My passage through Incredible India

.My travel routes circled in red.
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.Bangalore - flight - Goa.

.Goa - flight - Mumbai.
.Mumbai - flight - New Delhi.
.New Delhi - train - Agra.
.Agra - train - New Delhi.
.New Delhi - flight - Bangalore.
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Before you follow me through my journey in Incredible India, you might like to know this trip has taken up alot of my time in terms of planning and travel arrangement. It wasnt a tour package, it was a D.I.Y brain-wrecking, hair-tugging, bucket loads of stressed-involved itinenary.

It involves a solid confirmation of your travel dates, flight and train reservations, hotel reservations, timing to avoid clashes, banging on tables when u find out some indian air and railway do not accept VISA! So if you're one of those with guts strong enough to plan an entire trip yourself, make sure you have AMEX. When you travel at this time of the year, be prepared to be shocked out of your life. A 2-star hotel can cost up to 200-300USD. Some of us may think, hey it's not so bad, afterall you're out sightseeing the whole day and it's just to sleep in. You'll soon realise what i mean when i use the word "DODGY".

So you already know, i decided to come over to Bangalore, South India because of Scubabum. She got posted here for a couple of months, with accomodation and a driver - what other excuse can i give not to visit India. Over a few msn later, we decided to spend Xmas in Goa and me heading off to New Delhi, North India to see Taj Mahal... then back to Bangalore to spend NYE with her. The initial plan was to spend NYE in Maldives, but judging from the $700 flight and USD700 hotel rate per night, i guess i have to kiss Maldives goodbye. Bloody hell...

From the 22nd of December '07 up to today the 31st of December '07, all i can say about India is -
"It is truly Incredible".
.Met this sweet girl during my 1 hour queue to see Taj Mahal, Agra.

.Happy New Year 2008 to everyone back home in Brunei!.

Tonight, my bummie and I will be counting down in Leela Palace's Zen, Bangalore.
.Asiatique night - serving Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Indian. We went to collect our ticket this afternoon and had a small chat with the Chinese chef, who promised to make "SIU LONG PAO" (a famous chinese dumpling) exclusively just for US. Oh my Lord!!. finally some chinese food =)

.Tonight's dancefloor (left), Outdoor Dining Area (right).

We will be welcoming the new year in our sarees ;)

.Vanakam!.

Vote vote vote!

.Go India must look the part too right? Yumming the Pani Puri in Bangalore.

Our 1st night in Goa
.We found this fantastic Goan restaurant called Mirabai and instantly clicked with its owner, Vasu who showed us around and totally represented Goa in the best possible way.

.Spent Xmas Eve with Vasu and his staff, that's when i heard from Rano that i was nominated!..When the gorgeous sun sets in Goa, 2 of us are wondering if Womaninawetsuit will make the cut.
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I've got so much pictures, amazing experiences and stories to tell from Goa. Like they say here, IT IS BETTER IN GOA.

The last few days has been hectic, flying from Goa to New Delhi, catching a friggin' 6am train to Agra to see Taj Mahal, then 5am train back to New Delhi the next day. Now i'm treating myself to dinner at Bukhara, one of the top 50 restaurants in the world, 2007. Better enjoy before i catch the next friggin' 5.50am flight back to Bangalore tomorrow morning.
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Greetings from India

The past few months has just been insane, so many has happened in such little time. Scubabum and I went to Bali for the weekend in November... did some insane stuff to feed our insane souls. Will photoblog soon.

Now, i've continued my journey to you-guess-where.. I.N.D.I.A! Everyone that knows i'm going to India gave me the wide-eyed, jaw dropping look.. throwing comments like "Why India??" "Crazy ahhh" "Why Xmas in India??" Actually i pity my poor little bunny KaRyn, who's stuck in Bangalore eating "Veg Combo Meal" everyday, that's why i'm here.. but who's to say, India might be a real adventure Muuhuuhuu..

I had to do a night stop at KL, meet up with some friends from my college time in Taylors. They took me to this fantastic restaurant called Alexis at Great Eastern Mall, Jalan Ampang. Food was great, wine was superb and Jamie Flynn who sang Michael Buble's song was utterly to-die-for. Although the highlight of the night isnt the food, the drinks, nor the pubs.. it was the live-action at 4am in the morning near Chinatown. While enjoying my supper, spoon halfway to my mouth, shuffles and screams started getting louder and nearer. I turned around, fighting to keep my eyeballs in, some guys were running down the street .. a few metres away from me .. armed with PARANGS '*$&%' chasing after some people. WTF! I nearly peed my pants.

The Loft

.With Meriza and Janice, the Taylors 98/16s. Ronald and Terrence sporting my favourite pose.

.The sat sat beh chio Cameron.

I touched down at 8.45pm Indian time, i.e. 2.5hrs behind Brunei... The minute i exit the Airport, Caryn was skipping towards me... finally a "Cina" face. Haha... I guess i can never imagine the happiness she is feeling. She has a friggin driver sporting a really smart uniform, opens the door and "Madamme, please get in". I feel like a queen already. Traffic is insane in Bangalore, they honk at every single thing that move... I've always wanted to honk at every crap driver in Brunei, i might actually like driving here. Huuhuu. 5 minutes down the road, there's an accident. Apparently it's a common sight here. "Madamme, they are fighting already".

.Tiny Selva, who thinks sleeping in the car is far more comfortable than sleeping at home.

.So loving oooh. .Wanna sit in the beat-up Auto ricksaw, apparently the most popular transportation in Bangalore. Ya right!.
.Caryn's "Marijuana" apartment. Huuhuu.

We went to this place called Unwind Island. It's absolutely gorgeous, hospitality is great, food and drinks are totally cheap. Unbelievable. Bangalore has way exceeded my expectation, but perhaps things doesnt look as bad during the night.

.Peace sisterrrr.

.Indian Beer. mMMmm.

Tomorrow, we're flying off to Goa, the state with the most beautiful beaches in India and renowned to be happening 365 days a year. I know i said i wont be diving anymore this year but i simply cannot say No when i heard this.. "Barracuda Diving India is planting a Christmas tree underwater on the 24th and dressing it with gift ribbons for the xmas divers and we managed to get ourselves a slot to join that dive! This Christmas is one christmas i've never imagined.

.Merry Xmas and Happy New Year everyone.

.Lots of love from Banga-to the-lore.