida, Unitech Apartment. Cantek apartment dia, groundfloor, building baru, x byk org duduk lagi.

Apartment Izam yg kitaorg tumpang .. cantek gak kan

22/11 – Agra

~ Bangun awal today. Planned to go to Agra, nk tengok Taj Mahal. Had nasi goreng, prepared by Manosh, Izam punya cook. Then, Danny Tan (kawan papa, he is the Quarry manager for the Ghaziabad project) came. Met another of papa’s colleague, Tribuana Sani, Project manager for the same project. We went to their office first, buut, nothing prepares to what lies ahead….. Getting there was shocking!!! Otw, dapat tengok the slumdog area… Kotor… very very the!!! Nampak people berduyun duyun on one of the auto vehicle tu, bergayut to that thing … nek basikal, walking, all sorts lah … which u don’t see anywhere in Malaysia. Keta brhenti due to  jam, tertiba jer datang budak2 minta sedekah. ketuk2 kat tingkap keta! Kesian, syukurla we r born in Malaysia…

~ Sampai ofc … it was a temporary ofc! We waited for the driver to go isi diesel to the car.  Tungu punya tunggu, dia sampai @ 10.50am, dah lambat da ni as the journey to Agra is approximately 4hours.

~ Nk kuar to hiway, we have to go thru Old Delhi. I was hit by another shock!! People here dive like crazy … !! Bawak keta sesuka hati .. main masuk je kiri o kanan. X peduli keta lain… In fact some cars x de side mirror pun! Yg ade side mirror pun kepak ke dalam … huih… culture shock betol!! X de satu keta yg x cantik… sume calar balar, kemek sana sini … ayoyooo

~ By the time we got out of Old Delhi, it was already 12noon, way behind schedule… X pe, no rush, enjoy the journey .. Memang pun … Jalan 2 lane, tp u can use only 1. The other lane tu, keta lembula, keta untala, keta keldai, tractor, motor… keta auto tuu… Along the way tu, nampak org kutip taik lembu… nak wat ape lak ni … they mix that thing ngan rumput kering and later keringkan wat bahan bakar. Then, i nampak one lady tgh uli that thing, bulat2kan jadi leper (macam bentuk pinggan) n jemur … Uweeks!!! According 2 papa most of them ade 1 o 2 lembu for that purpose n for their milk.

Ni the setinggarden kat otw to ofis diaorg.. Cian kan .. setinggan kat mesia jauh lebih baik lagi status dia ... pakai tent ajer.

~ Finally .... at 4.30pm

Ni dia ... tersergam indah .... 

Sorila, gambo x brape cantik ... Bulan November tu .. musim sejuk ... so berkabus.. Sayang kan ... X pe la ...  Sampai ajer, trus kena hassled by the tourist guides and the auto drivers… Then one of them, ntah macmana trnaek the auto wif us, n assist us to buy the tickets as the ticket counter close early this time of year due to the winter season (winter konon, x de snow pun… musim sejuk aar). Sunset now is around 5pm… Q nak enter the Taj compound was long… There were guards everywhere, dengan senapang bagai .. maybe being cautious bcoz of the bombings during commonwealth games tu kut. Masuk ajer we saw the majestic Taj Mahal … lambang cinta….. BeeYuu-T-full!! The history is here for reference :

It was built in the memory of the beautiful Arjumand Bano Begum, who won the heart of a Mughal prince, Prince Khurram, also known as Shah Jahan. He was betrothed to Arjumand Banu Begum, who was just 14 years old at the time. They would however, have to wait five years before they were married in 1612 AD. In AD 1628, Khurram became king after a bloody battle of succession, he took the name Shahjahan or “King of the World” and she became Mumtaz Mahal. But Mumtaz Mahal was not destined to be queen for long. In 1631, Shahjahan went on an expedition to the south and, as always, Mumtaz Mahal accompanied him. But, she died in childbirth at Burhanpur. She had borne Shah Jahan fourteen children, of whom four sons and three daughters survived. When Mumtaz Mahal died, she was just 39 years old. Shahjahan was inconsolable and contemporary tell of the royal court mourning for two years, there was no music, no feasting, and no celebration of any kind. Shah Jahan, who was a passionate builder, now decided to erect a memorial to his queen in pristine marble that the world would never forget. The site selected for the tomb was a garden by the Yamuna river, unshadowed by any other structure. The site was also chosen because it was located on a bend in the river, and so could be seen from Shah Jahan’s personal palace in Agra Fort, further upstream. Work on the mausoleum began in 1633 and 20,000 workers laboured for 17 years to build it. The most skilled architects, inlay craftsmen, calligraphers, stone carvers and masons came from all across Indian and lands as distant as Persia and Turkey. Today, the Taj Mahal stands as the ultimate monument to love, and a homage to her beauty and life.

Aaah …sooo romantic citer dia… kan kann

~ Orang punyala ramaiiii… Foreigners n locals. Manage to get good pictures with little light left,  main snap ajer, x sempat nak posing maut …!! Heheh. Inside, there’s the replica of the tombs of the King n Queen. The real Tomb is underground, of course… Nak masuk dalam, q lagiii… by the time we entered, it was already dark. Ade 1 chandelier kecik ajer. We were not allowed to take any pictures inside , tp ramai gak yg dok click click lagi …Papa tya why they take picture ? The guide answered, Indians don’t follow rules, sir !! Papa punyala gelak… !! Now dh kul 6.15pm, tp dah macam malam… 

Tengok q nak masuk ... punyala panjang ....

Ni the tombs kat dalam the Taj, yang beso tu is Shah Jahan, yng kecik is the wife.

Once out at the entrance gate, trus got attacked by these souvenirs sellers … They are very persistence.. (yala tu keje dia, klu x no money maa) we bought some gifts from one guy, trtiba sepuluh ade belakan … nak tutup pintu keta pun susah … We planned to visit Agra Fort, tp x sempat dah malam .. Agra Fort is tpt tahanan Shahjahan, selepas digulingkan oleh anak bungsu dia sendiri … He died here tp ditanam di sisi isterinya d Taj Mahal …

Agra Fort has a history that spans two generations of the Mughal emperors. Started during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605), the construction work on the Agra Fort continued till the reign of his grandson Shah Jahan (1627-58). Though, started by Akbar in 1565, it was Shah Jahan, who constructed most of the buildings inside the fort. The emperor Shah Jahan, who built the Taj, was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in the Agra Fort. It was here, Shah Jahan spent the last days of his life gazing at the Taj Mahal where he had a view on the building erected for his deceased wife. Shah Jahan is said to have died in the Musamman Burj, a tower with a beautiful marble balcony.

Aaah …sooo sedih L… (Durhaka punya anak!!)

~ Then, we scout around for place to eat, we did not had anything since we left Delhi 12noon tadi.. Lapar gila!! But most importantly … nak release stock! Pusing punya pusing, we found a nice restaurant, … House of…****  ape name ntah (lupa lk). Food was great … We had mutton kebab, ciken tikka, Chinese sweet & sour soup, Lime juice n hot tea for papa. The driver, had Ciken Briyani + Lime juice too.

~ Lepas makan, trus head back to Delhi.  Ingatkan malam x jam … hmmph!! Jam katak lagi .. but now, full of lorries!!! Reached Delhi close to 1am. 

END of DAY 1 v

Next entry ... Jaipur