india

Last year in December, I went to go visit my boy Armaan in India. I've been meaning to write this post now for a long time… but I’ve just been putting it off. I want to start writing more, not only to share but also just for myself because I think it’s a good way to keep track of your thoughts. I’ll recap what I did and some reflections I had as well.

Flight

_{my flight to india}

So I take this long ass flight, took me like 12-15 hours of traveling (I don't remember exact). I'll skip the details of the flight since nothing too excited happened, other than getting yelled at the Abu Dhabi airport for talking on the phone too loud 😭

Pollution

_{view from the hotel room at the fort where i attended a wedding}

Anyways, I land in New Delhi, and first thing I notice getting out of the plane is that the air is permanently muggy lol. You can taste the air….it's like smokey. It’s like if god hot boxed earth. The pollution is insane there. But the advantage is that if you have just "okay" skin like me, it's like permanent FaceTune. Since it's always so muggy, you can't really see 100% details on mfs skin at least outside, which I thought was dope. So if you're ugly it helps you. However... the pollution is really bad for your lungs and shit so probs not worth it lol.

Driver

_{armaan holding my sign}

I get outta the airport and viola !! Armaan is right there with my name card as I had requested. His driver whipped us home and that's when the 14 days of chaos starts. W !! Having a driver is probably a must in India because the driving is mad. It’s like driving in NYC without any rules or etiquette. It’s every man for himself. It’s war tbh. You can go any direction, drive on anything your car fits on, and all you’ll hear is honking.

Reflections

I went to 4 places: New Delhi, Agra, Bombay/Mumbai (they're the same place which a lot of people actually don't know lol), and Jaipur. So much happened on the trip and I can’t cover it all, but here are some of my high level reflections. Also, just to preface, my India experience/perception is a little clouded because I was mostly in the wealthy areas. But idrc that’s the life I deserve to live.

• New Delhi probably has the best food I've ever had on Earth. They have every type of cuisine, tons of halal options too if you're muslim, and you can order anything on Zomato (their version of DoorDash) for literally < $10 including all fees. The service is also unmatched.
• Blink It is the best thing I’ve used in my life. Anything you need and it’s delivered under 8 minutes. I don’t know how it’s even possible.
• Service in India is insane. Anywhere you go, you are treated like royalty lol. Lots of people there have house help, drivers, etc.
• Bombay/Mumbai is cooler than Delhi because it kinda has a tropical vibe. I also felt like the city was a lot more chaotic than New Delhi. The people were really nice there. We were only in Bombay for 24 hours, but earlier in the day, I met a guy selling backpacks for like $10-20 each. I didn't need one, but I ended up buying one just to support his business and gave it to a random kid on the street. A lot of people are extremely hard working and they’re also really humble. I felt really happy to be able to support someone like him.
• If you're wealthy, clubs and restaurants are extremely nice. For the price of what you'd get for DoorDashing chipotle in Seattle (my dumb roommate pays almost $30 which is nuts lol), you can get a super nice meal in India at the most luxurious restaurants.
• Clubs are really westernized and play a lot of American music (Drake/Travis, no kendrick thank god !!). They also play a lot of house music which I really liked. I noticed in general that the crowd is really good looking lol, and people are very well dressed too.
• Taj Mahal is dope. It isn't underwhelming, but I wasn't super amazed either because I already expected it to be so grand and amazing. So I really enjoyed seeing it, but probs won't go see it again lol.
• The contrast between poverty and wealth is extreme. You will see a Maybach driving through the most ratchet gali you've ever seen on Earth. India was the first time I ever saw homeless children too. It actually made me really sad. It opened my eyes to what real poverty is like, since i’m so shielded from it in Seattle.
• Armaan has way too much motion. He didn't let me sleep. I think we slept max 6 hours every night. Sometimes less. There was something going on every day.
• Chandni Chowk is the craziest place I've seen on Earth. It's a massive market which literally has anything and everything you need. The food there is amazing, and somehow I didn't get sick after eating it.

Wedding

_{the view from the venue of the fort}

Lastly, I went to this wedding in Jaipur. It was the most beautiful wedding I've seen in my life. I don't think they even have these weddings in movies. It was at this fort called the Alila Fort Bishangrah. It was insane. Everyone stayed at the fort for the weekend, and they had 4 different events for the entire wedding. Everything from the food, to the decorations, to the service, and even the guests were amazing. I don't wanna get married until I can afford a wedding like that, but unfortunately I think that wedding costed at least a $1m lol (yes, even in India). Tbh I was the most lit one there too. Probably even the best dressed. Even the hotel staff wanted a flick with me. I had a ton of fun. I almost shed a tear leaving.

_{the actual wedding / shaadi ceremony}

Thanks

I feel that this India trip may have been the best trip I've taken in my life. It was really eye opening. Now that I think about it, I haven’t been to many countries that are outside of the “west”. Perhaps only Saudi Arabia. It was genuinely so fun too.

I want to give a special thanks to Armaan who put in so much effort to make this trip as memorable as it was. Shout out to his wonderful parents as well for hosting me for 2 weeks. What a blessing to have a close friend like you, and alhamdullilah to have the privilege to take this trip.

Photo Dump