Dublin
On Saturday morning, I picked up my good friend Claire at the airport and we checked into the Trinity Capital Hotel near Trinity College in Dublin. This hotel was like Alice in Wonderland. There were tall, skinny, velvet chairs, mismatched furniture, purple walls, crazy fantasy looking patios, and of course, a mad hatter…he looks normal in this picture.

Our first order of business was to hit a pub and have a pint of Guinness. We got on the Red Bus, hopping on and off to see the sites of Dublin.
We visited the Kilmainham Gaol, one of the largest unoccupied jails in Europe. Built in 1792, it is most famous for executing some Irish rebels, specifically the 14 leaders of the Easter Rising rebellion who wanted to break away from English rule.

We then proceeded to the closest pub for lunch and to watch the Germany/Argentina World Cup game. We made friends with some locals and discovered Craic, said like crack, and we loved it! Craic is what the Irish refer to a good atmosphere with music and good conversation. It’s pretty funny when they use it in a sentence. For example, “go to Pub Celt, the “crack” is great there!”
Next, we went to the Guinness Storehouse to learn about the brewing of the finest porter. The best was the Gravity bar on the 7th floor of the building, which had panoramic window views of the whole city. It is the tallest structure in Dublin.
We got back on the bus and finished our tour of the city. After the tour, we went on a search for Shepherd’s pie but no one had heard of it!?!?! Finally, we stopped at the Oval on a recommendation, only to be disappointed because they only had Irish stew but we did get to watch the Spain/Paraguay game.

That night we went looking for some “crack” and found it at the Celt pub. This was definitely a local’s pub as we were the only non Irish folk there. They played amazing Irish music with a fiddler and all! They ended with some modern music with an Irish twist and we closed that pub down!
Sunday
We first went to visit Trinity College and saw the Book of Kells. It is considered the most beautiful book in the world.

We then went to St. Patrick's Cathedral and most importantly shopping on Grafton Street. that night we stayed in the outskirts of Dublin in the Clontarf Castle.

Monday
We picked up our rental car and headed to Kilkenny. En route we drove through the Wicklow mountains, it is famous for where Braveheart was filmed and was a very scenic drive with the narrowest roads we’ve driven (of course it was the first roads we drove too).

Next we stopped in Glendalough and visited the ruins of a monastery. It is well known for hiking trails which we attempted unsuccessfully, out of the 7 trails we chose the one less traveled which was unfortunately a steep hike to nowhere and had no views.
We saw one of the 13 round towers in Ireland.
We stayed in a hostel in Kilkenny and went to Matt The Mills pub where the locals go on Monday evenings for live music and more “crack.” Made fast friends with the local hurling team and again closed another pub down.





Tuesday
We woke up very late due to the over consumption of Guinness and headed quickly out of Kilkenny and ventured towards County Cork. We stopped at the Rock Cashel with the worst weather yet as it was rainy, windy and cold, but viewed another round tower.

That's all for now...it's not called drinking all day if you don't start in the morning, so we have to get up early. Cheers!

Last weeknd and Wedding!

First, here is a picture of me with my doormen, see how much cooler they are than the other guys. They were so unbelievable and could kick any other doorman's butt!

On Saturday, I met my team at a place called Akshardham Temple. The temple is amazing, simply put. Although they do not allow electronics, so no were cameras allowed, it was one of the best places I visited. It was the best experience mainly because it was not like any of the other temples, this one was more like Disney World on the inside. They had 3 main shows and they all were describing the history if India and had in depth details about India’s culture. We spent over 6 hours here and still didn’t get to see everything.

We did take pictures by photographers, for a fee, of course!

By far this was my favorite place in New Delhi. I learned so much about the history of India and their values and heritage, it was awesome.

On Monday night, I went to a real Indian wedding, OMG seriously … this wedding blows ours out of the water. It is so elaborate, it would be considered a BIG wedding in the states and I was told this was normal. Again, another great experience.

The groom arrives to the event first, on a horse with his family celebrating and dancing around him. It took about 45 minutes for him to walk up to the alter.

Then his bride arrived and met him on the stage where they exchanged leis. Then everyone celebrated their union and the alter rotated while shredded roses were shot out of a machine all around them covering the guests.

They proceed to another stage to greet their guests and get best wishes and pictures taken. While the party has dinner and socializes. This was only the first 3 hours and I was told it lasts around 24 hours. Sometimes can last a week, either way, it was so extraordinary!

I am sad and happy to say, I am leaving India today. I had a great time and saw some incredible places and met many amazing people. Now I am off to Ireland for a week long trip so more picture and stories to come! Wishing everyone a Happy Fourth of July, loving you!

More sightseeing in New Delhi

Last Sunday even though I was sick and even though it was 113 degrees out, I made myself go out and go sightseeing. On the way we drove through all the embassies in India, the United States is the largest :)
I was anticipating going to visit the Gandhi Smriti and National Museum, which has a gallery of memorabilia of Mahatma Gandhi and pictures and the texts that tell about the life of Gandhi as well as the independence movement. I thought I explained to my driver where and what I wanted to see but unfortunately I only made it to the Raj Ghat –the eternal flame, the cremation site of the Father of Nation, marking where Gandhi expired.

Rajghat Mahatma Gandhi's last rituals were performed on 31st January, 1948. You can see the memorial stone of Gandhiji in square shaped black stone. The words "Hey Ram" are inscribed near the black platform. These are the last two words which mahatma uttered when he was shot, it means “Oh God.” You must remove your shoes before you proceed into the ground of the memorial. It is a very quiet, peaceful place to visit.

The Raj Ghat has over 100 acres and I did not do enough research before I left, so I was wandering around the gardens looking for the museum and the Birla House, the spot where Gandhi was assassinated. It was WAY too hot for me to be wandering around aimlessly and it wasn’t the best idea since I was alone, so I left since I was melting and didn’t bring enough water. When I finally was able to explain to the driver exactly what I wanted to do the museum showing was closed.

I then went to the Red Fort and Safdarjung's Tomb in New Delhi.

The Red Fort was the palace for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's and took 10 years to build. It served as the capital of the Mughals until 1857, when Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British Indian government. The British used it as a military camp until India was made independent in 1947. I found out after I left, thank god, that the fort is believed to be haunted and the guards won’t stand outside at night.

And Safdarjung's Tomb is another Mughal archtecture very similiar to Humayun's Tomb.

The central structure of Safdarjang’s Tomb has four two-storied minarets and a central bulbous dome made of pure white marble. The tomb has multi-chambered pavilions on all sides with an imposing gateway in the center of the eastern side, which has several apartments, a courtyard, a market area and a mosque. Again there is so much detail in the structure and walls, it is unreal.

It is said that the arches and domes that ornament the massive Safdarjang’s Tomb were carted to India from Persia and Turkey.

Inside the Tomb...

So this post is very late since these pictures were taken last Sunday. This past weekend I went to a
temple by the name of Akshardam Temple, it was amazing. The only bad thing was the temple does not allow electronics so I didn't get many pictures, I will be sure to post the pictures I did get very soon. Love and miss ya tons!

The Strange Crazy and Bizarre

I am getting over a cold, so on Friday and Saturday I stayed in bed trying to give my body much needed rest. So, I thought I’d make a note on all the things in India that take a lot of getting used to. So here’s my list and explanation, if there is one, or my opinion on the issue.

Random power cuts – All of sudden, the electricity goes off. Usually it is not for more then 90 seconds but it is a bit shocking. Especially, when it happens when you are in the shower. It happens at work a lot, luckily I have not been a victim like others on my team who have gotten stuck in the elevator lift. The worst I have experienced was at shopping market called Big Bizarre, it’s like a Wal-Mart. The scary part was they don’t have back up lights or generators, one minute you are walking down the aisle and the next it’s almost pitch black and you are in a huge warehouse like store filled with complete strangers. It’s weird.

Males holding hands – The first time I saw this I was surprised and my boss explained to me that it is very common for males to hold hands. It is a sign of friendship and male bonding not of two people in love. Eventually, I got used to it but not before I took pictures. I went through various stages of reaction—puzzlement, wonder, curiosity, disgust, grudging acceptance, repulsion, etc. The sight is a common enough one in these parts--- grown men and teenaged boys holding hands in public like lovers that cannot bear physical separation from each other. Interesting to say the least, makes me giggle :)










Driving and motorcycles – Driving is insane here! There isn't a car out here that does not have some sort of scratch or dent on it. Everyone here drives like they are on a mission. I am not joking when I say it reminds of frogger. I mentioned it previously but now I have a few pictures. There are SO many motorcyclist on mopeds, not only does it seem that at least half the people here ride a motorcycle but they ride with their entire family on ONE motorcycle. These pictures are only the beginning, I didn’t get any with their infants and very small children. I do find it interesting that the male rider always has a helmet while the wife and kids don't have to wear one.
After the mopeds, the auto rickshaw is the next most popular, it's like a miniture taxi. It's a three wheeled vehicle that usually looks like a clown car because it has ten times the amount of people in than it should.
!Holy cow! – Cows are everywhere in India! There are cows wondering around all over the place. In Hinduism, the cow is revered as the source of food and symbol of life and may never be killed.
Since the cow is thought to be God's useful gift to mankind, consuming beef or veal is considered sacrilegious for Hindus. So needless to say I can’t wait to get home and go to Outback. There are also a ton of different animals, mainly dogs that are always walking the streets as well.
Spicy Food – So obviously India has spicy food but for someone like myself with extreme wussy mouth, it is MUCH spicier that you could imagine. It is now a running joke with my coworkers with anything they offer me to try they’ll say “It’s not spicy Carrie, we promise.” There are always items on the menu that state spicy or have that little pepper picture next to it but even it does not, I now know that I have to state “no spicy” to the waiter if we are a t restaurant because spiciness is a given NO MATTER WHAT. I try to stick with anything NOT Indian food, which is almost impossible. And I thought that I could handle hot and spicy food, not anymore.

I wanted to post this sooner but got busy with work shananigans. I will write more about last Sundays adventure, melt down in the 113 degree heat, not fun....I am also going out to another famous temple this weekend so I am sure I will have pictures.

Love ya long time! XOXO Peace from India!

The Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is located in the city of Agra and opens at 6am so because the trip takes about 4.5 hours we left after work on Friday, it was actually early Saturday morning around 1am.
We hired a guide and picked him up right before we got to the gates and then purchased our tickets as the Taj was opening. The guide was a young guy about 23 years old and he had a horrible lisp, so couple that with the thick Indian accent and it was nearly impossible to know what he was saying. Overall, he did know his stuff and we got a lot of great information but it was painful.

This is one of three gates as you enter the Taj, we came through the East gate.

Here are pictures of the entrance and as you walk into the Taj Mahal.

The amount of detail that was put into making the Taj is unreal, from the outside decorated white marble with flowers and vines to the inside with additional marble mosaic works and walls adorned with intricate patterns of inlaid precious stones. It truly was breathtaking.

The garden was amazing, however unfortunately the water channel dividing the garden was not filled but the site was still glorious.

It was really neat that we got there when the sun was rising because its marble surfaces changing hue as the sun crosses the sky.

Exiting the Taj Mahal we faced the most extreme, desperate, sales people ever - mostly kids doing the harassing. We went to a few markets after and then to the Agra Fort.

Here is a view of the Taj from Agra fort.

Here is a picture of my boss and I at a local hotel called ITC with their doormen. I love their outfits and think their Aladdin shoes are groovy but my doorman at the hotel I am staying could kick their butts, I’ll make sure to get a picture with him as well and post it soon.

Overall, it was an awesome trip. We made it back to Gurgaon around 4pm and we were invited to a company party that we went to around 8pm. It was very interesting, there was so much music and dancing. The music is a lot like techno but they have multiple different versions like Punjab, Hindi and songs from movies, all of which are played VERY loud. There was so much energy, they did not stop dancing!!! After the party we went to watch the USA vs. England game a local bar, at 12am IST. It was a long day, we were up a total of 38 hours so needless to say we did not do any sightseeing on Sunday. We did go bowling, there is a bowling alley in the mall next door. Here is a picture, of course the bowling alley looks and feels like a techno dance club too!

That's it for now, until next trip or adventure. Love, Carrie

New Delhi

On Sunday we attempted to stay on our work schedule hours, so we woke up early (4am EST which was 1:30pm India time) to go sightseeing in New Delhi.
We hired a hotel car, I forgot to mention that the hotel cars are fully loaded BMWs, that comes with a English speaking driver who also provided us info like a tour guide would. It was too cool.
The first place we went to was Qutab Minar, which is the tallest brick minaret in the world. At the foot of Qutab Minar is the Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid, which is the first mosque to be built in India.
Every place we visited had such an amazing story and so much history to it and was very interesting.
However, the locals were very interested in me, the random light skinned light haired female. At first I thought I had my zipper down or something embarassing because people would be staring at me, mostly the females, and they'd have a huge grin on their faces.
Here is a picture where two young girls and a boy asked if they could take a photo with me, I told them of course as long as I could get one as well!

The next place we drove to was the India Gate. On the drive there we stopped by the India Presidential Palace and I also got a picture with the guards, they were not happy...no huge smiling grins there.





We visited the India Gate, which is the national monument of India known as the "All India War Memorial" that was constructed for the 90,000 soldiers who sacrificed their lives during WWI. It was under construction but still a beautiful memorial.

Then we went to Humayan's Tomb. It was one of the most famous structures of Mughal Empire in India. It was designed by the same architect who also designed the Taj Mahal.







Even though it is called Humayan's Tomb it had over 100 tombs where Mogul rulers and royals were buried.




That's all I can write for now, hope you enjoyed it! Of course these were the highlights and I am leaving out many details of other exciting stories, like going to Delhi Haat ( a market sort of like Canal Street where they have stations of specific items for sale and a salesman very eager to show you ALL he has, from fabrics, to comforters, runners, trinkets, jewelry, paintings, etc)
One time I saw a entire family on a motorcycle, the wife, husband and two small children! No belts or car seat contraptions, and these were infants too.
And I don't know where to even begin with the food...and the "American" food and how it was not very American...more to come soon.
Love to all! Miss you, Carrie