My trip to India

as the plane flew in to the middle of the city before landing, i could see that there were lights all over the city of india. i had a hard time deciding if the lights were coming fr cars or the buildings as i was not sitting by the window sit. as the plane flew nearer to the land, i saw some really conjested road. it was 2am in the morning.

the 1st thg which all of us noticed was the smell of the country, somethg which we were prepared of. the coach picked the passengers up heading to the check out counter. being in the city of india, the airport does not give a 1st gd impression. we smelled cow dung, and saw a dog lying on the sand pile, not sure whether it was dead or alive. the workers were slping around as it was past midnight.

we had a huge luggage to store the chinese lion dance costume. it couldnt fit anywhere into the coach that was bring us to the hotel. so after much discussion, it was aggreed to be place on top of the coach, tied with ropes.

the the 1/2 hr ride to the hotel to the hotel was bumpy, making me sick. it was a relief when we approached the hotel. however, we were brought to the wrong hotel, and Aidil had to tell them that we were supposed to put up in Taj Palace. another 10 mins ride on the bumpy road.

upon reaching Taj Palace, we were impressed. it was really beautiful. the stairway leading to the hotel lobby was really grand. we were all glad that we were able to stay in such a nice place in india. the room rate for 1 night is S$350.

as we went to check out the rooms that were allocated for us, we were shocked that there wasnt any rooms reserved for us! after 2 hrs or so, the cilent came down from his room to tell us that the room reservation was full and he had arranged for us to stay in the 'wrong' hotel. to think that the client was there the whole time, making aidil used auto roaming at S$7/min, and only come down after so long.


saying goodbye to staying at Taj Palace.

looking like pandas, all of us head to the other hotel, The Ashok. taking the shortest possible time, we hurried to our rooms, took shower and went straight to bed after asking the reception to wake me up. decided to cancel my R&R in the morning. didnt want to tired myself before the show.

the next morning, i woke up before the reception called. i took my time getting ready for rehearsal. by the time i was getting out of my room, they still haven call. hmm...

after waking up everyone, i headed to the cafe. no breakfast for us as we had technically not stayed the night over. luckily we bought some light snacks, which managed to keep us away fr hunger.

as we waited for the coach to arrive, i took some interesting pictures at The Ashok.




i looked out to the sky and saw many interesting thgs. they have strange looking birds that i have nv seen before, and i think i saw eagles too. im not too sure if india house stray eagles, but neither do i know if there are any other species of birds that soar through the skies.

it was red light. but no vehicle stop. the only one that did was the coach that i was in. it seemed like it was too big to squeeze ahead. the old ladies were sitting at the pavement under the afternoon sun for a chat. i wonder why they didnt look for a cooler place to do it. but it did seemed normal for them though.

reaching the hotel, we started our rehearsal immediately. it was only then did i realised that i was doing more then performing 4 items. all of us had to back up for the singers after our segment. zzzzz......

we had late lunch, our 1st meal of the day. lunch was great. was a bit more spicy than back home. but it was good. guess hunger took over us. after lunch, we started distributing the costumes. we had to keep shifting amg the changing rooms before settling for the one at the corner. too many gals. too much opinions...

through out the day, one can hear indian music being played. it reminded me of the Banglah wedding that i had attended the year before. these bunch of ppl really know how to entertain and enjoy themselves.

by 6pm, we were all ready for the show. in order to keep ourselves awake, we kept doing warmups and rehearsal the numbers. i entertained myself by taking pictures. by 8pm, we were exhuasted. the thg abt dancers is tat we hate to wait. it sucks all our energy away. by 8.30pm, we were told that the event would kick off by 9pm. we were hungry and slpy. only then, we were served some light snacks.

the event started and ended well. there were many Indian dancers and singers around. it is funny that most of the lady artistes are slightly on the plump side. it seems like its a very normal thg in India. if it is Singapore, the dancer will be condemned. nobody will even think abt putting plump dancer on stage.

it was nearly midnight when we had our dinner. their food was so spicy yet so delicious. we feasted on, trying to fill everythg into our empty stomach. i was half aslp by then.

after getting back to the hotel, i was so stoned that i couldnt even find the strength to shower...

the next morning, we reached the airport at 5.30am. the 1st thg that we did was to find a location to slp after checking in. i was in my dream land when i left that someone kept bumping on to the chair that i was slpg on. i opened my eyes and was irritated to see that one of the performer was stretching himself and knocking against the chair everytime he layed back. after staring a while, i realised that he wasnt stretching. he was playing with a child who wouldnt allow him to slp. the child was annoyingly adorable! he couldnt stop laughing nor let us slp. but then sleepiness took over us, and soon we were aslp agian.

by the time we were supposed to board the plane, we started worrying. it was 10th Sept, and 1 day later it would be exactly 1 yr after the 911 incident. the security was tight. we had lots of thgs in our hand carry that must be checked in. and time was on our side this time. finally, after madness for delaying the plane abt 20 mins, we managed to board the plane.

i was so happy to reach home. nothg is better than the comfort of ur own home.

i think i might have another trip to India next month. perhaps this time i will ask for extension to enjoy the sight of the country instead of rushing everywhere.