This week should be a fairly short post. After a few weeks of go-go-go, it was time to relax a little and enjoy Gurgaon and Delhi.
It was another busy week at work--the newest group just completed there second week of taking calls and are being shadowing and shaped to become the future of Cvent Customer Care. In the evenings, I began researching destinations for my upcoming travels when Alex arrives. I think we have settled on a tour to the north Indian mountains--which should be cool and beautiful in June. More to come on that! The training batch did take a break from the hard work and enjoyed a group dinner on Friday across the road from the office. The team introduced me to a Masala Dosa--a delicious south Indian crepe-like food. I am now obsessed with the crispy pancake, spicy filling and scrumptious dipping sauce and will definitely be eating much more over the next several weeks.
On Friday, I came home (at 4am IST [6:30pm ET] ) to find my roommates awake and continuing the celebration of Julide's last few nights in Gurgaon. We decided to wait a few more hours and head to the Westin for their amazing buffet breakfast. The buffet started at 6:30am IST [9pm ET] and offered some of the most delightful foods in all types of cuisine. I enjoyed croissants spread with Honey that I cut from a Honeycomb, Indian Samosas and Chinese Dim sum. We chowed down of the amazing selection and then headed to the pool to relax in the morning sun. We enjoyed ourselves until the hotel realized that we were not guests, so we were asked to leave. Boo.
We walked home at 11am IST [1:30pm ET] and crawled in bed for a nap. I snoozed until 7pm IST [9:30am ET] and realized it was approaching night-time. After attempting to coordinate some plans for the evening, we decided to order Pizza Hut and relax for the night. We watched a few movies before calling it a night. I tried to get some sleep, but was not able to go back to bed so soon after waking--I basically tossed and turned until it was time to get going Sunday Morning.
After a Puni omelet for breakfast, Erin and I were greeted by Arvi and his wife, Vidhi, for some Delhi sightseeing and shopping. First, we went to the Akshardham temple -- a magnificent hand-sculpted temple that is a new structure honoring an ancient religion. After a few hiccups while trying to enter the facility (turns out they don't allow ANY electronic devices, including cameras) and a true fear that I was going to faint in the 108 Degree Fahrenheit heat, we entered the temple complex and walked around the gardens and walkways. Because the temple was completed less than a decade ago, it offered some very moder attractions including an IMAX movie of its beginnings and a Pirates of the Caribbean style boat ride through scenes of India's history. We finally made our way into the temple complex and my breath was taken away when I saw the ornate, hand carved marble from floor to ceiling. Golden depictions of the Hindi gods were placed in every alcove and the main attraction, a huge seated statue of Swaminarayan, the leader of the sect, garnished in precious stones and gold.
After spending a few hours at the temple we made our way to Dilli Haat, a street market in Delhi, for shopping and dinner. You always get the best deals when you have a local with you, and Vidhi was great at getting us a deal. I bought 2 pairs of leather sandals, some jewelry, a leather purse, scarves and pillow cases--and got some amazing deals. Arvi was a perfect man among the three ladies and offered to carry our spoils through the market. We grabbed some dinner (another Dosa) and made our way home just in time to bid farewell to Julide as she left to catch her plane.
A wonderfully relaxing weekend before the madness starts again! Coming up: Thailand for Memorial Day then Alex arrives! I can't wait!
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| Masala Dosa and Coconut water from Dilli Haat. |
On Friday, I came home (at 4am IST [6:30pm ET] ) to find my roommates awake and continuing the celebration of Julide's last few nights in Gurgaon. We decided to wait a few more hours and head to the Westin for their amazing buffet breakfast. The buffet started at 6:30am IST [9pm ET] and offered some of the most delightful foods in all types of cuisine. I enjoyed croissants spread with Honey that I cut from a Honeycomb, Indian Samosas and Chinese Dim sum. We chowed down of the amazing selection and then headed to the pool to relax in the morning sun. We enjoyed ourselves until the hotel realized that we were not guests, so we were asked to leave. Boo.
We walked home at 11am IST [1:30pm ET] and crawled in bed for a nap. I snoozed until 7pm IST [9:30am ET] and realized it was approaching night-time. After attempting to coordinate some plans for the evening, we decided to order Pizza Hut and relax for the night. We watched a few movies before calling it a night. I tried to get some sleep, but was not able to go back to bed so soon after waking--I basically tossed and turned until it was time to get going Sunday Morning.
 |
| Akshardham Temple. Photo by liveindia.tv |
After spending a few hours at the temple we made our way to Dilli Haat, a street market in Delhi, for shopping and dinner. You always get the best deals when you have a local with you, and Vidhi was great at getting us a deal. I bought 2 pairs of leather sandals, some jewelry, a leather purse, scarves and pillow cases--and got some amazing deals. Arvi was a perfect man among the three ladies and offered to carry our spoils through the market. We grabbed some dinner (another Dosa) and made our way home just in time to bid farewell to Julide as she left to catch her plane.
A wonderfully relaxing weekend before the madness starts again! Coming up: Thailand for Memorial Day then Alex arrives! I can't wait!
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