KarMie's blog: Incredible India

24-27 June 2015

Sorry for the delayed blog post (as usual)... Mr. Hubby took a while to upload pics to FB

***blame it on the hubs*** LOLs...

It's been almost 2 months now since our trip and my post pregnancy brains is kinda rusty now, so forgive me if this blog post seems vague! U can still ask me questions :)

It's my 3rd time to India now (but 1st time to Chennai)..and it was the kiddos first time :) so far, I've been fortunate to not get the "Delhi Belly" syndrome... maybe coz my stomach is made in Malaysia??? Lols ... but I was scared the kiddos sterilized stomach (thanks to Singapore), might easily catch the Delhi belly... but thank God all of us were well!!!

Delhi belly - "noun: Diarrhea or dysentery contracted from eating Indian (i.e., from India) food." <- source: www.urbandictionary.com

Places we covered in summary:

1st day: (Wednesday, early morning) first thing first when we arrived... after checking in, had a HUGE breakfast buffet n a quick nap, off we went for SHOPPING!!! ***No no, not for this mummy yeah... after having kids, this mummy is no longer a shopaholic*** can hear hubby singing "Hallelujah!!!" in the background...well, the kids needed an Indian costume for the wedding... so it was baby Skye first Indian outfit n baby Si's 2nd :) then we had dinner at a local eatery with yummy food...

Edited: okay I told a white lie, this mummy did shopped for myself... but it was out of necessity okayyyy!!! went to buy my "ready made" inner shirt to go along with my first Saree!!! ***can't wear a Saree without an inner right???*** Super excited to wear a Saree... have been bugging mr. Hubby even before marrying him that I wanted to wear a Saree for our wedding n do the whole BIG BOLLYWOOD wedding...hahaha...***watched too many bollywood movies perhaps???*** but ended up, I made ALL my bridesmaids wear Sarees instead...***bridezilla much???***

2nd day: after a late big breakfast buffet, we left for the wedding hall and there was an engagement ceremony. We got to see all of mr.Hubby relatives...including the great grand father to baby Skye n baby Si...it was a precious moment as it was the first time meeting him!!! After the engagement, we were served snacks n then dinner (non stop good food at the wedding hall)... Then at night it was the reception where we took lots of pictures.

3rd day: we left very early in the morning (6am) to go to the official wedding ceremony. We were served breakfast n lunch there. After lunch, we came back to the hotel to get some rest, shower,changed and then went back to the wedding hall for a post wedding "games" ceremony. By now skyler was so familiar with the place that he couldn't stop running around and playing with the other kids.

4th day: (sat night) spent a relaxing day n went to the mall nearby...coffee cafe hunting n loaded up on local Indian food. Cafes are everywhere in India as Indians LOVE their coffee... "coffee day" is their local version of Starbucks!!! Super cheap n good... tried their "devil's own" recommended by Mr. Hubby's cousin...super sinful it was... it was more of a dessert tasting coffee with loads of whip cream, chocolate n coffee... the hubby who's not a fan of coffee liked it, so that goes to show that it was a dessert rather than coffee! I went back to my usual cappuccino n latte!!! Did some window shopping...surprisingly we didn't shop ANYTHING except for food for our stomachs... wanted to buy some casual Indian outfits but I changed my mind as I already have a few n won't be able to wear them much! Tried hunting for a supermarket to do my usual "supermarket sweep" (which I normally do on my last day) to fill up my empty luggages but couldn't find any!!!

Came back to the hotel, rested, packed n Off to the airport!!! Had our dinner at the airport (even though we were quite full) just coz we wanted to indulged in more yummy Indian food but ended up it was the worst meal we had in India!!! It was sooo bad that we didn't even finish it...***normally this momma don't like wasting food*** so far ALL the food we had in India was yummy till this very last meal...oh, what a bummer!!! Ended our trip on a bad note...but yeah, the more reason to plan for our next trip to India perhaps??? (P/s: updated: Mr. Hubby is off to India AGAIN in September to attend his cousin wedding...not the same cousin but his sister!!!) 2 weddings, same family, in a span of 3 months!

Mummy tips:
~ don't bother booking a bassinet from sg to India as there isn't one to be found due to it being a short flight...Lols...aircraft is a smaller one A321. N it's a short haul flight (4hrs).

~ we booked red eye flights for both ways... which helped A LOT as all of us were happily snoozing most of the way!!! and we were out and about the next day we arrived!

~ baby Skye did not have any ear pressure problem this time! (THANK GOD)! Now that baby Skye is on solid food, we offered both kiddos snacks n drinks throughout the flight (especially during take off n landing). Sienna was happily sucking on her lollipop. She knows to associate lollipops to treats going to the aeroplane n vaccinations...hahaha... ***am a bad mommy, depriving my kids of lollipops!!!***

~ public transport is SUPER NOT BABY friendly... most of the time we had a proper van ferrying us to n fro, our hotel to the wedding venue... but other times, we braved ourselves n took the auto rickshaw aka tuk tuk n held on for dear life!!! But sienna till this day is still talking about it n how she wants to go back to India to sit it... baby Skye (thank goodness) will just sit still n not fidget at all while taking in the sights, sounds n smells of India (mostly the traffic). A few kilometer on the roads felt like it took forever due to the traffic, condition of the roads, zigzagging, no highways, etc...

~ taxi ? Hmmmm, I've never seen any...checked with Mr. Hubby n he hadn't either. People either take the auto rickshaw aka tuk tuk for short distances or hired a private car/van with a driver.

~leave behind ur stroller!!! We brought just 1 stroller just in case as we knew indian weddings takes up the whole day n goes on for days!!! We attended the wedding for 3 days straight...stroller was needed for the kids to nap. N thank God, Sienna n Skyler took turns to nap in the stroller... (Sienna barely nap as she's at the age where nap is for the weak :p )

Only bring ur stroller if u intend to be stuck in shopping malls the whole day, every day... which I don't think u would want to ;)

~baby high chair??? Say what??? It does not exist in India... not that I have seen any!!!

~baby changing or nursing rooms??? Say what again??? Baby Skye is at the stage where he does not want to breastfeed when we are out n about!!! This busy body aka nosy baby gets soooo distracted that he doesn't think of (.)(.)!!! But whenever we had a few hours break, we would pop by our hotel for a quick power nap + breastfeed + diaper change! Also baby Skye usually goes poo poo once he wakes up in the morning :) TMI

But if needed, we changed their diapers in the toilets (standing position) now that baby Skye is walking! Do bring loads of pull up diapers!!! N wet wipes... yes wet wipes please!!! I didn't see any hand wash :( if can, a very small bottle of hand wash perhaps???

~no problems with baby food now that baby Skye is on SOLID FOOD... our hotel had the biggest breakfast buffet spread I have seen!!! It had both sections Indian vegetarian n Indian non vegetarian n not forgetting the salad bar, bread n cereal, omelette section. There even have ready to order Tiffin items!!! The hotel staff were so friendly that they let us "tapao" pack some food for the kiddos - lunch settled :) the food at the wedding hall was sumptuous, serving us non stop breakfast, lunch, tea time snacks n dinner (free flow coffee n tea all throughout) but do note that it could be purely vegetarian n can be a tad spicy for the kiddos!!!

~didn't see any supermarkets nor 7-11 kinda shops. Mostly roadside shops where we bought only bottled waters!

~say yes to bottled water for everything!!! Including brushing teeth :) ur stomach will thank u for it...

~ we brought along loads of snacks n juices from home!!! Loaded up on fruits during the breakfast buffet ...

Note: asked Mr. Hubby (prior to the trip) if there were any touristy sites to visit nearby n the hubs said no!!! To recall from my previous trips to India, we didn't visit much touristy place (it was because of the lack of it)... only lots of temples if u are into temples n of course the famous Taj Mahal (which is on our bucket list - we have yet to visit that part of India)... but don't worry, the whole of India is a touristy sight which will leave you in awe!!! I have witness India (in a span of 5 Years) to be a lot cleaner, no more cows roaming in the cities, less public display of people doing their "business" openly, less beggers, etc...

"Incredible India!!! <-- indeed...

Overall, this trip was mainly to attend Mr. Hubby cousin's wedding and it was nice to see his side of the relatives again...and everyone got to meet Sienna and Skyler for the first time!!!

India pics (on mr. Hubby's FB)
Click here...

(Do note: pics of me with short hair was back in 2010 where it was my 2nd trip to India, n me with long hair is the latest trip 2015)

2011 trip (2nd time to India...this time North India): click here...

2010 trip (1st time to India): click here...

INDIAN Goodies... We brought back lots of Indian sweets (desserts) n savoury snacks (muruku)!!! Let me warn u that Indian sweets are the sweetest I have EVER tasted... but I have long ago found my fav, badusha!!! Less sweet compared to the rest of the Indian sweets but still considered very sweet to me... I can only manage to eat a few pieces even though its my fav :)

***hint hint to those travelling to India...hehehehe...***