Yearly Archives: 2012
Arrived hungry for lunch in our next stop, Agra! 🙂 So we had lunch at the hotel as soon as we arrived
They have international cuisine, but we wanted Indian 🙂
So our table had Indian while Dad and Mom and Tito Joe and Tita Mary Ann had the International 🙂
Bread Bread Bread
Yummy Lassi
And more bread
Love love Basmati rice!!!
And still more bread 🙂
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Arrived in our next stop, Agra and in our next even more beautiful hotel!
Marble elephant with a heart garland made of fresh Marigold
You enter to a beautiful courtyard
Behind those niches are sofas where you can sit and relax
Everyone gets a bindi 🙂
Beautiful lobby with a grand chandelier
Straight ahead, the view of the Taj Mahal!!!!!!!!! It’s like a dream come true seeing the Taj almost up close!
It’s still foggy in Agra which explains the haze in the photo
Dining by the balcony
Sitting room
Bar Lounge
Going down to the lower floor
I stepped out of the door and I could not believe my eyes! What a beautiful sight!! I took all angles – to the left
To the right
On Top
I got this from my Dad who took this with his iPhone to get a full view
I climbed up so I could take this shot to get a better view for the photo
Some night shots
Love these mirrors
Beautiful mirrored elevator
Click below to go to their website for more information
3 days in Delhi and time to move on to our next destination. Roadtrip!! H2H loves road trips 🙂 IVAT arranges everything so we have our mobile home for the trip and we also have Mohan and James with us the whole trip. We feel so much safer having them with us
And not to worry, we have plenty plenty bottled water!!!
And we say good bye to Ravi and now have Raj as out tour guide. It should have been one tourguide as well for the whole trip but Raj had a previous engagement and did not jive with our schedule so he came in already on day 3. Raj is the tour guide of the stars 🙂 He told us that he has taken many VIPs and stars all around India like Germaine Jackson ( brother of Michael Jackson ) He showed us proof! 🙂
Well, now, he has an addition to his list!
This is how we are in the bus 🙂 It’s very comfortable as we were not full – I had two seats all to myself for me and my snacks 😉 Always fun to travel in a group of friends and/or family
Dad is the faithful agent of Tito Joe, he is always letting everyone listen to the new Christmas album of Tito Joe
Previous entry: Going Home to Christmas by Jose Mari Chan
which he had already downloaded in his iPhone:-)
Driving in India is really a skill!! They do not need a driver’s license to drive in India, so you can imagine. But for some reason, they seem to be in control! Inside the bus, we are all panicking because there were so many times when we thought we would bump another vehicle, but we were lucky nothing bad happened the whole trip. Look at this photo – i took this outside my window- I felt we were going to hit this rickshaw already – it was so close!!
Ravi told us you have to have 3 good things when driving in India:
1.) Good brakes
2.) Good horn
3.) and GOOD LUCK! 🙂
In India, you don’t have to have an engine, but you have to make sure you have a horn! Everyone there blows your horn and if you do not blow your horn they will blame you for not blowing your horn. That is their way of knowing you are coming or that you are behind them. So you will see a lot of signs behind the trucks and buses in nice designs 🙂
I saw this funny t-shirt in one of the stores 🙂
You will see many of these type of photos! Bikes bringing many many packages and delivering them. I featured something like this before but in China and now I really believe it does exist as I saw it for myself
Previous entry: Heavy Bicycle Loads January 10, 2011
And that does not go only for packages, but also for people. Many are in motorcycles and there are times you will see a whole family of 5 in one small motorcycle, I was not able to take a photo but I saw it!
Or in a small car or jeep they will be super jam packed! I am not exaggerating!
And I am not kidding when I say you see all kinds of things on the road- cars, buses, trucks, bikes, motorcycles, pedestrian and ANIMALS!
Of course the sacred cows are plenty and sometimes they are just sitting on the road
bulls
And even camels
monkeys! but these were in the outskirts already
Sometimes the road is only one lane! and in the mountains! So when there is a blind corner, the driver just blows his horn! 🙂
For me I just do not look anymore in front instead I look out my window. There is not much scenery or beautiful views which you see in other countries, but there are many many interesting things to see in the road! I wish I had brought my SLR camera so i could take the shots while the car was moving. I really regret not having it with me. Remember we are driving really fast so it is hard to take the shots but you will see a lot of people who are dressed in colorful outfits, and the scene is so picture perfect even if they are just sitting on the road or walking. Some tourists even stop just to take the photo
This is our tour guide, Raj ( in the yellow vest ). He went down to control and direct traffic as we were trying to make a turn due to traffic. He saved us 2 hours by taking a detour to get to our hotel! Amazing Raj!
Congratulations Tim Tan, Gec Chia, and partners on the launch of Poliform in the Philippines
Partners – Jacques Lee, Terry Lim, President Joseph Estrada, Tim Tan and Gec Chia
Beautiful furniture and Kitchens from Italy
Anna Go-Chia showed this to me. You just press it and it goes up. This is part of the most high end kitchen they have 🙂
Interesting art work by Dino Gabito
There is a second floor where they have the beds and the cabinets
Chef Jill Sandique had a cooking demo that evening – Poliform works with Siemens for the kitchen
Click below to go to their facebook page
219 Nicanor Garcia St. Bel-Air 2 [formerly Reposo Street.], 1200 Makati
| design@poliform.ph |
Click below to go to their website
Mom read this and made sure we came here!
This was my personal favorite for the whole trip to India. LOVED THE FOOD HERE! The ceiling of the ITC Hotel hotel lobby. Many Diplomats stay here in this hotel. When we got there there were many security guards around the hotel
Loved the ambience of the restaurant- look at the Chefs at the back looking at me taking their photo 🙂
Bar tender made sure I took his photo too 🙂
Right side of the restaurant
Chefs are always happy there is a photo opportunity 🙂 The kitchen is circular so it encompasses both sides of the restaurant
They took us inside the kitchen for a tour- they have us white coats and hairnets to use to be able to go inside
WOW WOW WOW!! Love Love kebabs!
and Indian bread!
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Apron but no utensils! You have to eat with your hands!
This was the table where Bill Clinton ate in 🙂
Cute bottle covers
President Bill Clinton’s menu
Menu for President Obama
Always in an Indian table – onions with pepper and lime/lemon
I can eat this everyday in India 🙂 Love papadums!
And Raita too 🙂
whole leg of spring lamb- wow!! super tender and really really good!!!!!!!!!!!
Boneless chicken kabab – just by looking at it, you can tell it’s good!!
Vegetarian kabab for our tour guide Ravi
Super yummy Naan – I don’t know what kind but this was so so good!!
Prawn Kabab! YUMMY TOO!
Dahl – yummy for me 🙂
We give up 🙂 Thanks for the fork and knife!
My favorite Indian dessert- Kulfi – Indian ice cream. I don’t really eat that pink noodles that comes with it
My sister’s favorite and others like this too – Gulab Jamun
Click below to go to the website of the hotel
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Temples and Mosques – Another beautiful structure you will see in India!
Good exercise 🙂
When you get to the top – it’s full of shoes 🙂
You need to wear these robes to enter! I wonder how many people have used them before us…
They sell slippers and socks for 100 rupees in case you didn’t bring! Good business! 🙂
This is normally how it is during worship days! Wow! I just got this photo from Filmapia.com
There is this bath in the middle and we had the chance to see something spectacular- which after awhile it was empty. The bath was surrounded and they were all either, brushing their teeth, drinking the water, washing their face, washing their feet, head etc etc – my dad was able to take a video of it- what an unusual event I have never seen. At first we were shocked, but then later accepted it as something that was part of their culture – no one seemed to have been bothered about it – it was as if it were a normal occurrence and it was
Each box on the floor is a space for a person to worship – where they go on their knees and pray – persian carpets used to occupy these boxes one after the other
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We start the day already at 10am because we finish late the day before and still have dinner which last till around 10 or 11pm
The Red Fort in Old Delhi
Built with red sand stone
As you enter, there is a bazaar with local handicrafts. We got distracted!!! 🙂 We had to discipline ourselves to do this after so we passed through
Vendors here have been here for a long time and their rent has been the same since then at around 16 rupees a month! AMAZING! They pay the whole year already in advance 🙂 So be assured that prices should not be that high – so bargain bargain bargain!
Going through – there is always an arch or a gate before the main palace
You can see it already from the side
Beautiful details in their walls and in everything!!!
Still not yet the main palace – This is the hall of public audience – always a staple in every Fort or palace – where the public gathers and the Emperor talks to the people
Marble arch where the Emperor stays and talks to his people
And go further inside – WOW!!!!!!!! Still foggy so structures are a bit hazy
Marble with lots of carvings and inlaid! SO SO BEAUTIFUL! I wish they could have preserved it better to see the full look of the palace
Another preview to the Taj!
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