Homeward Bound… Thanks for the Memories India!

Time to pack up and head home!  This trip has been filled with so many new experiences and I have had the greatest people to look after me and help me make the most of this trip!  So with this, I will say “See you later!” and thanks for all the good times!

Here are just a few of the wonderful people that made my first trip to India amazing…

Keshav - The Door Man

Sanjay - The Chai Tea Guy

Shruti & Cat

Rohini & Rohit

Poonam & Amit

The Murthal Gang!

Traditional day at work!

Off to the airport now, a quick stop in Paris and then back to the states!  Until the next trip!

~Mr. Bear

 

Lights, Camera, Action!

Got back to the hotel after work and what do we find?  Huge bright lights, actors doing scenes, and a full movie crew filming in the lobby of the hotel.  Of course we had to watch all the action!  The film crew was friendly and talked to us in between takes to explain what was going on and that they were very happy to have us watch and hoped we would see the movie when it came out in November.  The movie is called “On the Ramp” and it stars Ranvir Shorey as the lead actor.  He seemed to be a very popular star around India, but just seemed like a nice normal guy to me. 🙂

We ended up staying awake all night watching the shoot and chatting with the hotel staff that was standing around observing with us.  Such an amazing chance experience that we got to see… definitely worth staying up for!

~Mr. Bear

 

Kingdom of Dreams

Travelled to the city of Gurgaon to visit Kingdom of Dreams… a singing dancing wonderland!  We went to see a Bollywood Musical called, Zangoora, a classic tale about a gypsy prince.  There were several Bollywood songs from popular movies and the dancing was phenomenal!

Also at Kingdom of Dreams is a place called Culture Gully.  It is filled with different shops and restaurants each with a different theme from a different area of India.  The differences in cultures were interesting to see and there were several performers doing dances and various shows for the crowds. We had a lovely lunch at the Lucknow restaurant.

That evening we went to a great shopping spot, Dilli Haat!  This is an open air market filled with stands selling arts, crafts, bags, shoes, carvings, and any other souvenirs you could want from India!  It’s a good idea to bring someone with you that can bargain.  Since bears aren’t native to India, I always stand out as a tourist and vendors will typically charge a foreigner a lot more than what something is worth.  Luckily during my time here, this bear has learned to bargain! 🙂

~Mr. Bear

 

Wild Night in Murthal!

Friday night after work and after the wedding… it was time to go out and have some fun!  We took a long drive to a place called Murthal which is known for its many dhabas, or roadside restaurants.  We were in search of some late night fun and good eats!  Here are some of the places we stopped at and some photos of the crazy night we had…

Pind Baluchi

At our final stop, Gulshan Dhaba, we indulged in some classic Indian late night treats.  We ate stacks of paranthas, a stuffed bread filled with all kinds of things including potato, onion, cheese, cabbage, peppers and other veg… we topped it with a white butter spread and it was perfect!  We also had Daal Makhni, made of black lentils, and a pickled green mango & carrot mix.

We knew it was time to head back for some sleep when the sun started to come out.  When the elephants come out, you know you have stayed up way too late!

~Mr. Bear

 

An Indian Wedding!

I was thinking that the only thing I wouldn’t get to do in India is go to a wedding.  The weddings here are big and elaborate… tons of guests, dancing, beautiful clothing, and a wonderful variety of food to taste.  Unfortunately, it’s not a popular season for weddings since the weather is so hot, but as luck would have it… we found one!

The bride and groom were so gracious to take pictures with us!  There were so many people dancing and having fun and of course so many tasty foods to try!

Paani Puri - "water ball"

Kulfi - "ice cream"

Sine the wedding crashing was spur of the moment, we had no time to dress up for the occasion.  I was feeling quite under-dressed until Poonam helped me out with a little turban, just my size! 🙂

What a wonderful experience this wedding was… Congrats and best wishes to the bride and groom!

~Mr. Bear

 

Quest for a New Outfit

Whenever I travel, I try to find clothing to help me dress like the locals do.  Here in India, you see people wearing lots of shiny and colorful things.  You see women in lovely Sarees and you will see many people in Kurtas, a long tunic-type shirt over pants called pajamas, or pajamee for ladies.  We did plenty of shopping around, and though Stormie modeled sarees and found a few nice things to wear, they were definitely not for this bear!

Women will traditionally wear a dupatta, or scarf, made of a light fabric and in a color that matches their suit.  You can have these dyed to match anything, even dual colors if you want.

Luckily there are plenty of street shops and I finally found a Kurta top that would fit me!

Maybe next time I’ll find some pants too 🙂

~Mr. Bear